Petunias: Get and plant seeds yourself

Petunias: Get and plant seeds yourself
Petunias: Get and plant seeds yourself
Anonim

Although petunias can usually be found relatively cheaply in garden shops, many hobby gardeners also simply grow them themselves. This way you can save yourself the hassle and uncertainty of overwintering these plants, which is not entirely easy.

Sow petunias
Sow petunias

How to grow petunias from seeds?

To grow petunias from seeds, start growing them on the windowsill in February or March. Cover the light germinators thinly with soil, keep them at around 20 degrees Celsius, avoid direct sunlight and ensure high humidity, e.g. B. by covering with foil or an indoor greenhouse.

Harvest seeds from the petunias on the balcony yourself

As a care instruction for petunias, the general advice is to manually remove the wilted flowers every few days during the flowering period for reasons of appearance and plant he alth. However, you must refrain from doing this with at least some of your petunias on the balcony if you want to harvest ripe seeds from your plants yourself. As soon as the withered petals can be easily removed, a green seed appears on the former flower stalk. Over time, this develops into a clearly visible seed capsule, which should be collected in a yellow-brown state in good time before it bursts.

The right conditions for growing petunias from seeds

So that the petunias can be planted as young plants in the garden or in a balcony box in time after the last night frosts in April or May, you should start growing them on the windowsill in February or March. If possible, the following conditions should be met during the germination phase:

  • The light germinators should be covered with soil as thinly as possible or not at all
  • Temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius are optimal
  • no direct sunlight
  • high humidity through foil cover (€39.00 on Amazon) or in a room greenhouse

Optimally care for young plants grown from seeds

The seedlings that initially sprout from the seeds don't really look much like the older petunias. They should be isolated shortly after the second pair of leaves have formed and continue to be cared for indoors in a protected area. Especially at this young age, the delicate petunia plants should never completely dry out in their growing substrate and should be watered regularly. If you first accustom the home-grown petunias to the outdoors for a few hours after the ice saints and then put them back in the house at night for a few days, you can harden the plants effectively.

Seeds from specialist retailers

Petunias are now available in a variety of colors and flower patterns, either as young plants or as seeds. Please note that hybrid varieties do not pass on their characteristics stably when propagated by seeds. Choose two or three different varieties to create particularly attractive color contrasts on the balcony.

Tip

Truly authentic petunias can usually only be obtained if they are propagated vegetatively via cuttings. When petunia flowers are fertilized, the genes of petunias blooming in the neighborhood can mix with those of your own plants, so that surprising flower colors can result from growing the seeds that have ripened on the plants.