Perennial petunia: the rules, how to care for the plant at home or in the open ground, conditions for wintering, why is the flower also called annual?

In the world there are a huge number of diverse, beautiful and amazing colors. One of these is a delightful beauty - petunia, which will bring beauty and comfort to your home.

Is it a perennial plant or not? This article will give a detailed answer to this question.

We will talk about the features of this flower, its propagation and the rules of care. We also recommend watching a useful and interesting video on this topic.

What is this plant?

ATTENTION: Petunia - a native of North America, is a perennial herb, shrub. In a culture grown as an annual. Belongs to the nightshade family.

Has densely branched, creeping or erect stems. The height of the petunia can reach up to 70 cm. Oval leaves of green or dark green color with a diameter of 5-12 cm are densely located on the stems. The leaves, like the stems, are omitted. The flowers of this plant resemble a funnel, there are terry and fringed, both regular and irregular shapes.

The color variety of the amazing petunia plant is amazing. Flowers play in various colors: red, white, purple, pink, blue, and even purple flowers.

We talked about petunia in more detail in this article.

One year

Although Petunia is a perennial herbaceous plant, it is very difficult to maintain this status, the plant loves heat very much, the lowest possible temperature for the life of this beautiful plant can reach -1. In areas with harsh winters, in the open sky, your favorite plant will not be able to survive, and being a perennial plant, it is worth helping the petunia, it can’t cope without outside help.

Exception class

Petunia variety Gioconda's F1 hybrid is the only plant capable of tolerating temperatures from -8 to + 40. At low temperatures, this variety of petunias does not die, but only slows down its growth, thus adapting to the proposed environmental conditions.

How can a flower survive the cold?

There are difficulties in choosing petunias for growing just like perennials. Lush-colored petunias purchased in stores usually go through the process of accelerating growth, as well as stimulating flowering. Because of this, the plants are greatly depleted during the season and it is almost impossible to keep them in the future.

If they survive the winter, they still will not be able to recover and bloom. Concerning, perennial can only be grown from seedlings obtained naturallywithout growth stimulation.

IMPORTANT: For long-term cultivation, only those petunias are suitable whose seedlings developed naturally without accelerated distillation and were laid in accordance with the deadlines set by nature - in the spring, and not in January-February.

Winter conditions

Petunia is a thermophilic plantTo save this miracle from frost in harsh winters, it is worth creating only favorable conditions for the wintering of this plant:

In late autumn, before the first night frosts, we transfer petunia to rooms where it is possible to care for the plant at the optimum temperature regime.
The maximum room temperature for its comfort should not exceed 18 degrees.
Provide them with adequate lighting.
Feed petunias with liquid fertilizer for flowering plants. You can find liquid fertilizers in any flower shop, they are presented in the form of concentrated solutions, which are dissolved in water before use.
Spray with warm water, water as the soil dries, only under the root, so as not to damage the delicate flowers of the beautiful petunia.

These rules will help to winter the plant, and save life for several years.

Care Rules

At home

To keep the petunia healthy and blooming well, it is worth observing some rules.:

A pot with a drainage hole - one plant - 3 liters of soil.
Temperature: 18-20 degrees (If the plant is on the balcony in the open, it is worth taking the plant away before the rain).
Watering is carried out strictly under the root, so as not to damage the flowers of delicate petunia. In summer, twice a day, the day after watering, you need to loosen the soil.
Regular top dressing - depends on the beauty and duration of flowering. Liquid fertilizers - 2-3 times a week.
To clean dried flowers and leaves - stimulates the growth of new buds.
By summer, the flowering process slows down - in order to give the plant splendor, you need to trim the top in the region of 4-5 leaves.

You will find all the details about petunia care in this article.

Sowing seeds for outdoor cultivation

Use plant seeds.
For sowing, use a box covered with a film, put in a warm place.
After the first sprouts, without removing the film we put the box into the light.
After the appearance of the first leaves - transplanted into the ground.
The distance between plants in the soil is 20-25 cm.
Add fertilizers to the soil - humus, lime.
Top dressing - 2-3 times a week.
To remove dried leaves and flowers - will give strength to the plant, stimulate flowering.

Conclusion

In this article, the question was considered, annual petunia or perennial, as well as what conditions are necessary for the flower to survive the winter and other useful tips for growing. Petunia is an amazing plant, with proper care it is able to delight its owner with its charm for a long time.