Petunia Sophistika Lime Bicolor
This species was bred quite recently, but has already gained popularity among lovers of bright colors. This petunia looks good on flower beds, hanging pots or vases on special decorative frames.
Distinctive feature:
- The plant is perennial, but mostly annual;
- the shrub grows up to 40 cm in height and up to 30 cm in diameter. Outwardly, it looks like a ball. Due to its pure form, this petunia species can be planted in hanging baskets and ornamental trees. Cut the flower in time to get it in shape;
- Flowering time from June to October;
- The color palette of the plant is varied: the flowers are covered with two colors - pinkish-yellow, white-violet, yellow-violet;
- The color of petunias can vary depending on the weather, temperature and plant age. Flowers can be pale or rich;
- it is better to choose a well-lit place with a little shadow for planting. The plant is undemanding to the ground. It is well tolerated in light rainfall, but not in heavy rainfall, and in very dry weather it is necessary to add water.
Winter cuttings
Within a month after waking up, the bush will grow overgrown with many shoots, ready for cuttings. The period for cutting young shoots from the mother bush is February-May. It is better to root the cuttings immediately in the prepared soil. Small cut stems can be rooted in peat tablets that have been moistened beforehand.
Important! For two weeks, the planted cuttings should live in a greenhouse with daily ventilation. Every day you need to moisten the soil with a spray bottle
When the stalk begins to grow actively, it will be ready to pinch to create more bushiness of the petunia. You need to pinch healthy, mature shoots that have begun to actively grow up. After pinching, at least 6 leaves should remain on the seedlings. And the pinched off shoot is again suitable for rooting. Such shoots can be rooted both in water and immediately in the soil.
Winter seedlings are a little pale, but with the arrival of spring they will regain their rich color.
It's important to know! Terry varieties of petunias take root better immediately in the ground
How to root petunia, growing a plant from a cuttings
Now let's look at how to grow and propagate petunia by cuttings. In this way, mainly terry and ampelous petunias are grown. Many gardeners consider cuttings to be the most reliable, since they give almost complete rooting and are easier to care for. The main advantage of growing petunias from cuttings is earlier than seeds, flowering after 25-35 days.
When and how to prepare petunia cuttings
There are several secrets on how to properly cut petunia. The main ones relate to the time of harvesting cuttings and their correct pruning. Cutting time depends on the type of petunia: for terry, they are harvested in late February - early March, while ampelous can be cut at any time of the year, provided that the air temperature is maintained at 22-25 ° C and regular illumination. On a healthy mother plant, apical cuttings with 4-6 leaves up to 10 cm long are cut at an angle. The upper leaves of the cutting are carefully cut in half and planted ¼ length in soil prepared in the same way as for seeds. Cutting petunias is good to do in seedling trays or plastic cups with a volume of 500 g. Cuttings are placed at a distance of about 2 cm from each other and covered with glass.
How to root petunia, preparation of the substrate
The use of a growth stimulant for rooting the petunia is not necessary.The substrate for the soil is prepared in the same way as for planting seeds; an additional 2 cm top layer of sand is poured over with a fungicide. Freshly cut cuttings are planted immediately, as their rooting ability is rapidly declining. Correctly prepared and planted seedlings usually take root after a week in terry and ampelous petunias and after two in calibrachoa.
Important! In the case of repeated propagation of petunias by cuttings, do not use the same soil.
Cutting care rules
When cutting petunias, the rules for caring for seedlings are the same as when caring for seedlings. It is necessary to monitor the moisture content of the soil and spray the cuttings from the sprayer, while avoiding dampness; maintain a temperature of 22-24 ° C and provide continuous illumination. Ampel petunias and calibrachoa love a large space, so their pots are hung.
Important! If, with excessive dampness, a black leg appears, you need to remove the diseased cuttings, and pour the rest with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and slightly open the container for airing.
