Petunia care during flowering

Petunia will satisfy even the most demanding gardeners, as it is both a stunningly beautiful and extremely unpretentious plant. It amazes with a variety of colors, blooms for a very long time and abundantly, it can be grown both as indoor and outdoor plants. Petunia goes well in a flower bed with other flowers such as begonia, pelargonium, coleus bloom. But sometimes gardeners forget that the unpretentiousness of a plant does not imply a complete lack of care, minimal care is needed for any, even the most unpretentious plant, therefore petunia care is necessary. Petunias are planted in flower beds, but they look most beautiful in flower pots, hanging pots and outdoor pots. And today we will talk about what needs to be done so that the flowering of petunias in such conditions takes place and lasts as long as possible.

Description of the plant

Petunia is a native of South America, it is its tropical origin that can explain frost intolerance. Petunia flowers resemble a gramophone in their shape and differ in a variety of colors: white and pink, red and crimson, purple, as well as painted in two colors or even more. The flowers are very delicate, they can suffer from strong wind or precipitation, but after that the plant recovers very quickly and forms new buds. Usually petunias are grown as seedlings, they begin to bloom in June. If we are talking about an indoor plant, then flowering will continue until the end of autumn, if your petunia grows in a flower bed or in a street flowerpot, then it will bloom until the first frost. Initially, most petunias are perennials, but since the plant does not tolerate cold, they are grown as annual plants.

Petunia care - flowering

Petunia species differ not only in color, but also in the shape and size of the inflorescence. Varieties with small flowers usually bloom 67-70 days after planting the seeds, and varieties with large flowers - 92-95 days. Knowing these times will help you calculate the best time to plant your seeds. The buds form for about a week and then bloom for five to six days. Then a flower withers, and in its place the seeds begin to ripen in the seed box. If you want the abundant flowering to last as long as possible, then the faded inflorescences must be cut off immediately so that the plant does not waste energy on the ripening of the seeds. If you plan to collect seeds to plant them next year, then it will be enough to leave 2-3 seed pods closer to the end of flowering. Just watch their ripening in order to catch the most opportune moment for collecting seeds: the box should finally ripen, but at the same time it is necessary to cut it off before it opens. Otherwise, the seeds will end up on the ground, and because of their small size, it will not be possible to collect them.

Despite the fact that petunia itself is an unpretentious plant, its flowers are very delicate, and therefore somewhat capricious. They should be protected from bad weather, watered sparingly, as they can die if they become too wet.

Petunia care - delayed flowering

Usually, with good care, there are no problems with flowering, so if your petunia has not bloomed at the expected time, then you need to reconsider your petunia care and pay attention to the following factors:

- For indoor petunias, the size of the pot is very important, since the plant has rather powerful roots. Transplant the petunia into a larger pot and do not place the pots themselves too close to each other - the plant needs space.

- Schedule and volume of irrigation.While the petunias are small, water them very carefully and sparingly. For an adult plant, watering must be increased, but at the same time not overmoistening the soil. If your petunia is growing in a pot or flowerpot, then take care of a good drainage layer to help avoid stagnant water.

- Sunlight. This factor is essential for the life of any plant, especially petunias. Provide them with enough light, as lack of light can delay flowering.

- Formation of a bush. You need to pinch the top of a young plant, it will be enough to leave 5 leaves. After that, the petunia will grow in width, which means that the flowering will be more abundant. In addition, it is necessary to regularly cut off wilted flowers, otherwise the petunia will cease to form buds, and will direct all its forces to the ripening of the seeds.

- Review the feeding system. Plants need nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in different growing seasons. The first element helps to grow foliage and get stronger, while the rest are responsible for flowering. Therefore, fertilize with nitrogen only in the first month and a half, then fertilize the petunia with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

Petunia care at home and outdoors

As we have already said, in order for petunias to bloom luxuriantly and for a long time, it will be necessary to create comfortable conditions for it. We are talking about the petunias that you plan to plant in a container - a flower pot, a hanging planter, or an outdoor flowerpot. Therefore, caring for petunia, which will ensure good flowering, comes down to the following scheme:
-the pot is large enough
- irrigation mode
-timely and correct feeding
- removal of wilting inflorescences

Petunia seedlings look small and fragile, which is certainly misleading. But each plant will need at least 5 liters of soil and a container of the appropriate size to provide adequate nutrition for the powerful root system that petunia will soon grow. If the soil and the size of the container are not enough, then you will continue to admire the greenery of the petunia, flowering may never start.

