Making beautiful flower arrangements in the garden or in the yard when planting petunias in open ground: nuances and care
Petunia is one of the most popular ornamental plants, which is characterized by the variety of its shapes and colors.
This is a perennial culture belonging to the Solanaceae family. Flowering occurs the very next year after sowing.
From the article you will learn more about petunia, how it looks, what varieties and design options of flower arrangements are. Also consider how to deal with diseases and pests.
Description and history of occurrence
The origin of modern hybrid varieties today cannot be determined. The fact is that they were crossed so often that the story of each variety is too confusing.
Garden hybrid petunia is a creeping or erect plant. Its height reaches 20-80 cm. The shape of the bushes is spherical, compact dimensions. The flowers are fragrant and funnel-shaped. Inflorescences are located in the axils of the leaves on a short peduncle.
Reference! If you provide the plant with proper care, then flowering lasts from June to October. To strengthen the branching of the bush, it is necessary to trim the overgrown shoots. And timely removal of already faded buds will lead to active flowering.Varieties
There are a large number of varieties of this plant, we describe the popular ones.
Superbissima
This plant grows to a mark of 70-80 cm. The whole bush is literally strewn with flowers. Their diameter is 12-15 cm. The variety is distinguished by a variety of bright colors and corrugated petals.
Pink sky
The bush grows to a mark of 25-30 cm. Flowering lasts from June to September. The color of the flowers is pink, and their diameter is 7-10 cm. They are grown in seedlings. Planting of seeds is carried out in late February - early March. Expect seedlings in 7-12 days. The plant is photophilous, thermophilic. For him, it is worth preparing a light, fertile and well-drained soil.
Picoti Velvet
This plant is distinguished by purple flowers. They have a white border that gives the bush a more attractive look.
Fiery Kan-Kan
This variety is highly resistant to disease.. Also, the plant blooms for a long time. Color red, flower size 12 cm.
Toulouse
This is a bright and interesting combination of wide stripes of bright pink and lime hue. The plant is perfect for growing in open ground and on the balcony.
Features of the composition and photo
Using petunia and studying the photos below, you can perform several options for the design of the site in the garden or in the yard.
Vertical flower bed
This option is perfect for giving. To do this, make the frame of a rolled metal mesh. Cover it from the inside with agrofilm. Thus, it turns out a kind of pillar, which remains to be filled with earth. Hole holes in the mesh holes, where to place the seedlings.
Petunia trees
Trees from petunia look very interesting. This will require a welding machine, metal pipes of different diameters. Install a pipe on the ground, and then weld stops from thin pipes to it. They will hold flower pots. Now weld its ends, forming a stand for the container. The trunk and branches of the resulting tree should be painted green.
Flower beds from boxes
This option looks unusual under the windows of the cottage or on the fence. To build a similar design is not difficult. You just need to get drawers. They can be wooden, clay, with forged edging.
Flowerbed
This option allows you to realize any fantasies of the grower. The flowerbed can be multi-tiered, round, square, in the form of a stream. It does not matter what the size of the summer cottage is, since there will always be a place for the composition.
Flower Cascades
They are made from ampelous or cascading species. To get the original result, arrange the flowers in a flower pot and hang them. Such compositions are the most popular technique when decorating a summer cottage using petunias. You can find out how to plant and grow ampelous petunia in a cache-pot here.
Outdoor Landing Procedure
Landing events should be held in March-April. Seeds can be sown directly into the ground. But this method does not always allow you to grow a strong and beautiful plant. To do this, you need to work hard and choose one of the following landing methods:
- Sowing in a shallow container. Lay planting material on the surface of the earth and do not bury.
- Peat pills. They give excellent results when growing seedlings. In addition, this method is successful and practical. Each tablet should be soaked in advance, and then put 2-3 seeds in it. Seedlings of petunias in peat tablets do not need further picking. Using this method, the bushes are transplanted into the open ground along with the tablets.
- Cassettes. This is another convenient way to land. The seed is located in an individual cell (20x50 ml). After 20-30 days, the plant is transplanted into a pot. There, petunia will grow until the first buds are formed.
- Sowing seeds in the snow. The essence of this method is that a layer of clean street snow is laid on top of the soil, and planting material is poured on top of it. As soon as the snow begins to melt, it is absorbed and automatically attracts seeds to the ground.