Pinching petunia
To give the bush a beautiful shape and strengthen the deciduous mass, pinch the seedlings over 4-6 leaves. Moreover, the tops of the shoots, cut off during pinching, are perfect for rooting. If necessary, you can repeat the pinching after 10-14 days. After about a week, ampelous and terry petunia takes root, calibrachoa - after two weeks.
Reproduction of petunias by cuttings in the same way is done from seedlings. The main seedlings after cutting the cuttings will bush and develop even faster, do not be afraid that you will damage it.
Planting a cutting
When the cuttings reach a length of 10-15 cm, they are planted in pots of medium diameter. Usually disembarkation occurs in early or mid-May, when the average daily temperature is above 15 degrees. Cuttings can be planted in open ground or hanging pots, and then fed with mineral organic fertilizers. Petunia needs feeding for the entire flowering period, it is usually carried out every 10 days with mullein infusion or vermistim.
Petunia is a rather demanding plant; it often suffers from various fungal and viral diseases for which there are no drugs. However, if you know how to properly plant and grow petunia, you can easily avoid the hassle and frustration of this exciting activity!
What is the difference between spring and autumn cuttings of petunias?
- Spring. You have one of four: a purchased seedling of flowers, cuttings rooted during the winter, seedlings grown with your own hands, or a mother bush that has overwintered in an apartment. For good splendor of any bushes (especially seedlings), they need to be often pinched and cut off. It’s a pity to throw juicy green shoots away ... So don’t do this, root the “guys” - the more petunias you will get as a result.
- Autumn. The last plants are blooming on your balcony or garden. They probably look rather poor - a kind of half-dried lashes, from time to time dissolving bright petals of a late flower. But even such material (if done in time) can be used on the farm by choosing several strong cuttings, rooting them, growing them over the winter in good soil and with top dressing. Get a full-fledged planting material by the spring.
You will be explained in more detail about spring pinching in this video:
And about autumn pruning (it is carried out more often, I myself practice just such cuttings) I will tell below.
Petunia cuttings
In our time, many hybrid forms of petunias have been bred, the plants of which do not transmit their decorative characteristics when propagated by seeds. Many ampelous hybrids do not form seeds at all. To propagate them, you will need an adult mother plant.
Reproduction of petunia hybrids comes from cuttings.
When petunias are cuttings, the terry and unusual color is preserved, the rooting of the cuttings occurs quickly, and young plants become lush bushes in a shorter time.
Method number 1 - cuttings of petunias for the winter
Rooting of cuttings is carried out in the middle of summer. Young petunias grown in this way are transferred indoors for the winter. Summer cuttings have a higher survival rate at home.
Cutting is carried out according to the following scheme:
1. Cutting cuttings. For rooting, take the middle part of the shoot with 2-4 pairs of leaves 6-8 cm long. The cut is made at an oblique angle at the bottom and straight at the top.
The top cut should be made 1-1.5 cm above the leaf node. The apical shoot can also be rooted, but this is done when the plant stops growing.
If open or buds are present on the petunia stalk, they are removed.
2. Treatment with a root former. The lower cut of the cuttings prepared for rooting should be powdered with a root-stimulating powder (for example, Kornevin) or dipped in a root-forming solution for half a day.
3. Planting in cups. Petunia cuttings can be planted in 100 ml plastic cups or in special containers for seedlings filled with nutrient soil. Cuttings deepen only 1-2 cm, but no deeper than the first pair of leaves. Sprinkle with a little water after planting.
4. Cover the planted petunia cuttings with a plastic bag. This is necessary to maintain optimum moisture conditions. By the end of 3 weeks, the cuttings take root and the greenhouse is removed.
In autumn, with the onset of cold nights, young petunias should be brought into the house. The ideal wintering for them is cool conditions (at a temperature of + 14-16 degrees) and a bright place. You can keep petunia on the windowsill, but subject to artificial lighting. The lamp should be switched on for at least 14 hours a day.
