Petunias: reproduction by cuttings (photo)

Breeders brought out a lot of varieties of petunia, a considerable number of them - perennial. This plant is characterized by a love of warmth and light. Bushes compact and densely branched. The flower is large, broad-browed, tubular, with a bend, it can be of different colors. Petunia blooms profusely and long, it is indispensable for flower beds, balconies, mixborders.

Methods of reproduction of petunia

There are two main ways of breeding petunia: propagation by cuttings and growing from seeds. Plants, obtained from cuttings, turn into full flowering bushes faster than those grown from seeds.

More and more popularity was acquired by terry and large-flowered hybrids, as well as ampelian petunia. Of these varieties, it is almost impossible to harvest seeds, but even if this happens, it is unlikely to grow anything. Do you want to save the petunias you like? Reproduction by cuttings is the most appropriate method.

It has a number of advantages:

• 100% preservation of variety and color;
• A minimum of expenses in contrast to the purchase of seeds or seedlings;
• Simple and labor-intensive process;
• A plant propagated by a similar method blooms much faster and has a more developed root system.

How to make vegetative cuttings petunia correctly

Petunias are fairly easy to take root. From the mother plant it is necessary to cut off the process with two interstices. It is best to cuttings suitable shoots from 8 to 9 centimeters, which have 3-4 pairs of leaves. Make the lower cut oblique, just below the knot, and the top - straight, above the knot by a half centimeter. After stopping the growth of shoots, it is possible to cut off the apical cuttings, this promotes their rooting in the future. On the sprout you need to cut off all the flowers and buds.

The next step is to priporoshit "Kornevin" tip cuttings. Put the procession in a container and put it in a dark place. Petunias are best taken in pearl or coarse-grained sand, and a mixture of humus and turf is also well suited. Do not deepen seedlings more than one and a half centimeters into the ground. The plant will release new rootlets within two or three weeks after planting.

Care for seedlings in the cold season

At cooling, the seedlings must be brought into a warm room. For wintering, the plant needs a sufficient amount of light and compliance with the temperature regime from 14 to 16 degrees. Starting from mid-November, it is better to install additional artificial lighting for seedlings. The lamp should work about 14 hours a day. Irrigation recommended moderate.

Quite light-loving plants are petunias. Reproduction by cuttings in January will require an artificial lighting time of up to 16 hours. With insufficient amount of light, the plant exerts maximum efforts to develop the foliage component, but the root does not grow. Accordingly, the cuttings obtained from such petunia will be difficult to adapt and accept. It is also necessary to gradually introduce fertilizers, alternate potassium and nitrogen-containing fertilizing. This will significantly increase growth.

When the plants are sufficiently grown, they can also be used as uterine ones and get new cuttings from them. It is necessary to conduct the procedure in the same way, only young seedlings should be immediately placed under artificial lighting. It is necessary to take into account the season and the lack of sunlight. The distance from the seedlings to the lamp should not be more than 15-20 centimeters, the duration of the illumination is up to 16 hours per day.

How to create a greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect can be provided with a glass jar, it needs to cover the plant for two weeks. But it is necessary to spend several times airing, since under such a cap can get mold. Plants will develop perfectly if they are sprayed daily from a spray gun. So you provide both the necessary air circulation, and food.

With vegetative cuttings in the autumn-winter period, the plant will be pleased with its flowering already in the middle of spring.

The most appropriate time and conditions for vegetative propagation

Theoretically, there is no time limit for plant breeding, it can be done throughout the year. Begin the reproduction of petunia cuttings in spring in early March. The planting of the plant during this period will allow to admire the flowering of petunia already in May. It must be remembered that the period from the beginning of cuttings to flowering is 2 months.

Necessarily need to feed fertilizers with the mother's bush of petunia. Reproduction by cuttings under such conditions will be even faster, and the number of sprouts obtained will be much larger. Choose a large dish for cuttings, then the sprouted bushes will turn out to be more magnificent, and in the case of ampelian petunia - longer whips. At the bottom of the tank it is best to make a hole and drain it with drainage.

At the time of rooting, petunia does not need additional feeding.

Reproduction by cuttings in water

One way of breeding is to multiply petunia with cuttings in water. It is necessary to prepare the apical cuttings, their length should be from 10 to 12 centimeters. Remove the bottom leaves so they do not rot in the water. You can leave 3-4 leaves at the top. After that, they must be immediately immersed in water, as the longer they remain without food, the less likely is the rooting. The first roots will appear in a week, after which the plant can be safely planted in the ground.

Reproduction of petunia by cuttings: basic rules

• The container in which the plant will be located must be opaque.
• When water evaporates, it is necessary to add a new one, but do not completely change it.
• To create a greenhouse effect, cover the dishes with a plastic bag.
• Terry hybrids are better to take root in the ground than in water.

Useful advice from professional gardeners

1. Most gardeners still hold the view that the breeding of petunia by cuttings in spring is the most rational. In such conditions, the temperature is kept lighter, and artificial lighting can not be installed, which means that, in general, seedlings will require less time for care. Also, by the summer, new shrubs will please with their varied flowering.
2. Do not be afraid to damage the young seedlings with cuttings, after that it will grow and develop only better and faster, especially if you properly fertilize it.
3. If the uterine bush grows in the open ground, then the deadline, when it can be transplanted into an artificial container, is the middle of August. If you postpone this procedure until September, then there is a high probability that petunia will not take root.
4. One of the most capricious varieties is petunia ampel. Reproduction by cuttings is much easier if the uterine shrubs are initially planted in separate pots, and not in the open ground, and with the onset of the first colds are brought into the room.
5. Cuttings cut at the end of July - beginning of August, easily tolerate wintering in apartment conditions.
6. It is better to take root not the apical shoots, but laterals.
7. In order to make it easier for plants to survive in winter, they should be cut in autumn. Thus, you will reduce the area of the deciduous component, and the plant will spend its energy to maintain the root system.
8. The lower the temperature in the room where petunias hibernate, the less light they need.
9. In winter, the seedlings can be flaccid and pale, you do not need to fear it and additionally fertilize the plant, in the spring everything is normalized by itself.
10. You can not use two times in a row the same mixture for vegetative propagation.
11. The substrate must be disinfected, for example, with a fungicide.

An excellent way to grow this plant on its plot is the reproduction of petunias by cuttings. The photos above will allow you to appreciate the beauty of this flower.