How to Grow Gorgeous Petunias to Last the Summer
If you don't feel you have a green thumb and believe every type of flower you grow ends up dying, then you should try growing petunias, as they're one of easiest to take care of and hardy flowers, while at the same time being extremely beautiful to look at.
Petunias are especially great to work with because they're very low maintenence, and have brilliant colors to light up your house and property.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
-
-
1
If you're the type that likes to do a little more work and get satisfaction from growing flowers from seeds, you could start your seeds indoors about two months before transplanting time comes.
You have to check your own region to determine the best time that will be.
All you have to do is take the little seeds and sprinkle them over the soil surface. In may greenhouse business I've taken a salt shaker and simply put the seed in there and used that to sprinkle. It works great!
After doing that, just softly press them into the soil, but not under the soil.
The optimum temperature to keep them at is between 70 to 75 degrees F.
-
2
If you would rather just buy the small plants to transplant, it doesn't matter, the same steps apply once they're ready to put in the ground.
Petunias prefer sunlight, if you're planting directly in the ground, make sure the plants will receive at least 6 hours of sunlight. More is preferred, but they can survive with 6.
The same with potted petunias, simply place them in strategic position which includes a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight.
One of the few things that can harm a petunia is too much water, make sure there is good drainage when planting outside.
-
3
Another consideration before putting you plants in the soil, is when planting in the ground, space the plants from a foot to 18 inches apart.
When planting in containers, put between 1 to 3 plants in the middle of a container with a diameter of 10 inches.
Both of these placements can depend on how you plan on taking care of the flowers and the variety you buy.
Some spread out more than others, so you can take that into account when planning your plantings.
-
4
While petunias can look great with little or even no care, deadheading can definitely help your plant look far better.
Deadheading is the removing of dead or wilting flowers in order to make the plant look much better and to help the plant flower even more abundantly.
You can either snip them off with a pruning shear or simply snip them off with your fingers.
-
5
Another form of deadheading is to do the entire plant at once. This will temporarily remove the flowers of course, but not only do you receive back tons more flowers, but the plant bushes out much fuller and is even more beautiful to look at.
Some people are afraid to do this because they think they may be killing the plant. Just don't do it too far down, and have a practice petunia set aside to work with until you get it down.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Petunias need lots of sun, whether in the ground or containers
Place in good draining area
Deadhead for better looking plants
Too much water can kill the plant