Watering is moderate, without overdrying the soil. Once a month, plants should be fed with potash fertilizers. In early February, for the formation of a vegetative mass, petunia is fed with nitrogen fertilizer, up to 4 pm, the illumination is increased and the shoots that have stretched out over the winter are cut off.
After a while, a new growth is formed on the mother plant, which can be used for reproduction.
Method number 2 - reproduction of petunias by cuttings in spring
You can save the petunia mother plant until spring in another way. In the fall, when it is already significantly colder outside, the adult plant is cut by a third and transferred to a cool and always bright room, where the air temperature does not exceed + 10-12 degrees.
Lack of lighting and excessively high temperatures will provoke unwanted sprouting. Cuttings cut from them do not take root and often rot. In the presence of artificial lighting, cuttings can be carried out as early as November.
These petunias bloom very early in March-April.
But, as a rule, flower growers prefer to wait for an increase in daylight hours, and then begin to breed petunias. It is sometimes possible to cut more than 20 cuttings from a large plant that has been preserved.
For rooting cuttings, river coarse sand or perlite is perfect. You can also immediately use a nutrient substrate made up of equal parts of turf and humus. When planting, do not deepen the cuttings more than 1.5 cm.
Pots with a diameter of 7-10 cm, seedling boxes or 100 ml plastic cups with drainage holes are perfect as a planting container. During root formation, never allow the earth to dry out.
Cuttings should be sprayed with water from a spray bottle two to three times a day and shaded from direct sun. After 20-30 days, the seedlings will develop a good root system and should be transferred to a larger container.
Well-grown seedlings are transferred to open ground only after spring frosts.Saplings, planted in pots, are taken out into the street during the day, and taken away at night.
In hanging pots, ampelous petunia looks especially beautiful. How many pieces to plant in pots? With a pot volume of 5 liters, no more than 2-3 plants should be planted in it, 4 plants are planted in a 10-liter pots. A distance of 15-20 cm is made between the seedlings. The soil around the plants is mulched with sawdust or peat.
Cutting petunias at different times
Petunia can be propagated all year round. Depending on the time chosen, the rules for grafting do not change, but the growing process is different. Consider autumn and spring-summer and winter jobs.
- Cuttings in summer, spring
The most productive cuttings take place in the summer season. Events run from June to mid-August. During the summer from one bush, you can get up to 100 new plants. This helps to increase the number of seedlings and prolong the flowering period. For spring reproduction, bushes that have wintered at home in pots are used.
Long stem yields 4-6 seedlings
For summer breeding, large-flowered hybrids, cascade and ampelous forms are used. These varieties have long branches, from which many new seedlings are obtained. Terry varieties are capable of growing the desired stem length by July.
Ampel petunias reproduce well by layering. It is enough to dig / press a part of the branch to the ground, you get a rooted cutting. After 10 days, roots will appear, it remains to separate the new plant from the mother bush and transplant to a permanent place.
- Cuttings in autumn
The purpose of autumn cuttings is to preserve the plant for growing in the winter in an apartment and further propagation. The works are carried out from the end of August to September (southern regions to October). In central Russia, the best period is the first or second decade of September.
The procedure for cutting and preparing planting material does not differ from summer work. Forcing the roots is carried out in two ways: in water and in the ground.
In water
An opaque container is used (jar, glass, plastic bottle). The cut branches should not exceed 14 cm, otherwise they will not grow well. At the lower end, the leaves are removed, after which the seedlings are placed in a prepared dish with water at room temperature.
In the first 5-7 days, cover the seedlings with a plastic bag, the greenhouse effect encourages germination. It is desirable to maintain a stable temperature.
After 1.5-2 weeks, the roots will appear. It is necessary to monitor the water level and add if necessary. It is not necessary to wait 2 weeks, after 7 days it can be planted in the ground.
The method is not suitable for breeding terry varieties.
