Petunia is one of the most common garden flowers. It can be seen on flowerbeds in the city center, and at gardeners in the country, and even on balconies and terraces of houses.
Its popularity is due to the fact that it is not whimsical in care, but it is distinguished by a great variety and brightness of colors. Petunia is believed to be an annual, not a perennial, and every spring has to be planted again. But it is not so.
Is it a perennial flower or not?
The fact is that this flower comes from hot Brazil and is not adapted to frost. Therefore, in the open field, petunia can not winter. But there are ways to extend the life of this beauty.
In which cases it is one-year?
Since the popularity of the flower has spread throughout the world, even more than a century ago, breeders developed a variety of annual petunias using wild species:
- axillary petunias;
- purple petunias.
This hybrid is grown in cold countries. Therefore, in our country, the petunia bloom ends with the first cold and every spring you have to re-grow petunia from seeds or seedlings.
When does a flower grow more than one year?
As practice has shown even those plants that are considered annual can grow more than one year. Of course, leaving petunia in a flower bed in the winter, next year you will not be able to see it again.
But if you transplant it for the winter in a pot and bring it into the house, then it is quite possible that she will be able to spend the winter. Not all petunias are suitable for perennial cultivation, but only those whose seedlings developed naturally without accelerated forcing, and the sowing of seeds was in the month of April, as it was laid by nature.
How to help the plant to winter?
If the petunia was planted according to the rules listed above, then saving the flower until next year is not difficult.
- In autumn it is necessary to dig a bush with the ground and transplant it in a pot.
- Pots of flowers are placed in a bright and not cold room until the end of winter. Such rooms can be warm verandas and loggias or the entrance of an apartment building.
- The main conditions for petunia to be able to spend the winter are:
- temperature range 10-15 degrees;
- watering up to three times a month;
- good lighting;
- high humidity.
- In the spring, petunia bushes are transplanted into open ground, or propagated by cuttings and growing a young plant.
It is believed that young petunia blooms better than the second year.
Care rules
- Petunia is a drought-resistant plant, but in the hot summer time it still needs watering.
- After watering the next day, it is necessary to loosen the soil and remove weeds.
- Also, the plant requires additional feeding. They need to be done regularly, starting a week after planting and before the beginning of autumn, with an interval of 7-10 days. The most preferred fertilizer with potassium.
- If you grow a flower in containers or balcony boxes, you must carefully choose the soil. It must be from:
- peat;
- humus;
- leafy ground;
- sod land;
- sand.
- It is necessary to plant petunias in windless places, and during a rain cover with a film or bring there where it does not get.
We offer to watch a video on how to properly care for petunia:
Petunia is a beautiful perennial flower, which, if properly maintained, can become a perennial even in the conditions of our country. To bright flowers pleased you annually do not forget to properly care, both in summer and in winter.
