Petunias are treated with great respect for its beauty and unpretentiousness. Therefore, an exotic beauty flooded gardens and flower beds, and most importantly - the hearts of breeders. Every gardener knows how petunia propagates - seeds, seedlings, cuttings. But how to propagate petunia quickly and with the greatest probability of rooting? Breeders boldly answer - by cuttings.
Cutting petunias: benefits
Why is this method chosen when breeding petunias in the first place:
- the root system of such seedlings develops more rapidly;
- seedlings take root better during transplantation and are more resistant to open ground conditions;
- in comparison with petunias obtained from seeds, cuttle beauties bloom two weeks earlier;
- economically, in comparison with the purchase of seedlings or seeds;
Petunia is capable of vegetative propagation throughout the year
- quickly - the time interval from the first cut to the flowering of a new young bush is two months;
- even a beginner grower can handle the cuttings;
- This procedure does not require the use of special equipment or equipment.
Propagation of petunias by cuttings allows preserving the properties of hybrid varieties
Stepwise cuttings in water
Shoots for the cut you need to choose healthy, strong. The slice must be done obliquely in one motion. If the shoot is not apical, then the lower cut should be oblique, and the upper one should be flat.
Interesting fact! It is better to take root lateral shoots, rather than apical ones.
The length of the cut shoot must be at least 4 cm and have at least two nodules. The lower leaves must be removed, the upper can be cut in half.
Young petunia
- Cut shoots are put into the water to let the roots out. Dishes should be opaque, preferably metal or plastic. Water is needed previously defended (at least a day).
- Kornevin is added to the water, which accelerates the process of root formation.
- In order to disinfect the process, one tablet of activated charcoal should be diluted in water.
- When the liquid evaporates, it is not necessary to replace it, just add it.
- The optimum temperature for cuttings in water is not lower than 20 degrees.
The first roots appear after 7 days.
Shoots ready for rooting
When the first roots appear, the shoot is ready for rooting in loose and nutritious soil (two parts of sod land and one part of peat and sand). Rooting is fast.
After 2-3 weeks in the soil, seedlings need to be tempered for several days in the place of its future growth. After hardening, seedlings are ready for planting in open ground or a cache-pot.
It's important to know! Petunia seedlings need to be protected from direct sunlight.
How to root petunias directly into the soil
The stalk should have two internodes and four healthy leaves. Lower leaflets 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 cup prepared for seedlings should have a drainage layer and holes for drainage.
Attention! The larger the size of the pot, the more active and more will be a bush of seedlings.
The soil should be loose, nutritious and not retaining moisture. The composition of the soil for petunia is two parts of turf 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, the pot is covered with plastic or glass dishes. The greenhouse effect creates an optimum level of humidity for rooting as soon as possible.
A pot with a shoot should stand in partial shade, at a temperature of at least 20 ° C.
Every day the soil needs to be moistened by spraying, and the shoot should be aired outdoors.
Cuttings planted in the soil
The 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 kidneys.
It's important to know! The cuttings of petunia after two hours after the cut lose their ability to reproduce. Immerse the cuttings in water or soil immediately after trimming. Storage of cut shoots will end in unsuccessful vegetation.
Over time, seedlings can be transferred to a larger pot, if you wait a long time before planting in open ground or a cache-pot
Spring cuttings
In the summer, when you need to decorate the garden or the veranda with flowering pots, you can easily propagate one bush of petunia to several tens of bushes.
In this case, the mother plant will not be affected. This should be done during the next pinching of the petunia, before flowering, or during pruning in order to adjust the shape of the bush.
It's important to know! In spring, cuttings of petunias are carried out in order to increase the number of bushes for the current summer season. Therefore, it is necessary to propagate in the spring, taking into account that from the moment of cut to the first flower, about two months pass.
Summer cuttings
Cuttings of petunias in the summer allows you to collect healthy and strength-filled planting material. It is possible to propagate petunia by cuttings in the summer, as if extending the life of its flowering garden, during the entire flowering period.
When cutting flowering shoots, the peduncle is removed
With the help of summer cuttings, you can enjoy your favorite variety every year, extending its life through new cuttings. The most optimal period of cuttings for the extension of the genus of a particular variety is the middle or end of August.