In the ground
Provided a high-quality cut, rooting in the ground is quick. The soil is used purchased or prepared independently: the soil from the garden is mixed with sand, humus / peat.
The soil is poured into any container (plastic box, cups), moistened. Rooted shoots must be treated with any growth stimulant.
The cuttings are deepened at an angle of 45 ° by 1–1.5 cm. A distance of at least 3 cm is left between the seedlings.
Forcing seedlings takes two weeks in a shaded place. In the first 3-5 days, the seedlings are covered with polyethylene or plastic bottles without a bottom.
In separate containers, seedlings develop better, the roots do not intertwine with neighboring plants
The transplant takes place without trauma to the root system, the survival rate is 100%.
It is important to maintain a moderate soil moisture. Recommended temperature + 24 ... + 26 ° С
Daylight hours are not less than 16 hours, additional lighting is done in the autumn-winter period
The mother bush 2 weeks before the event, it is recommended to feed it with any complex fertilizer. When a seedling leaves 3-4 pairs of new leaves, a pinch is done. This increases bushiness.
- Cuttings for the winter
The preparation of planting material is carried out in the fall before the onset of frost. The bush chosen for reproduction is dug out of the flower garden, planted in a pot and brought into the house.Find a cool place for the migrant + 15 ... + 18 ° С.
Watering is carried out in moderation, with a frequency of 1-2 times a week. Before watering, the soil should have time to completely dry out. We extend the daylight hours with the help of additional lighting with fluorescent / diode lamps (total duration not less than 12 hours).
At the beginning of January, complex fertilizing with nitrogen content is introduced. We increase the time of artificial illumination up to 16 hours, temperature up to +25 ° С. After a month, young stems will grow and you can start breeding. In new bushes, the first buds will appear 2 months after planting. Flowering usually begins before transplanting to a permanent location.
Advantages of winter cuttings:
- early bud formation;
- rapid growth after transplanting into open ground;
- duration and abundance of flowering.
For rooted seedlings, the lightest, but coolest place in the apartment is chosen. Usually the southern, southeastern side is used - this is a window sill or a glazed loggia. To maintain moisture, a container with water is placed next to the seedlings.
All the subtleties of cutting petunias
Cuttings bloom about 2 months after being cut. That is, having prepared them in September, already at the end of autumn you will admire the bush teeming with flowers. And having cut the branches in March, by the end of May you will get beauty, which can already be adequately planted in the ground.
When and from which bush are cuttings cut?
Don't wait for the petunia to fade: take cuttings from flowering bushes, choosing healthy, strong "individuals".
This should be done in August - September.
And a couple of days before cutting, water the bushes with energy drinks and other "vitamins" that will make the plant stronger.
What does a perfect cutting look like?
- About 7 cm long (twigs that are too long do not take root well).
- With 2-4 pairs of leaves.
- Cut at an oblique angle, and not on the knot, but under it (the knot is the place where the leaf meets the stem or the place where the bud is on the stem). By the way, the stem cutting can also have two cuts - in this case, make the upper cut straight, passing it over the node.
Cuttings of some home flowers (especially milkweed relatives) need to be kept on the table for a certain time, allowing them to dry out. But with petunia it is different: as soon as you cut the branches, use them immediately! If the guys wither, they are unlikely to leave in the future. So the maximum that a cutting cut from the stem will live is 2 hours.
What to root: in the ground or in the water?
Water is suitable for all petunias, except for terry varieties.
This rooting method has a number of features:
- form cuttings up to 12 cm;
- cut off the lower leaves - once they get into the water, they will rot, spoiling the whole process for you;
- also, to protect the stalk from rot, crushed activated or charcoal can be added to the water;
- use only settled (throughout the day in an open container) water;
- it is better to germinate cuttings in an opaque cup;
- if you put a greenhouse bag on top of the cup, the process will go faster;
- keep the cutting in partial shade.
