How to preserve petunia until spring, caring for cuttings and mother plants

Petunia does not tolerate weather conditions in late autumn and winter in the middle zone. However, if you follow a few simple recommendations, you can extend the life cycle of the plant.

Let's find out how to preserve petunia until spring and what care it will need during this period.

Content:

• General information about petunia
• How to keep petunia as a mother plant until spring
• Spring cuttings of the mother bush
• Petunia on the windowsill: care features
• How to cut petunia in the fall
• How to keep petunia in the basement or cellar in winter
• What are the advantages of winter storage?

General information about petunia

Petunia is a perennial flower native to the tropics of South America. Gardeners are actively planting about 25 varieties of this plant. Petunia owes its popularity to its beautiful large flowers with a velvety surface.

The plant is quite unpretentious, but does not survive winter in nature. Therefore, the main question that concerns caring gardeners is how to preserve petunia until spring.

Not everyone finds the time to painstakingly care for a flower from South America. Some hobbyists prefer to throw away faded plants and sow new seeds in the spring. This is an easy way to decorate your summer cottage with velvety flowers.

However, if you definitely want to preserve the hybrid you like, you can take the advice of experienced gardeners and extend the life cycle of the tropical guest.

There are 2 ways to preserve the plant until next year:

• preservation as a mother plant;
• preservation of cuttings.

Both methods involve moving the flower from outside to indoors. The flower cannot survive in the cold. Some varieties throw out seeds before dying, but this method of propagation is effective only in areas with a mild climate.

How to keep petunia as a mother plant until spring

So, in order for an adult petunia bush to survive the cold, it is necessary to move it indoors. The required temperature is 10-15 degrees. Lower readings are also allowed, but the thermometer should not fall below zero.

Another requirement is a sufficient level of illumination. The best option for placing petunias for the winter is glazed loggias, closed verandas, and entrances of houses.

The plant must be replanted before the first frost. Suitable time is September - early November. The bush is dug up and placed in a pot. When replanting, cut off dry and damaged branches. Some gardeners practice radical pruning: all shoots are shortened to 10-15 cm.

Also, before placing petunia in the house, you need to carefully inspect the plant for the presence of parasites.

The beginning of autumn is the period of greatest activity of whiteflies, which lay eggs on the lower part of the leaves. If an infected plant gets into the room, house flowers will also become victims of this type of insect.

Spring cuttings of the mother bush

At the end of February, the mother plant is moved to the brightest place. During this period, watering is increased and fertilizing begins.If the petunia has survived the winter well, then by the beginning of April you can start cuttings or transplant the bush into open ground or into balcony containers.

Most gardeners agree that young plants bloom best.

Therefore, planting rooted cuttings of the mother bush is more popular.

Cuttings 5-10 cm long are cut from the mother bush. For cuttings, green, non-lignified stems are needed. 2-3 leaves are torn off from the bottom to create a bare stem 1-3 cm long. 2-3 leaves remain at the top. If they are large enough, they are cut in half to reduce moisture evaporation.

The bare stem is placed in loose, moist soil (peat and vermiculite), and the pot is covered with a jar or plastic cup. The cuttings are ventilated daily. If everything was done correctly, young shoots will appear in 2 weeks.

This means that the cuttings have taken root and the greenhouse can be removed. Before transplanting to open ground, the cuttings are cared for in the same way as seedlings.

During this period, watering, fertilizing and systematic pinching are needed for greater tillering. You can start planting seedlings outside after establishing a positive temperature of at least 10-12 degrees.

Petunia on the windowsill: care features

The window sill is the most suitable place for wintering a flower. This placement makes it possible to make the most of daylight from the street and provides a comfortable temperature for hibernation. If the window faces north or west, additional lighting is provided for the plant.

Also, the advantage of being on the windowsill is the presence of a battery. If you place containers of water near the petunia, it will evaporate more intensely, providing the required level of humidity.

In the first time after the “relocation”, petunia can manifest itself in different ways. Sometimes the flower immediately goes into hibernation, and in some cases, on the contrary, unexpectedly for everyone, it sprouts new shoots and blooms. In such a situation, you need to ensure that the new stems do not weaken the plant.

The rules for caring for the mother petunia bush in winter are simple:

• scanty watering 2-3 times a month;
• lack of fertilizers and fertilizing;
• high air humidity;
• good lighting.

With adequate care, a hibernating petunia should only partially turn yellow. If a gardener observes leaves and stems drying out or turning black, care should be taken to ensure the required level of humidity and light.

Also, the poor condition of petunia can be caused by powdery mildew or unremoved whitefly. To prevent diseases, the plant must be periodically sprayed with a special composition.

Let's watch a useful video on how to preserve petunia until spring:

How to cut petunia in the fall

Storing petunia as a mother bush requires high humidity and low temperatures. Such conditions are quite difficult to maintain in a residential area. Therefore, it is much easier to save the plant in the form of cuttings.

In this case, petunia is cared for in the same way as any other indoor plant. In addition, small pots with cuttings take up much less space than containers with adults.

For winter storage, cuttings begin in late August-early September. At this time, the root system of the layering develops quickly. Rooting time is 7-10 days.

The process of such cuttings is identical to the manipulations when dividing an overwintered mother bush.

After rooting, the pots with cuttings are placed in a cool, bright place. The window sill is most suitable for this. You can also place an open container of water there - this helps increase air humidity. In spring, the plant can be immediately transplanted into the garden.

To increase the number of plants, overwintered individuals can also be pre-cutted.

Let's watch a video about the correct cutting of petunia:

How to keep petunia in the basement or cellar in winter

Storing petunias in a cellar or basement has several features. It is best to place bushes and cuttings in dark, damp rooms only just before frost. In this case, the bush is cut very short.

Lighting is not required in this case. The climate of the cellar contributes to the inhibition of biological processes. Petunia falls into deep hibernation and does not need lighting.

In early January it is moved to the windowsill. At this time, you can cut off all excess and slowly begin to water. You also need to provide good lighting. This petunia will quickly come to life and by the end of February it will delight its owners with its first flowering.

What are the advantages of winter storage?

Gardeners are not wasting their time preserving petunias during the winter.

Unlike planting seeds, such propagation has several important advantages:

• early flowering: the mother bush or cuttings overwintered indoors can bloom as early as the end of February;
• ease of obtaining seedlings: cuttings are much more viable than sprouts grown from seeds;
• preservation of rare hybrids that reproduce exclusively vegetatively.

Winter storage of different varieties of petunias may have some individual characteristics.An attentive gardener must monitor the condition of the plants and adjust the level of humidity, light and temperature in a timely manner.

To get the desired result, you should take several flowers into the house. Even if 1-2 plants die, the likelihood of saving your favorite hybrid will increase.