How to pinch petunia seedlings?

Growing petunias has become very popular. Many factors contribute to this. Firstly, varieties and hybrids of exceptional beauty and a variety of shapes, shades and types appeared on the market. Secondly, it is quite simple to grow this flower, for this you do not need to be an inveterate grower: with regular care, it pleases the eye with bright colors until the very frost. And, thirdly, if an annual plant is brought into a warm room, it can easily become a perennial and give cuttings for vegetative propagation in the spring. This is how all the features of hybrid forms are transmitted when it is impossible to find the seeds of the variety you like.

A little about the amazing transformation

The familiar petunia is no longer the same shy girl with monotonous small flowers that we knew a couple of decades ago. During this time, breeders have bred a huge number of varieties and hybrids of the most fantastic colors, besides exuding an amazing aroma. An ampelous variety of petunia, unknown to us before, appeared, varieties with huge double flowers.

In its homeland, Montevideo, this decorative perennial grows and blooms almost all year round. In our conditions, this riot of colors is interrupted by the first frosts. Petunia does not always survive until autumn in such a well-groomed condition, as in the illustrations in landscape design publications, where it looks like a ball, which seems to consist of only flowers. However, to form it in this way is within the power of every amateur florist.

Why do you need to form a bush

In order for the petunia to bloom as early as possible, her grown through seedlings... Until flowering, the seedlings will have to live in the room for 2-3 months. Conditions do not always allow creating the necessary microclimate for tender sprouts, finding enough space and light sources. Saplings stretch out, become fragile, lean to one side, and their decorative qualities suffer from this.

Pinching, or pinching, is one of the common techniques in floriculture. It is used to stimulate the growth of side shoots and make the bush more leafy and compact. Pinching is used not only by flower growers, but also by gardeners and gardeners. For example, if you pinch the central shoot on cucumbers, then the most productive side lashes will grow. And pinching stepsons on a tomato will help him not to waste energy, but to use it for the formation of fruits.

How and when to pinch?

Pinching petunias should be done twice - at the seedling stage and after planting in open ground. If the second pinching with a lack of time can be neglected, then pinching at the seedling stage is mandatory. It is carried out when a young seedling has 5-6 leaves, a little less, but not more than this amount.

The algorithm is quite simple.

1. With a miniature pruner, scissors or just your fingers, you need to pinch the stem of a young plant over the 5-6th leaf.
2. In order for the seedling to recover faster after this procedure, you can water or sprinkle it with a growth stimulant such as "Epin" or "Zircon".
3. A month later, when new lateral shoots begin to grow, pinching should be done again. Now it is carried out not only on the central stem, but also on the lateral shoots, which after this procedure will sprout of the third order.
4. After repeated pinching, foliar and root top dressing is carried out with full mineral fertilizer and a growth stimulator.
5. It is desirable to pinch ampel varieties every 3-4 weeks.

Advice

All instruments for this operation must be, if not sterile, then at least sharp and clean. When growing an annual in greenhouses, the formation of a bush is carried out after the cut seedlings have taken root completely.

What to do with cuttings?

If the size of the branches separated from the mother plant is large enough, they should be used to propagate the plant you like. To do this, cuttings must have at least 5-6 leaves and a fairly strong stem. It is advisable to use the planting material for propagation after repeated cuttings, when the bush becomes stronger and its stems are larger. They will quickly take root in a container of water, in which, for greater success, you need to dissolve a little root growth stimulant.

Advice

Remember to cut off the bottom leaves that come into contact with the water to keep the plant from rotting. Only a few upper leaves remain on the handle.

When young roots are formed, you can carefully plant the petunia in a container with light fertile soil. If you grafted seedlings of a hybrid, a new specimen grown from a graft will fully retain the characteristics and appearance of the original, which is impossible when propagating from self-collected seeds.

How to make your petunia look like a picture from a magazine?

To form a plant with a high decorative effect, one pinching is not enough. If you do not care for an adult annual, then no matter what opportunities the breeders have laid in him, he will not show what he is capable of.

It is worth remembering the main points of skilled care.

1. Regular root and foliar feeding with trace elements and minerals to build up the vegetative mass.
2. Careful selection of nutrient soil for pots and balcony boxes - it should be light and fertile.
3. The introduction of iron into the fertilizer mixture for the prevention of chlorosis.
4. Regular plentiful watering (up to 6 liters of water per balcony box).
5. Removing dead buds to stimulate lush flowering.
6. Aphid treatment with a strong jet of water or pesticides, although pests do not settle on healthy, well-groomed plants.
7. Treatment with sulfur preparations in rainy weather for the prevention of powdery mildew disease.

With the correct pinching and following the rules of care, you will admire the long flowering of the amazingly beautiful plant for a long time.