Growing ampelous petunias and care: pinching for a gorgeous lush flowering

Ampel petunia is the leader among garden flowers. The bushes bloom in a lush cascade, delight with bright colors and unpretentious care. The culture loves pruning and frequent watering, blooms profusely and for a long time. Let's talk about growing ampelous petunias: pinching and other rules of care.

Basic rules for caring for ampel petunia

Ampel petunia - an unpretentious plant that pleases with abundant flowering. There are several varieties of the flower: Supertunia, Surfinia, Tumbelina and Fortunia. It is not difficult to grow a beauty if you follow the rules of planting and care.

Landing

The culture is grown mainly in hanging pots and garden boxes. Before transplanting petunia to a permanent place, seedlings are grown, which are obtained by seed or cuttings.

Petunia seeds tiny, so sowing them is a task for patient gardeners. The success of the cultivation depends on the quality of the seed and the subsequent care. It is important to maintain optimal indoor humidity and temperature. For the favorable growth of the flower, the air temperature should be + 23 ... + 24 ° С. At low values, the growth of seedlings will stop, at high values, the seedlings will dry out. Sowing is performed in February.

The seed planting procedure is divided into several stages:

1. The seedling substrate is abundantly watered with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. Peat tablets or ready-made soil mixture from a garden store are suitable for planting.
2. The seedling boxes are filled with moist soil and the seeds are sown on the surface. Pour 0.5 mm of soil on top, cover the container with film or glass. The boxes are placed on a shaded window sill and left in this form for 10-14 days. The shelter does not need to be removed, and moisture when watering the soil will be enough for future seedlings.
3. After the appearance of the first shoots, the shelter is removed; when watering, the seedlings are fed with potash fertilizers. Water is poured through a strainer or spray. The airing time of the seedlings is gradually increased by 5-10 minutes. The cover is completely removed after the first leaves appear.

For cuttings a strong and healthy mother bush with a lot of buds is suitable. The procedure is carried out at the end of winter, when the plant is dormant. At the end of August, all long shoots are cut off, and the pot with a bush is sent to the basement or other room with an air temperature of no higher than + 4 ° C. The plant is supplemented with a phytolamp, creating an artificial day length of 12-16 hours. In January, the bush will begin to wither, this is normal. In the spring, he will again release young shoots.

In late February - early March, they start cutting cuttings 10-12 cm long. The two upper leaves are cut in half, the lower ones are completely removed. Cuttings are planted in the prepared substrate immediately after cutting. The soil should be loose and nutritious. The cuttings are buried 4-5 cm every 2-3 cm. The boxes are covered with foil or glass jars.

Some build an impromptu greenhouse: they bend a thick wire in an arc and stretch the film on top. The container is placed on a shaded window sill, maintaining daylight hours for at least 10 hours. The shelter is periodically removed and the cuttings are sprayed with warm, settled water.Water is poured into a sump to prevent the development of a black leg: usually the disease manifests itself with abundant watering directly into the ground.

After the appearance of the first leaves, the cuttings are planted in a pots in a permanent place. If you plan to grow petunia outdoors, the transplant is postponed until May. The culture does not like frequent transplanting and responds with growth retardation and weak flowering. Therefore, it is advisable to determine the place of cultivation in advance.

For planting petunias in a permanent place, use a ready-made soil mixture; the main thing is that it is of high quality and has a loose structure. For self-preparation, flower growers take 2 parts of turf, 1 part of peat and river sand, mix several handfuls of perlite. The components are mixed in a large container, poured with a pink solution of potassium permanganate, add 20-30 g of superphosphate per 10 liters. Loose soil perfectly permeates moisture, which does not linger in the root area.

Advice!Use coconut substrate instead of regular peat. Its fibrous structure perfectly loosens heavy soil and provides the plant with nutrients.

Petunias are often grown in ceramic, plastic pots or wooden boxes. The material of the container does not play a special role; it is important that there are holes at the bottom to drain excess water. Expanded clay or a sponge is placed at the bottom of the container to absorb moisture. A prepared soil mixture is poured on top and a deepening is made. Seedlings are carefully removed from the pots and planted together with an earthen lump at the growth level, without deepening or overstating.

If the planter is placed in full sun, the soil will constantly become covered with dry crust and cracks. In this case, the containers are only half filled with soil, and peat or coconut substrate is poured from top to brim. Petunia grows quickly and is able to independently protect the roots from drying out, but at the initial stage, such a planting principle will help to retain moisture inside the soil.