A couple of weeks after you open the seedlings, you can carry out the first feeding, in which nitrogen should prevail, then it can be repeated after a month. After that, nitrogen fertilizers should no longer be used, adult petunia needs potassium and phosphorus, which are responsible for budding and the health of the root system.
It is very important to provide the plants with drainage and develop an irrigation system. Young petunias should be watered very sparingly, adults - more abundantly, but not often. Petunia will tolerate short-term drought more easily than excessive watering.

Well, as you already know, petunia stops blooming if the seeds begin to ripen, so do not forget to remove the inflorescences at the end of flowering.

And now let's talk in more detail about growing petunias in a pot on a windowsill and growing in a street flowerpot, since in both cases there are some subtleties of caring for the plant.
When watering a petunia growing in a pot, do not forget to loosen the soil each time. Waterlogging is something to be wary of, and loosening will provide air access to the roots and additional ventilation. This, undoubtedly, will have a beneficial effect on flowering.

After the petunia has finally bloomed, it can shed some of its foliage. If at this point the plant is properly pruned and water is continued moderately once a week, then after a period of dormancy lasting several months, the petunia will begin to grow again. To do this, with the onset of spring, increase the amount of watering, feed with nitrogen fertilizer and petunia will begin to grow actively. At this moment, you need to pinch the tops to get a more voluminous and lush bush. As we already said, this is a perennial plant, so at home it is quite possible to save it until next year.

As soon as the air temperature permits (usually in the second half of May), start taking the plants outside so that they receive enough air and light, this will contribute to the early beginning of flowering. Further, the choice is yours - you can leave the petunia in a pot as a houseplant or transplant it to a flower bed in your garden, where it will also feel great.
Growing petunias in a flowerpot is slightly different from keeping indoor plants. The flowerpot is located on the street, its size meets the necessary requirements, the plants have enough air and sunny colors. The watering regime must be adjusted depending on the weather. If there is enough rainfall, then additional watering is not required, if the weather is too rainy, then you may even have to move the flowerpot under a canopy to prevent waterlogging of the soil, since this will not only negatively affect flowering, but can also lead to the death of the plant ... But even the most nutritious soil after a while is depleted, so you need to pay attention to feeding the plants according to the scheme you already know: first nitrogen, and then potash and phosphorus fertilizers. If at the same time you do not forget to pinch the plants and remove wilted inflorescences, then there will be no problems with flowering.

Another secret of elegant, abundant flowering is pinching, which must be carried out in a timely manner and in accordance with all the rules. Initially, the petunia has one stem, pinching it, you stimulate the development of lateral shoots, and the more shoots, the more flowers.
It is necessary to pinch off at least three centimeters so that the newly grown side shoots are strong enough and do not break in strong wind or rain.

To form a beautiful bush, pinching should be done regularly. After the side branches grow 12-15 cm, they should also be pinched. And repeat the procedure until the petunia is bulky enough. But it is important to remember that after pinching the plant is under stress, it needs more nutrients to recover, so be sure to feed it so that the petunia branches grow faster. In the absence of top dressing, petunia will weaken, lose its decorative effect, will grow very slowly and the appearance of buds will be postponed for an indefinite period.

Conclusion

Summing up, we can say that for the lush flowering of petunias, you do not need to carry out any additional actions or treatments with flowering stimulants. It is enough just to provide the plant with a comfortable place of residence and minimal care, following the basic rules:
1. The petunia must have enough space. This also applies to the size of the pot and the space around the plant - do not place them too close to each other.
2. Finding the perfect balance of watering is difficult but doable. Do not fill the petunia and do not forget to fertilize on time.
3. Pinch branches and remove seed pods, then flowering will last much longer.
As you can see, nothing complicated, even an inexperienced novice gardener can create on your balcony blooming garden!