Competent growing of petunia seedlings is the key to its lush abundant flowering in the future. This plant is most often grown as an annual, but in the natural environment, petunia is a perennial.
Before starting to grow petunia seedlings, you need to decide on the varieties and colors of plants. Work should begin at least 12-13 weeks before the planned planting (the minimum time that will be enough for the seedlings to get stronger and ready for transplanting).
How to properly grow petunia seedlings
For growing petunia seedlings, special attention should be paid to the soil: alkaline and strongly acidic ones should be avoided. At the same time, the soil should be sufficiently loose and nutritious, and retain moisture well. The best option is to make your own seedling potting mix. Take two parts each of turf and well-decomposed peat, and one part of sand. Mix these components well, then sift through a fine sieve a couple of times.
Pour crushed expanded clay as drainage into boxes, pots or flat wide trays, and soil mixture on top of expanded clay, leaving the containers empty about six to eight centimeters to the top edge. Moisten the soil, then sprinkle the seeds on it, sprinkle the seeds on top with warm water and lightly press each seed against the soil with your finger. It is not worth covering the seeds with earth, since they need light for germination.
Cover the seedlings on top with non-woven material, the boxes themselves with glass and place them in a warm, bright place (the air temperature should be within 24-26 degrees). You can provide the necessary moisture by spraying the seeds about three to five times a day with warm water with the addition of potassium permanganate. After five to seven days, the petunia should germinate, so as soon as you notice the shoots, immediately remove the non-woven material, remove the glass itself for 15-30 minutes daily, and increase the time every day until the first leaves on the seedlings appear … As soon as the leaves appear, the glass can be completely removed. And after a few days, the seedlings can be dived into separate containers. To do this, simply carefully transplant each plant into individual pots, deepening the seedlings into the ground to the first leaves, and lightly shake the soil around each.
In order for a beautiful and lush petunia to grow from the seedlings in the future, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture in the pots: water if necessary, but do not fill the plants. Since when the soil dries out, the petunia may die, and if over-watered, the "black leg" may get sick, which will also lead to the death of the plant.
Two weeks after the pick, you need to make the first top dressing. As the first dressing, it is better to use a mixture with a nitrogen content for spraying the leaves; in the future, you can add root dressing.