The ampelous petunia has a developed root system that needs sufficient space for growth. The optimal container volume for one bush is 5 liters. In a pot that is too small, the petunia will be pale and emaciated, with thin shoots and small buds. Several bushes can be planted in one planter, provided that there is enough space for their growth and development. In some species of ampel petunia, the root system takes up little space, so the plants get along well in the neighborhood. The most friendly varieties are alyssum and lobelia.

Care features

Caring for ampel petunia is simple, regardless of the variety. The plant loves sunlight, abundant watering and spraying, especially in the heat. When watering and spraying water, it is important not to get on the buds and flowers. In dry weather, the bushes are moistened in the morning and evening. The root ball should be completely soaked so that water can escape through the drainage holes.

Petunia in hanging pots with peat or coconut substrate is soaked once a week in a large bowl of water. It is important to ensure that the substrate is completely wet.

For ampelous petunias, the golden mean is important - the soil mixture should not be too wet or dry. Re-watering is performed after the soil dries out by 2-3 cm. If you grind a lump of soil from the upper layer between your fingers, and it turns out to be dry, then you can water.

Advice! To reduce the frequency of watering, growers add a hydrogel to the soil, which perfectly retains moisture and, if necessary, gives it to the roots. Such a technique reduces the frequency of petunia hydration by 2-3 times.

Dried flowers, leaves, seed pods, long shoots are removed 1-2 times a week. Some varieties of ampelous petunias grow chaotically, shoots are directed in different directions. To maintain a neat shape and lush flowering, the bushes are sheared with a sharp pruner. The procedure does not harm the plant at all, but maintains its beauty and health.

Complex fertilizers are applied once a week. The composition should be dominated by potassium and phosphorus. It is recommended to feed petunias from the Potunia group with each watering, reducing the concentration of the solution to 2-3 g / l. Without this, it will not be possible to get a beautifully designed, magnificently blooming cascade.

For feeding, any complex liquid fertilizer for flowering plants is used. The concentration should not exceed 5 g per 10 liters of water.

Do not fertilize on dry soil, as there is a risk of root burns. It is recommended to combine watering and feeding or follow this principle: in the morning - watering, in the evening - fertilization.

Pinching ampelous petunia

Pinching ampelous petunia is a mandatory procedure. For the first time it is carried out when the central shoot reaches 15–20 cm in height. If you do this earlier, the lateral shoots will stretch out strongly, and the central part will stop growing.

Faded buds, along with seed pods, are cut off once a week. This is included in the list of mandatory procedures, otherwise the flower will enter the fruiting phase and give all its strength to the ripening of the seeds. New buds will not form, and the plant will lose its decorative effect.

After heavy rain and during cold weather, the roots of the plant begin to rot, and the shoots grow. Therefore, it is important to pinch all elongated stems and deformed buds.

Reference.For the ampelous variety, it is useful when the bushes are spread out in width and many young shoots are formed on them. This increases the number of flowers and increases the decorative effect.

Rules for pinching petunias:

• use of a sterile tool - scissors, secateurs;
• neat removal of weak shoots, without sudden movements;
• circumcision all rotten and dry stems, flowers, leaves.

After pruning, the plant is fed with mineral additives ("Flower Garden", "Agricola") and growth stimulants ("Kornevin", "Epin", "Zircon").

How to pinch for a lush petunia

In flowering bushes, ampelous petunias are formed tops by cutting off the side shoots. Bushes are planted in a permanent place, which have already been pinched at the seedling stage, therefore they are actively releasing young shoots. Florists are creative in the procedure, giving the plant any shape. Shoots are left in long, flowing variegated waterfalls or in the form of a neat hat. Regularly pinching a blooming petunia and removing weak stems will promote lush flowering.

Nipping seedlings

The first pinching of seedlings is performed 70–75 days after sowing the seeds. The seedlings should have 5-6 true leaves. The procedure is performed with nail scissors or a sharp knife. It is undesirable to pinch petunia by hand, as evidenced by the reviews of many gardeners. This increases the risk of damage to delicate shoots and infection.

Re-pinching for lush flowering, maintaining active branching of shoots, increasing the number of buds is carried out after 30 days. Too frequent treatment leads to weakening of the plant and stunted growth.

How to form an ampelous petunia

Sometimes, even with careful care of the ampelous petunia, shoots grow out - the lower part is exposed, and new buds and leaves appear only on the tops... In such cases, it is advisable to perform an emergency pinching. Florists remove 2/3 of the shoot, leaving the bush almost bald. If you remove only the top, new buds will appear at the ends of the shoots, and the bare part will remain so.