You can see the roots a week later. And after 10-15 days, you can plant the petunia in your personal pot.
As for the soil, it can mean both a well-soaked peat pellet, and sand or a mixture of humus and sod land.
Your actions:
- Moisten the soil.
- Dip the tip of the cutting into Kornevin.
- Plant the twig in the ground, but no deeper than a third of its length. But if you are using Kornevin (or other similar chemistry), deepen the branch by a maximum of 1.5 cm.
- Shade the pot with the shank for 2 weeks, water, keep warm. If you want, you can create a greenhouse over the pot.
The roots will appear in 15-20 days. How to guess about their appearance? On the new leaves that will grow on the petunia.
By the way, if you have rooted a twig in late spring - early summer, then when you see young leaves, know that the bushes can already be planted in open ground.
Modern products for florists can speed up the rooting process.For example, special phytolamps. You can hear feedback on the use of such products here:
Reasons for the popularity of the cuttings method of breeding petunias
Firstly, the stalk will always convey all the charm of the mother bush variety. But seeds (if you collect them at home) - no, because few people grow only one variety at a time. The flowers blooming nearby are dusty, and it turns out that you had a lot of white, pink and purple flowers, and the next season turned out to be "gray-brown-crimson".
Secondly, it is cheap - but what is there, in general for nothing.
Thirdly, such bushes will bloom almost the next week after successful rooting. And if you cut petunia in the fall, then it will serve you as a blooming flowerpot in the house.
Well, and fourthly, cuttings are fast. Many times faster than seed germination.
Winter storage of mother bushes (mother plants)
We grow these flowers for landscaping balconies or gardens. But since the winters in our strip are harsh, the thermophilic petunia cannot survive them, turning into an annual plant. But in fact, she can live much longer.
In August (no later, so that they have time to root well), select the bushes that you would like to keep, dig them up and plant them in pots of sufficient volume (for one bush you need 5-8 liters of soil). Yes, they will actively bloom at this time, but this is not scary. You can keep the pot in the garden or on the balcony for now.
In the fall, transfer the pot to the house, cut off the petunia (not drastically - just otchik all unnecessary from the point of view of the compactness of the flowerpot).
In winter, the bush needs the following conditions:
- moderate warmth (15 to 11 degrees);
- moderate lighting (the colder it is in the room, the farther the pot can stand from the window or lamp);
- rare watering (but so that the land is not dry);
- 0.5 dose of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer (one top dressing per month), and from the end of January - nutrition with nitrogen;
- at the end of winter, you can illuminate the plant using electrical devices - this will help the flower wake up and grow shoots.
How to root petunias directly into the soil
The stem should have two internodes and four healthy leaves. The lower leaves are removed. No more than 1/3 of the shoot length should be immersed in the soil.
For better germination, 1-1.5 cm of the lower part of the stem is treated with Kornevin. A glass prepared for seedlings should have a drainage layer and drainage holes.
Attention! The larger the pot, the more active and larger the seedling bush will be. The soil should be loose, nutritious and not retaining moisture
The composition of the soil for petunia is two parts of sod land, one part of sand and peat. To maintain the correct level of soil moisture, vermiculite is added to the mixture. For looseness and additional breathing of the roots, perlite is added to the soil
The soil should be loose, nutritious and not retaining moisture. The composition of the soil for petunia is two parts of sod land, one part of sand and peat. To maintain the correct level of soil moisture, vermiculite is added to the mixture. For looseness and additional respiration of the roots, perlite is added to the soil.
After placing the cuttings in the soil, cover the pot with plastic or glassware. The greenhouse effect creates an optimal moisture level for early rooting.
The shoot pot should be in partial shade, at a temperature not lower than 20 ° C.
Every day, the soil needs to be moistened by spraying, and the shoot should be ventilated in the open air.
Cuttings planted in the soil
Rooting of healthy petunia cuttings occurs after 7-9 days.