In late August, petunia loses its decorative effect, so you should choose the healthiest bush, or the healthiest shoots on it. Rooting is carried out, as in the spring cuttings. Thus, a uterine plant is obtained, which will give new cuttings in the winter for spring seedlings.
How to keep a mother plant
After rooting the summer cuttings, stronger seedlings are transplanted into not too large pots. On an ongoing basis, young shoots should be fertilized with potash and phosphorus fertilizer. These fertilizers enable the flower to accumulate nutrients for the upcoming dormancy period.
You can leave the summer plant for wintering. The bush is dug up, or transferred from a cache-pot into a smaller pot.
The optimum temperature for wintering petunias is 16 degrees. The lower the temperature, the less light a flower requires. Watering is reduced, but without overdrying the earthen lump of the plant. Until the end of November, during the dormant period, the flower does not need to be disturbed by spraying, fertilizing and other procedures. Cool air, moderate lighting and sparse watering are all he needs.
Important! It is necessary to cut off all the old shoots so that the bush does not waste energy on them.
From the end of November, the period of plant awakening begins. Only additional lighting with fluorescent lamps is added to the conditions of detention. The temperature remains the same. If you put the petunias in the heat now, it will actively grow. Only the stems will be elongated like strings and pale. Collected cuttings from such a plant will be painful and die quickly.
The beginning of January is the awakening of petunias. Daylight hours should be at least 16 hours. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers should be applied once every two weeks to actively build up the root system and greenery.
Winter cuttings
A month after waking up, the bush will overgrow with many shoots ready for cuttings. The period for sections of young shoots from the uterine bush is February-May. Cuttings are best rooted immediately in the prepared soil. Small cut stems can be rooted in peat tablets moistened in advance.
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 gun.
When the stalk begins its active growth, it will be ready for pinching to create greater bushiness of the petunia. You need to pinch healthy, strong shoots that have begun to actively grow up. After pinching, at least 6 leaves should remain on the seedlings. A pinch-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 advent of spring, it will restore its rich color
It's important to know! Terry varieties of petunias better take root immediately in the ground.
Basic rules for the propagation of petunias by cuttings
To get high-quality planting material, you need to take care of the healthy growth of the uterine plant long before the cuttings. Provide it with all the necessary conditions for active growth and flowering, as well as regularly feed with organic and minerals.
The right cuttings to cut is half the success. If it is painful, too thin, or too short - it may take root, but a successful bush is unlikely to grow out of it.
Cut off the shoot with a processed tool and in one cut. During the cut, it is important to remember that the mother plant should receive the minimum amount of damage. You need to act carefully.
Healthy seedlings ready for planting in open ground
The correct size of the pot will ensure an active build-up of the root system of the petunia, which means a supply of strength and nutrition for the period of active growth and adaptation after transplantation. Too small a pot for petunia can cause stunting and lack of flowering.
It's important to know! Correctly selected soil composition ensures excellent root growth and respiration, additional seedling replenishment, and the absence of stagnation of excess fluid. Do not use the soil for cuttings twice.
Good care of home seedlings ensures the growth of a beautiful and healthy bush. Humidity is created in the first weeks of rooting with a greenhouse. Moisturizing the soil by spraying should be carried out daily, but in moderation. The optimum temperature for seedlings is from 16 to 24 degrees. Lighting - partial shade. In winter, you need to provide seedlings with a 10-hour light day.
Scheme
To create a beautiful bush, it is important to pinch the upper processes on time.
Growing and vegetation of ampelous petunia
Ampelic petunia is very sensitive to transplantation. Her seedlings should be immediately planted in a pot, and then placed in a pot. In late autumn, with the onset of stable cold weather, all shoots that can be used for grafting at once are cut off on the flower. And you can winter the uterine plant and cut it in the spring.
Is it possible to cut petunia at home? Of course yes! This is the easiest and fastest way to grow a large number of seedlings of your favorite varieties. The vegetative method of propagation allows the propagation of modern hybrid varieties with a full range of their decorative qualities.
