Petunia is a popular herb that is purchased by flower lovers to decorate a veranda, balcony, or loggia. But not everyone knows that you can save money and collect the seeds of this perennial on your own. The collected planting material will be useful for planting flowers next year. The main thing is to know when to collect petunia seeds and how.
Spring is the beginning of the petunias flowering period. They delight with their palette of colors throughout the summer. The decorative qualities of these flowers have long been appreciated by many flower growers and simply nature lovers, summer residents. They try to use plants to create coziness in their area, to decorate and create a festive mood. Taking care of petunias is not difficult.
In order for the bright different shades of flowers to smell fragrant every year on your site, it is necessary to collect petunia seeds annually. And everyone can grow new plants from seeds. To do this, at a certain time (after the end of the flowering of petunias), it is necessary to collect the seedlings, and plant them in the ground in early spring.
In the petunia family, there are a large number of different species and varieties. They are all united by the funnel-shaped flower shape. The palette of colors and various shades pleasantly surprises and delights - white, pink, red, turquoise, blue, violet and blue flowers. There are also various forms of petunias - double and semi-double.
All about petunia seedlings
Appearance
This herbaceous culture has very small seedlings. One seed is about half a millimeter in diameter. The seeds are light brown or dark brown in color and are formed in small capsules - fruits, each of which contains about one hundred seedlings. A fairly large amount of planting material can be collected from several petunias for the next season. And if we consider that in specialized flower shops, petunia seeds are sold individually, then there is a real incentive for self-collecting seed material.
Collection time
Ripening of seeds of petunias continues for eighty - ninety days after the beginning of active flowering of these herbaceous crops. As soon as the seed pods begin to take on a yellow or light brown hue, you can start collecting them. Bolls suitable for collecting seeds - the fruits are located in the lower part of the plant stem. They ripen and wither before everyone else. To make it easier to find such buds, you need to make some notes when the petunias are just starting to bloom.
The process of obtaining and collecting seedlings
If you expect the full ripening of the buds - the fruits on the flowers, then the flowering period of petunias will be much shorter. Experienced flower growers recommend that the previously marked buds with seed bolls be torn off the stems, and then new buds will continue to form on the culture, flowering will continue until the end of summer.Next, you need to remove the boxes from the buds and, if the seeds are not yet ripe, put them in a well-lit place, first placing them in a bag of thin transparent fabric or a tea bag. This is necessary so that after full ripening the seedlings do not fall out of the bolls. The seeds will remain intact and safe, being in such a protective "container".
Drying of seed material after opening the bolls should continue for at least two more days in a warm place. Seeds that are carefully dried can retain their quality characteristics until the next season. It is recommended to store them in small paper bags in a dry place at room temperature. You need to pack the seeds by varieties and immediately sign the packages, so that it is convenient to plant them later.
Petunia is a flower crop with high seed germination. Under proper storage conditions, planting material can retain its properties for 3-4 years.
Note to flower growers!
When growing petunias, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of individual species and varieties. Most of them do not require complex care and are easily propagated by seeds, but the double-shaped flowers are special. For their propagation, it is recommended to use the cuttings method. This will save you from unexpected results and surprises that are possible with seed reproduction.
Spring planting of seedlings
Petunia seeds for growing seedlings are sown at home in late March - early April. You can sow seeds directly into open ground, but they do it much later (around the end of May), when the soil warms up well and warm weather sets in.
A drainage layer must be poured into the planting containers, and then light and loose soil. Seeds are sown evenly over the soil surface, pressing slightly, and then sprinkled with a two-millimeter layer of soil. The soil should be slightly moist all the time. The boxes must be covered with glass or foil to create a greenhouse environment. The temperature of the content is from 20 to 25 degrees Celsius.
Young seedlings require long-term bright lighting. From time to time (about 1 time per day), the landing boxes need to be turned to the light source from different sides. In case of a lack of light, artificial supplementary lighting is recommended.
Watering is carried out moderately, waterlogging of the soil should not be allowed. Various dressings and fertilizers have a beneficial effect on petunias. Transplanting seedlings to open beds is carried out at the end of May.
Thank you very much for the practical advice. Everything is on the case and understandable! I wonder what grew out of the seeds of the hybrid? Thank.