The molding is performed in two steps, so as not to completely bare the entire pot. First, 2 shoots are cut, after 7 days - 2 more, at the end the remaining stems are cut off. With this molding, flowering shoots will be constantly present on the bush and new ones will gradually appear.

When forming slowly, not pinching, but trimming. 2-3 internodes from the ground are left between the branches. New shoots grow from them, and after 10-14 days the plant begins to bush and bloom magnificently.

What if it grows up

Ampel petunia begins to grow upward and stretch strongly at the seedling stage due to a lack of light. On cloudy days, plants are supplemented with phytolamps around the clock. In the dark, the light is dimmed. Lamps are installed at a distance of 25 cm from the flower. The air temperature should be + 25 ° С.

Attention! For mature seedlings, such illumination and temperature are destructive: the shoots begin to stretch strongly and soon die. To solve the problem, the flower pots are moved to a cooler place.

Thick bushes are recommended to thin out or completely remove weak plants. It is advisable to dissect dense seedlings into separate containers and create a temperature regime within + 18 ° C.

How to prune a plant

To prune petunias without losing quality, it is important to know how to do it correctly. For the procedure, use a pruner (garden shears) or a sharp knife. The instruments are disinfected with a strong solution of potassium permanganate or medical alcohol.

In order for the plant to recover faster, the procedure is carried out in compliance with a number of rules:

• on each stem, remove the top 3-4 cm long;
• pruning is done in the morning or evening;
• the cuttings are put in a container with water so that they do not dry out.

To make the ampelous petunia bloom lush cascade, the falling thin stems are cut to ½ the length. The procedure is carried out in July, when the flower has no time to grow long lashes. Ampel varieties are trimmed when they begin to lose their decorative effect.

Pruning is done 2-3 days before fertilization to provide the plant with additional nutrition and to activate lush flowering.

Cuttings after pruning are used for further reproduction. They are able to take root on their own. If you put them in Kornevin solution, the process will be faster.

Flower propagation

Ampel petunia is propagated by seed and cuttings. The first method is considered the most time consuming due to the microscopic size of the seed. Some growers practice sowing on a layer of snow, which, as it melts, carries the seeds along. The pick is carried out after the appearance of 5-6 leaves.

The method of green grafting is used mainly when growing ampelous petunias. For cutting green layers, ripe shoots are taken. The length of the cutting is 5-6 cm. It is most convenient to root them in peat tablets. The process takes 1-2 months. With "Humat" or "Epin" rooting is faster.

Protection against diseases and pests

Ampel petunias are distinguished by enviable health and are attacked by insects only in unfavorable conditions. The main pests of the flower are aphids, spider mites, thrips. They begin to fight them in the early stages.

The first sign of the appearance of a spider mite is the thinnest cobweb on the leaves. Thrips settle on bushes during the flowering period, damaging leaves and anthers. Aphids quickly spread throughout the plant. When examining the back of the leaves, whole hordes of black or green bugs are visible, which feed on plant juices.

Systemic insecticides "Tepeki", "Aktara", "Confidor" are used to kill insects. Processing is carried out strictly according to the instructions.

Tips from experienced florists

In order for ampelous petunia to please with abundant flowering all season, experienced flower growers recommend following a number of rules:

1. In many varieties of ampel petunias, growth is genetically laid: the central stem stops developing, only lateral shoots grow. The most famous varieties and hybrids: Easy Wave, Tidal Wave, Rose Wayne Velvet, Opera. There are plants that need to pinch the central shoot to ensure lush branching and flowering. The sooner the pinching is done, the better the result.
2. To rejuvenate the bushes, it is important to regularly remove dry and lethargic flowers, cut off old branches shortly.
3. A young bush is molded when 2-3 pairs of true leaves appear on it.First of all, the central shoot is cut, then the lateral ones. If you do the pinching often, the bush will be fuller.
4. A month after pinching and the appearance of side shoots, pinching the tops is repeated.
5. To lay large buds and the brightness of the flowers, the bushes are watered with complex fertilizers.

Conclusion

Growing ampelous petunia does not cause difficulties even for novice gardeners. For planting, seeds or green cuttings are used. The substrate is selected loose, well-permeable to water; there should be holes in the container to drain excess moisture. One of the secrets to shaping lush-flowering bushes is pinching and pruning correctly. The procedures are aimed at creating dense bushes and abundant flowering. New shoots grow thick and strong, leaves are wide and fleshy, and flowers delight in a riot of colors.