With the onset of active growth, the first pinching is done to awaken the lateral buds.
It's important to know! The petunia stalk, after two hours after cutting, loses its ability to reproduce. Immerse the cuttings in water or soil immediately after pruning.
Storing cut shoots will result in unsuccessful vegetation.
Seedlings can eventually be transferred into a larger pot, if you wait a long time before planting in open ground or pots
Reproduction of petunia by cuttings - rules and tips
When it comes to breeding petunias, many people choose to buy a bag of seeds and grow seedlings, not even suspecting that there is an easier and much less costly way to do this.
Benefits of propagating petunias by cuttings:
- The ability to save your favorite variety;
- Minimum cash costs for the purchase of seeds and seedlings;
- The obvious simplicity of the method.
In cases where very few plants of a rare species have grown from seeds, they can be propagated by cuttings.
Petunia propagated by cuttings blooms several weeks faster than grown from seed and has a better developed root system.
Summer cuttings
By creating petunia summer conditions in the middle of winter, you can save your favorite flower. Just with the arrival of autumn, you need to transplant it from the soil into a flower pot and bring it indoors. It is still better not to carry the "old" plant into the house, it is much more correct to pre-cut it in July or early August.
How to propagate petunia by cuttings correctly?
From the cuttings cut off from the specimen you like, you need to cut off the flowers and lower leaves, plant it in a flower pot or other container and put it in partial shade for a couple of weeks. The stalk should be approximately 8-10 cm long, with two internodes.
Before planting, its tip can be slightly "powdered" with root. Although some growers are of the opinion that its use is not advisable, and can even harm the plant.
Types of cuttings:
- From the main seedlings;
- From last year's plant from a flower bed;
- Cuttings in water.
Petunia takes root very easily, the main thing is to maintain a sufficient level of moisture. Since with an excess of it, rotting will begin, and with a deficiency, the plant will not grow.
Winter cuttings
When the plants turn into full-fledged bushes, and enough greenery appears, you can start grafting. We carry it out according to the same principle as in the summer. In the prepared soil, the plant is placed on a third of the length of the cutting. When treated with growth stimulants, the deepening is made no more than 1.5 cm.
For 2 weeks, we keep the seedlings under a mini greenhouse, which can be used as empty plastic bottles or glass jars. The greenhouse should be ventilated daily to prevent mold. The soil should always be moist, so daily spraying with a spray bottle is also recommended.
Reproduction of petunias by cuttings in the same way is done from seedlings. The main seedlings after cutting the cuttings will bush and develop even faster, do not be afraid that you will damage it.
Optimal time and conditions for grafting
Theoretically, you can propagate petunia by cuttings all year round. Based on the fact that after cutting the cuttings, it will take about 2 months until the flowering time, the petunia propagated in this way in March will bloom in early May.
The larger the container in which you plant the plant, the more luxurious the bush will be, and in the case of ampel petunia, the longer the lash. However, if it is necessary to grow a large number of seedlings, plastic cups filled with universal flower soil are most often used. A hole is made in the bottom of the glass, and drainage is placed on the bottom.
The mother bush must be periodically fed with complex fertilizers. As new growth is formed, cuttings are cut from it again. During rooting, petunia does not need feeding. In the future, you can alternate organic and mineral fertilizers.
To improve bushiness, when the first 6-8 leaves appear in the plant, a pinch is done, which is then repeated after a couple of weeks.
Reproduction of petunias by cuttings in water
Features of reproduction of petunias in water:
- Choose opaque dishes;
- If the water has evaporated, there is no need to change it, just add a little;
- To create a greenhouse effect, you can cover the container with a transparent cap;
- Terry varieties root better in the soil.
After a week, the stalk will start up roots and can be planted in the soil.
If only half of the specimens emerge from the planted seeds, then with cuttings, with rare exceptions, almost all are accepted. Provide the seedlings with proper care, and the reproduction of the petunia will certainly be successful.
