Petunia seedlings not growing? I tell you how to fix your annoyance. In May I already have buds

Fiery fireworks, fellow flower growers!

Do you want to grow beautiful and healthy petunia seedlings, which will bloom magnificently at the right time, and the seedlings seem to have stopped growing in one place? The first years I was constantly faced with an unpleasant situation, and now I know the reasons and ways to help. Try it - you will succeed!

Of the popular, I would even say "pop" annual flowers for decorating balconies and gardens, petunia can be called one of the most capricious. In the stubbornness of delivering problems and giving its owner a feeling of powerlessness, the heroine of our article can compete, perhaps, with lobelia. Therefore, even if the petunia just rose and did not die, you can be happy with yourself)

And this is why it does not grow - there may be several simple reasons. But not always obvious at first glance!

Reasons why petunia seedlings don't want to grow

To fix a problem, you need to know the cause. I will try not to tire you and focus on the most important things.

Sometimes it's just as it should be

Petunia is not a hassle-free salvia or marigolds rising like gasoline prices. Petunia is a plant with a long growing season. In any case, a florist should be patient.

As for the situation where the seedlings have retarded growth. First, the seedling hatches, releases 3-4 leaves, and then sits in one place. Sound familiar?

There is usually nothing in the situation that is alarming. The plant tries to grow roots in the first place in order to provide itself with nutrition.. And only then, when the roots are thoroughly entangled with an earthen ball, the cockerel grows.

This is one of the reasons why you shouldn't sow and dive petunias into giant bowls and pots. The plant will need huge dishes later, in summer, for lush flowering.

Soil is the head of everything

Successful cultivation of any seedling is based on three pillars: soil, lighting and watering. And I had problems with the first point!

For the first two years, I recklessly sowed petunia in the soil collected in the greenhouse. This was the reason for the failure

The soil in which the petunia grows should be:

• neutral or slightly acidic;
• loose, very loose to allow air to pass through and to absorb moisture.

The greenhouse soil did not allow the roots to breathe normally. As I understood later, for fragile petunia seedlings, it played a destructive role of cement. Poor plants, how much they had to endure!

Is there enough space for the seedlings?

Some flower growers, in order to save enough space on the windowsills, delay the pick until the last. Unhappy seedlings grow in cramped containers, competing with each other for space, light, water and food. And everyone suffers!

I'm sure it's better to grow 4 healthy petunias than 10 weak ones. It is better to throw away the surplus than to make it squeeze in the closet.

Lighting is important!

Petunia seedlings need good light for normal growth. Putting plants on the back of the windowsill is a big mistake. They will grow, but not as it should, but stretch)

I am sure that in every home there is a worthy place. I have to put the containers on the sunniest southwest window in my house, because such a cloudy spring has not been for a long time.

Chlorosis - yes, it happens

If the petunia leaves have become an unhealthy lemon shade, and the veins have retained their usual green color - congratulations, this is chlorosis. Congratulations, because there is nothing critical about that.

It's just that plant chlorosis is a moderately dangerous disease, the cause of which lies in iron deficiency.. This happens when there is no chemical element in the soil or petunia roots, for some reason, cannot assimilate Fe properly.

It is treated simply by treatment with preparations that contain iron. These are Ferrovit, Iron Chelate and other analogues. Just do not stick a nail into the ground, as some do - this will still not help in the short term)

And now - about the most important thing. What to do with all this beauty.

How to make "inhibitory" petunia seedlings grow normally

• Be sure to dive the plants into separate containers of the correct size when the time comes. Seedlings that are treacherously stretched out can be carefully buried along the cotyledons.
• Pay attention to the quality of the soil. Program "Minimum" - buy ready-made soil for seedlings based on neutralized high-moor peat. Program "Maximum" - mix peat soil with baking powder. I take perlite and vermiculite.
• Place the petunia on a sunny window. Now, in the middle of spring, the need for lamps is diminishing: natural light is doing quite well. Of course, provided that the seedlings have a good window sill.
• You should not rush to stuff the seedlings with top dressing. This can be done when the plants ALREADY build up a normal root system and begin to grow themselves. Hasty doping will only knock the seedlings off their natural course of development.
• Better to pay attention to watering. Try to always maintain moderately moist soil so that the roots do not die from drying out and do not rot from the bay.
• Wait! If everything is done correctly, the seedlings will grow quickly.

By May, young petunia will become more like adult plants. And by the time of landing in open ground (late May-early June) will already be with the long-awaited buds!

Love petunia and was the article helpful to you? Please click in the answer "Thumbs up", my good. Thank you! And for those who are going to harvest an early harvest of cucumbers, I advise you to read interesting material firsthand: Father-in-law told why he is always with early cucumbers: a trick in soaking seeds in a new way