Once you have your petunias in the container, then choose the right location for it. Remember that petunias grow best when they get at least six hours of sun daily. If you live in a warm environment, you may need to provide some afternoon shade as petunias do not do well when temperatures reach above 75 degrees. Generally, the more sun your container gets, the more prolifically your flowers will bloom.
While many people buy petunias in six-packs at the nursery, it is incredibly simple to grow petunias from seeds. One of the advantages of growing petunias from seed is that you can get a much wider choice of available petunia types. About 10 weeks before your last frost date:. Related Articles:. This practice, called "deadheading," encourages blooming by preventing seed formation.
Although it may not be practical to deadhead masses of petunias in the garden, it's a must for flowering annuals in containers. Deadheading not only helps prolong blooming, it also keeps plants looking fresh, healthy and well-groomed. A final tip: If you have an abundance of petunias blooming in the garden, it won't hurt to cut a length of stem here and there to take indoors for use in bouquets and floral arrangements.
Just be sure to remove any leaves that will be submerged in the vase, where they would deteriorate rapidly. Wait until soil warms to about 60F degrees and frost danger has passed before transplanting petunias into the garden. Space grandifloras and multifloras about 12 inches apart in full sunlight, or several inches closer together when planted in a shadier location. Petunias must be planted much more closely together in containers to look attractively full right from the start.
Plan to provide some protection from midday sun for the first few days, if weather is hot or windy with few clouds at transplanting time. When grandifloras or multifloras grow about six inches tall, pinch them back to encourage rapid formation of flowering side shoots.
Do not pinch millifloras or "spreading" petunias. Although petunias are easy to grow outdoors from transplants, they may prove more challenging for beginning gardeners to start from seed. The advantages of starting petunias indoors are that you have a wider choice of varieties from which to choose, and you can raise large quantities of plants for less money. But it takes 10 to 12 weeks before petunias are big enough to plant out, so they need to be started early about March first in northern climates.
This means there's ample opportunity for problems to develop between seeding and the final product! Because of their size, petunia seeds present a challenge, even to experienced gardeners.
Not only are they very tiny and fine, but they also need light in order to germinate. Pelleted seeds are easier to handle, but not always available.
Grandiflora petunias, the most popular type, produce large flowers that are three to four or more inches across. Petunias need regular moisture because their shallow roots dry out quickly.
If they are in soil rich in organic matter they will not need to be watered as often. Petunias in containers in the sun need watering every day--especially those in clay pots.
Spread a 2- or 3-inch layer of some organic material to mulch the soil around petunia plants. Use chopped leaves, dried grass clippings, wood chips or shredded bark products.
Organic mulch suppresses weeds, keeps the soil cool and moist by blocking evaporation from its surface and improves its texture as it gradually decomposes. Remove the spent flowers from petunias in containers as they fade. By midsummer when the plants begin to get leggy and the spindly, stems produce fewer and smaller flowers.
Cut each stem back by half to revitalize the petunia plant. After a pause, they will resume flowering with gusto. If petunia foliage puckers and turns yellowish, check for aphids. About the size of a pinhead, these insects have soft, pear-shaped bodies. They cluster and suck juices from tender new petunia stems and leaf undersides. Pinch off infested plant tips. Spray major infestations with commercial insecticidal soap according to label instructions.
Tomato hornworms, yellow woolybear and other caterpillars sometimes feed on petunia foliage, skeletonizing it. Simply pick off these very visible pests and drop them into a plastic bag for the trash. These may be the larvae of desirable butterflies, so you may prefer to tolerate the damage for a few weeks until they pupate]. Then pinch off the damaged plant parts, feed and water, and the petunias will rebound.
Spray or dust infested large bedded areas with a product containing Bacillus thuringiensis Bt while the caterpillars are feeding.
Follow label directions. Petunias are susceptible to several viruses such as curly top, mosaic, ringspot, and spotted wilt which are not curable. Take cuttings 7. Remove the leaves from the lower two-thirds of the stem and insert five or six cuttings in pots of gritty, cuttings compost to the base of the lowest leaves.
Place the pots in a plastic bag or in a propagator and place somewhere in good light, but out of direct sunlight, to root. The cuttings should have rooted in 2 to 3 weeks, when they can be potted up individually and grown on. Roses are traditional and timeless. They symbolise love, devotion, and admiration, and gifting a bouquet of roses is There is plenty of goodness in gardening, and here are some of the top ways you can benefit from getting into your I believe that creating your own indoor jungle has the power to inspire you whilst enhancing your living space.
How to grow petunias Cultivation Petunias prefer to be grown in full sun, although during hot, sunny summers they will tolerate light shade. Petunia varieties Bedding varieties are either grandifloras with larger flowers or multifloras with smaller flowers that hold up better in the rain. Related products. Find a store.
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