How to grow and care for Petunia (How to care for Petunia)

Petunia, also known as petunia, belongs to the Solanaceae family, the genus Petunia, and is a perennial herb. It can be placed on the table, tea table, tea ground, and can be hung in the corner or on a high shelf, or hung in a conspicuous place or on the balcony.

Is Petunia easy to grow?

Petunia is easy to cultivate and manage . It does not require much water, fertilizer, and soil. It has a long flowering period, a large number of flowers at a time, and bright colors. It is an excellent ornamental plant. Petunia can be considered a beautiful and easy-to-grow variety.

How to grow petunia

1. Soil

Petunia is afraid of waterlogging, so the flower pot you choose should have drainage holes at the bottom . In addition, the soil should also have good drainage , and it should be loose and fertile . The soil can be a mixture of ordinary humus soil and sandy soil. It is also okay to increase the proportion of sandy soil appropriately.

2. Lighting

When choosing a potted petunia, be careful to place it in the best light place at home . It likes light very much. If there is insufficient light, it is likely to grow branches without flowers, and even the leaves will grow in a mess. Sufficient light every day is necessary, at least 6 hours a day is best.

3. Temperature

Petunia has a strong adaptability to temperature. The reason why its flowering period is so long is that it is suitable for growth at temperatures of 10~20℃ . It can survive well in high temperatures below 35℃ in summer, and will even stop growing at temperatures below 4℃.

4. Moisture

The amount of watering for petunia should be strictly controlled. In the high temperature of summer, the water evaporates too quickly, so the frequency of watering should be increased. Generally, except in winter, the frequency of watering for petunia is relatively high. If the surface of the pot soil is dry, you can water it and keep the soil slightly moist.

5. Fertilization

Although petunia is tolerant to poor soil quality, it prefers fertilizer. During the growing season , it only needs to be fertilized with thin fertilizer once every half a month or so . Phosphorus fertilizer or other organic fertilizers can be applied.

At the same time, in order to increase the number of flowers and make the colors brighter, you can spray some diluted potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution on the leaves using a spray bottle. When the petunia enters the flowering period, you need to switch to compound fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Petunia maintenance precautions

When caring for petunias, you must pay attention to timely pruning . If you want its branches to grow vigorous and long, you can tie some small thin poles to help them grow around. Generally, potted petunias will not grow branches that are too long, and simple pruning with gardening shears is sufficient.

The top of the plant needs to be pinched 2 to 3 times in total, mainly to weaken the branches at the top, keep the plant low, and prevent the petunia from climbing and growing. This will result in more branches and more flowers.