Description of varieties and features of growing terry petunia

Petunia is one of the most popular plants in landscape design. It is valued for its unpretentiousness, low maintenance requirements, ease of reproduction, and long flowering time. Low-growing bushes delight with abundant flowering from mid-spring until frost. If desired, the flower can be saved for next year by placing it in the apartment for the winter.

The most beautiful variety of this plant is terry petunia. It is distinguished by large inflorescences with a large number of petals arranged in several rows. The flowers come in different shades, some have unusual patterns. We will tell you further about what varieties of this type of petunia exist and how to grow them.

Description of terry petunia

Terry petunia is one of the most beautiful low-growing flowering plants. Its main advantage over other varieties of this crop is its large unusual inflorescences.

Thin and delicate petals of terry petunia have cuts and corrugated areas. They are located on the receptacle in several layers. Because of this, the buds look voluminous.

Most varieties double petunia has large flowers. The diameter of some of them exceeds 10 cm.

The color of the inflorescence varies. There are pink, dark purple, white, yellow, crimson, purple, and lilac specimens. Popular are varieties with inflorescences, the color of the petals on the edge differs from the shade in the center.

Inflorescences are formed in abundance on bushes whose height reaches 15-30 cm. The leaves are oval-round, bright green, with pointed tips on both sides.

Petunia blooms from late spring until the onset of the first frost. Despite the fact that it is considered a perennial, in our country it is often grown as an annual plant.

Note! To extend the life of petunia, it is brought indoors for the winter. In spring, the plant produces a lot Cherenkov.

Terry petunia is unpretentious in care, but has its own growing characteristics.

Popular varieties and hybrids of terry petunia

There are many varieties and hybrids of terry petunia, and there are more of them every year. They differ in the duration of flowering, the shade and size of the inflorescences, resistance to diseases, and the height of the bush.

Note! “Seeds of Altai”, “Golden Hectare” and “Gavrish” are the most famous brands producing petunia seeds.

Large-flowered Valentina F1

Terry petunia Valentina is one of the most beautiful hybrids. It produces flowers early, retains a bright shade for a long time and is resistant to negative environmental factors.

The size of each flower is from 7 to 10 cm. The flowers are voluminous, spherical, strongly corrugated, with pronounced cuts on bright red petals.

Petunia Valentina reaches a height of 30-40 cm. The bush is branched and wide.

Burgundy

Petunia Burgundy is a hybrid that is resistant to cold weather, wet and windy weather, and precipitation. Rarely gets sick and is affected by insects. It is considered an ideal option for beginners.

The flowers are large, with many double petals located close to each other. Because of this, inflorescences up to 10 cm in diameter look lush.

The flowers have a rich burgundy color known as burgundy.They form on the bush in such quantities that they almost completely cover all the leaves. Flowering continues from May to early October.

White Sonata

White terry petunia Sonata (another hybrid, and not a variety, as it is often called) will not leave any gardener indifferent. Its main feature is its ultra-early flowering. The first inflorescences appear on the bushes already in April, which is a month earlier than other varieties.

Large, densely double inflorescences reach a diameter of 12 cm. They have many corrugated and cut petals, arranged in layers one above the other.

The color is white, without foreign inclusions. The bush is densely strewn with flowers.

The maximum height of the Sonata is 35 cm. It is not afraid of cold snaps and adverse weather conditions.

Double Cascade Blue

Terry petunia Double Cascade Blue amazes with its unusual color. This is one of the most interesting hybrids.

Double Cascade Blue is a large-flowered hybrid. The diameter of each inflorescence varies between 10-13 cm. The petals are wavy, with slits. The flowers are spherical and large.

The color of the petals is dark purple. The inner side is covered with villi, which is why it acquires a bluish tint.

Despite the large-flowered bush, the bush is miniature, its height varies between 12-15 cm.

Pirouette

Pirouette is often used in landscape design. Large, lush flowers with highly corrugated petals reach a size of 15 cm and resemble balls. They form in large quantities on the bush.

The color of Pirouette petals can vary; most have a white border at the edges. The bush sometimes produces specimens of white or pink color with small inclusions of a second shade, but such cases are rare.

The bushes are low growing. Their maximum height is 15 cm.

The most interesting option from this series is considered to be the Pirouette Parple petunia - purple flowers with a white border around the edges.

Duo

Petunia Duo looks simpler than previous options. It is unpretentious and compact. Popular with novice gardeners.

The flowers are medium in size, each up to 6 cm in diameter. The shade of the petals varies. Flowers of the Duo variety are found in red, purple, pink, violet, and crimson.

For terry varieties, the bushes are tall - reaching 35 cm.

Note! There are several hybrids of Duo: Duo Rose and White, Duo Red and White, Duo Marzipan, Duo Salmon, Duo Lavender. They differ in shades.

Multiflora Tarte Bonanza

Tart Bonanza is a multi-flowered petunia with an unusual color of inflorescences. This is the brightest variety described.

It is distinguished by multi-colored inflorescences. There are flowers in purple, blue, pink, lilac and red shades. The petals of some of them have white stripes along the edges.