Below you can watch a video showing the landing of petunias in open ground:
Temperature mode
Whatever method of sowing was chosen, for the full growth and development of seedlings, it requires compliance with the correct temperature regime - 23-25 degrees Celsius. Seedlings contain under polyethylene, provide them with modern watering.
The soil
Nutrient, light and loose soil will be preferred. The pH should not be less than 5.5 and more than 7.0. For planting, you can use purchased land or cook it yourself. To make it breathable and nutritious, put vermiculite or perlite in it. They come in the role of baking powder. It is possible to neutralize high acidity if a little lime is placed in the soil.
For self-preparation of the nutrient mixture, you need to take in equal proportions the following components:
- peat;
- sheet earth;
- humus.
Lighting and location
Our plant is demanding on lighting. In winter, she categorically lacks light because of the short daylight hours. So you have to use a fluorescent or LED lamp. The daylight hours will be 12-14 hours. If you grow a plant in open ground, then you need to place it in a well-lit area, where there is no direct sunlight. When growing on a windowsill, select a south-facing window.
How to care?
Watering
Moisturize the soil directly under the root. It is best to use the drip method of irrigation using a regular syringe. Since the plant does not like waterlogging, watering should be performed only when the earthen coma is dried. Use only soft or settled water for this.
Fertilizers
To get strong and healthy seedlings, a young seedling must be fed. The first time to add nitrogen compounds in 15-20 days after the formation of the first shoots. This will allow the plant to increase the required amount of green mass. Then it makes phosphorus-based compounds. Do this 2 times a month.
Diseases and Pests
In violation of agricultural regulations, the flower can infect diseases and pests:
- Viruses. Viral diseases appear in the form of discolored and yellow leaves, which slowed down howling. There is no treatment here, so you will have to get rid of the diseased flower.
- Bacteriosis. It can be determined by the presence of light fleshy growths on the stem. To combat bacteriosis, the growths are removed, and the plant is treated with such drugs: Fitosporin-M, Alirin-B, Gamair, Binoram, Planriz.
- Powdery mildew. This disease forms a white powdery coating on the inside and outside of the leaf. If the lesion is weak, then such drugs will help: Fitosporin-M, Alirin-B. But with a severe defeat, it is worthwhile to conduct treatment with Topaz, Strobi, Tiovit Jet, Skor, Purebloom.
- Thrips. These insects inflict damage on the leaf plate, because of which it is deformed. Spotting is formed on the flowers, and a brown fringing is formed on the edges. For the fight using such insecticides: Aktara, Akarin, Actellik, Biotlin, Confidor, Fufanon. After 5 days, repeat the treatment.
- Gray rot. Affected stems become soft and watery. With increased humidity, a gray coating forms. The defeat is applied to leaves, stems, flowers. For the fight using such drugs: Fitosporin-M, Alirin-B, Gamair, Planriz, Gliokladin, Sternifag.
- Late blight. It can be recognized by the presence of a black-brown base of the stem. Because of this, they blacken and hang on the edge of the pot. For the fight use Ridomil, Gold and Alet.
- Aphid. This is a small insect that affects buds, leaves, flowers, as a result of which they begin to curl and turn yellow. Bring aphid to the strength of the following drugs: Antitlin, Tobacco dust, Actellik, Fitoverm, Akarin, Aktara.
Breeding methods
Reproduction can occur by seeds or cuttings.
Seeds can be sown in February. Since the planting material is small, it is not worth it to deepen the soil, sowing should be to the surfaces. It is not recommended to sow petunia densely, otherwise the seedlings will interfere with each other. Seedlings must be kept under a film, which every day open for ventilation.
When grafting, it is necessary to cut a stem with 4-5 leaves from the mother plant and install it in nutrient soil. After 10-15 days, the stalk is rooted.
Important! Cut the cuttings to plant no later than after 1 hour, otherwise they will not take root.Possible problems
There are no particular problems in terms of growing petunias. They occur mainly with improper care of her:
- Decay of the root system. This problem is one of the most common. It occurs due to excessive soil moisture.
- Pest and disease damage. Here is also the fault of the florist himself, who cares for the inferior petunia.
- Lack of flowering. The main reason is the excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers. You can use them only before laying buds, after which their concentration should be minimized.
Petunia is a beautiful perennial plant that can be seen today in almost every flowerbed. And this is not surprising, since it is replete with a bright color, unpretentious in care and well resists diseases, pests.