The size of the buds varies between 5-7 cm. The petals are corrugated, without cuts.

Features of growing terry petunias

This beautiful plant is unpretentious, so even a beginner can cope with its cultivation.

Advice! The short stature of terry petunia allows it to be used as a frame for a flower garden.

Growing seedlings and seedlings

Petunia is propagated by vegetative and generative methods. In the first case, cuttings are used, in the second, seeds.

Seeds

Not all petunias can be propagated by seeds. Some do not form seeds; they are propagated vegetatively. Even if the plant forms planting material, it is not recommended to use self-collected seeds, since they rarely retain maternal characteristics.

Seeds are bought in specialized stores. They come in granular and loose forms. The former are more convenient to sow, while the latter are cheaper and there are more of them in the package.

There is no need to disinfect or stimulate the seeds - they are prepared by the manufacturer. If there is no information about processing on the packaging, the seeds are soaked for half an hour in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Seeds are sown in a container filled with drainage and soil. Petunia is not buried, but slightly pressed into the ground. The soil is moistened from a spray bottle with a growth stimulator. Then the container with the crops is covered with film and put in a warm place until germination.

The soil is moistened as it dries from a spray bottle before the seeds germinate and under the root from a watering can with a narrow neck. The film is opened daily for ventilation, and after the emergence of shoots it is removed. Before this, the seedlings are hardened, gradually increasing the duration of ventilation.

Seedlings are planted in separate containers after two true leaves appear. It is convenient to transplant seedlings into transparent plastic cups. The second transplant is carried out when the root system fills the entire container.

Cuttings

The easiest way to propagate petunia is vegetatively. Seedlings are bought at markets and nurseries or cut independently from a bush brought indoors for the winter.

To cut plants yourself, cut off all shoots up to 10 cm long from the bush. They must be healthy and have at least 2 nodes. All leaves, except the top two, are removed from the blanks.

The cuttings are planted in moist, loose soil or sand so that they stand without support. It is convenient to use one large common container for rooting. The top of the planting is covered with film.

Note! Terry petunia does not take root well in water.

The seedlings are ventilated daily. Water at the root as the soil dries.

When the cuttings take root (after 1-2 weeks), the seedlings are transplanted into individual containers. The root collar is not buried.

Priming

Soil for generative and vegetative methods growing petunias use the same one. Buy a universal flower soil mixture or soil for seedlings.

To prepare the soil yourself, mix garden soil, humus and sand in equal proportions. Add 1 tbsp to a bucket of soil. ash.

Both purchased and homemade soil are disinfected: watered with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate.

Planting in open ground

In open ground the plant is planted at the end of April or in March, depending on the outside temperature. A week before planting in a permanent place, the plants are hardened by taking them outside and gradually increasing the time they stay there.

Before planting, the flowerbed is prepared: it is dug up and cleared of weeds. Per 1 m², add 5 kg of rotted manure, 30 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium salt.

Petunias are planted at a distance of at least 30 cm from each other. The root collar is not buried. After planting, the bushes are watered with warm water at the root.

Important! In order for petunia to develop correctly, it is formed at the stage of growing seedlings. To do this, pinch the growing point on the main stem after the formation of the third pair of leaves. This stimulates the appearance of side shoots.

Care

When growing, they are guided by the basic rules of caring for petunia.

Watering

The soil is moistened as it dries. Usually this is done once every 2-3 days. In hot summers, plants are watered more often. Use settled warm water.

Loosening

After each watering, the soil is loosened, destroying the earthen crust.Without this, the roots of the plant will begin to rot and become sick. During the loosening process, weeds are removed.

Mulching

Mulch slows down the growth of weeds, protects roots from cold weather, diseases and pests, allows you to reduce the frequency of loosening. The soil around the petunias is covered with humus, rotted straw, sawdust, pieces of bark, etc.

Feeding

During flowering, plants are fed every 14 days. They use special purchased drugs or homemade products.

Typically, mineral fertilizer is prepared from a bucket of water, 25 g of potassium salt, 35 g of superphosphate and 2 tbsp. l. urea. The most popular option for organic fertilizer is chicken manure diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10.

Removing flower stalks

To ensure the most abundant flowering of petunia, the buds are removed after wilting. If the flower stalks are left, they will form fruits with seeds. Because of this, the number of inflorescences on the bush will decrease.

Prevention of diseases and pests

Sometimes petunia is affected by diseases and pests. To prevent infection, it is important to follow the rules of prevention:

• regularly weed the flower garden;
• loosen the soil after watering;
• disinfect soil, containers and planting material;
• carry out spring spraying with a solution of copper sulfate;
• Do not use ice water for irrigation.

Conclusion

Terry petunia is the most beautiful variety of this plant. It has beautiful, lush, large and bright flowers that bloom profusely all summer. With proper wintering, it can be preserved for next year.

Growing terry petunia is no more difficult than cultivating other varieties of this plant. These flowers are easy to care for and resistant to negative environmental factors.