Do I need petunia for the winter? How to cut petunia in the fall at home. Transplanting a mother plant

Today, almost all summer residents grow various varieties of flowers in their garden plots. For many, this activity is just a hobby, while others plant beautiful plants for sale. But be that as it may, any flowers need care. How to preserve petunia in winter? This question interests many novice flower growers. And this is not surprising, because storing flowers in winter is a good way to preserve rare varieties for later planting if the plant is not propagated by seed. But what methods of storing petunias in winter exist, as well as how to properly plant them and care for planting material?

A few words about petunia

This flower is loved for its incredible beauty and long flowering period. Petunia blooms in late spring and blooms until mid-autumn, so it will decorate your garden or apartment for a long period of time. Most gardeners grow petunia as an annual plant, since it begins to bloom in the first year after planting. If you have a rare variety, then it makes sense to leave the flower for winter storage. How to preserve petunia in winter will be discussed further.

Winter storage of flowers of rare varieties

If you want to store plants in the winter with a view to planting them in the spring, then it is extremely important to create suitable conditions for this. Air humidity should be low, it is also necessary to provide good lighting and low air temperature, approximately 10 degrees. Only with the right microclimate will it remain of high quality and be able to begin to develop normally after planting.

What are the benefits of winter storage?

Compared to annual sowing, winter storage has the following advantages:

• Early flowering - planting material takes root much faster in a new place and blooms much longer. The buds can bloom at the end of winter.
• Easy propagation - you do not need to sow seeds, since you will already have ready-made seedlings. This way you will spend less time and effort, and petunia, the photo of which looks simply amazing, after just a few weeks will begin to delight you with its beauty.
• Storage in winter allows you to breed rare varieties of plants that do not produce seeds, but reproduce only vegetatively.

Thus, if you want to grow petunia in your garden, it is better to do it through winter storage.

Mother plant

The mother plant is an adult flower that is placed in winter storage for the purpose of cuttings in the spring. Mature flowers are dug up at the end of summer and planted in pots. They will have time to take root and get stronger before the onset of winter.

In this case, dried leaves and dead shoots should be removed from the petunia. Experienced gardeners recommend cutting off dead wood completely and leaving approximately 12 centimeters of the total length of the shoots. Mother plants are stored in a cool room with low air humidity. Unheated glazed balconies would be a good option. With the arrival of spring, it is necessary to create good lighting and high air humidity for the mother plant. This will awaken the flower and it will sprout new shoots.

Preparation of planting material

So, we looked at a way to preserve vegetative petunias in the winter. But what to do with the plant next? If you live in an apartment, then creating conditions suitable for cuttings is quite difficult due to strict restrictions on free space. If you will be storing the mother plant in a warm room, it is best to use young flowers for this, since they are stronger and have a much better chance of overwintering normally. For cuttings, it is better to use small pots, since they take up less space and will be easier to arrange around the apartment.

The cuttings are cut into short lengths, approximately 10 centimeters. 2 leaves are left on them, which are also trimmed. This is necessary in order to reduce moisture loss. Rooted cuttings need the same care as regular indoor flowers. They need to be watered in a timely manner, as well as provided with optimal air humidity and the required amount of light. Cutting petunia in the fall is considered the best option, since the plant will be able to form a root system in two weeks and get stronger before wintering.

Cuttings at home

All hybrid varieties are not propagated by seeds, but if you want to propagate some rare petunia at home, for example, double or large-flowered, then you can do this quite successfully using cuttings. In this case, the petunia, the photo of which is striking in its beauty, will retain its properties and take root well in the new place after planting.

Cuttings are the best method of propagation compared to planting seeds, since about 95 percent of seedlings take root, while about 25% of seeds simply die and do not sprout.

Preparing for winter

So, we have already answered the question of how to preserve petunia in winter. But it is also very important to properly prepare the cuttings for transplanting into open ground.

Before planting in the garden, the cuttings are placed in small containers filled with loose soil. The planting depth should not be too deep. About two centimeters will be enough. Containers with shoots are covered with film to create a kind of greenhouse. To provide the plant with fresh air, several holes are made in the film.

Petunia at home in winter also needs to be fed with complex fertilizers and chemicals. It can be treated with Kornevin, which will speed up the process of formation of the root system.

As for the soil, any loose soil is suitable, which must first be disinfected using any fungicide. There is one important nuance here: it is forbidden to use the same soil twice for storing plants in winter.

Each shoot should be planted in a separate container to avoid mass contamination of all planting material. In addition, planting cuttings that are stored separately is much easier.

How to care for rooted shoots?

When answering the question of how to preserve petunia in winter, one cannot ignore the features of caring for rooted shoots. The root system of cuttings forms very quickly. It takes approximately two weeks for the shoot to take root and begin to develop. Until the cold weather begins, rooted cuttings can be stored outside.

After new shoots appear on the cuttings, it is necessary to replant them and cut off the top two leaves. Thanks to this, the flower will grow lush and beautiful. An important measure when caring for petunia is maintaining an optimal level of air humidity. For this you should use humidifiers. If you don’t have it at your disposal, then place containers filled with water near the containers with cuttings.

Petunia, which winters normally in most cases, needs periodic watering. Its necessity can be determined by the top layer of soil, which should be completely dry. But do not water too much, as this can lead to the plant being affected by the “black leg” disease, the cause of which is high humidity. If this happens, the damaged sprouts are removed, and the cuttings are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Transplanting a mother plant

The mother plant must be replanted before frost occurs. This is important because the flower needs time to take root. For this purpose, healthy plants with lush flowering are selected.

Royal flowers should not be fertilized with mineral fertilizers that contain nitrogen. This is due to the fact that the plant will be stored in a cool room in winter. Potassium and phosphorus fertilizers are best suited for feeding petunias.

Transplanting petunia for the winter is impossible without creating high-quality lighting. The lower the room temperature, the less light the plant needs. If you live in an apartment and do not have a cool room, then the flower lighting should be turned on for at least 10 hours.

How to care for the mother flower?

In order for petunia to survive wintering normally and not begin to wither, it is necessary to create suitable conditions for the mother plant under which it is stored. This is the only way you can keep it strong. It is important to take into account the fact that mother flowers can behave completely differently. One part of them may hibernate until spring, while the other will actively develop and may even bloom. To keep your petunia strong, most of the buds should be removed.

During wintering, if the flower has gone into hibernation, there is no need to feed it. If petunia, a description of which can be obtained from flower sellers, begins rapid growth and development, then the plant should be fertilized with a small amount of potassium fertilizer. In this case, you should monitor the condition of the plant and the presence of any diseases. If the flower begins to lose its vigor and gradually fades, then most likely it is affected by powdery mildew. To combat this disease, a sodium carbonate solution is used. In addition to diseases, flower wilting can occur due to lack of light.

In mid-winter, mother petunia should be fertilized with nitrogen. The flower also needs good lighting, without which it will not be able to form a strong root system.

Storing plants in winter allows you to obtain high-quality planting material that will quickly take root in open ground and begin to bloom early. In addition, this method of propagating petunia allows you to preserve rare varieties of this incredibly beautiful flower that do not produce seeds.

Conclusion

So, you already know how to prune petunia for the winter. There is nothing complicated about this, so if you follow the tips and recommendations of experienced flower growers described in this article, then you will certainly succeed, and you can always enjoy the beauty of petunia without buying planting material every spring.

Petunia is a plant of southern countries; even in autumn it continues to bloom in a flowerbed or flowerpot, not realizing that very soon the cold will come and it will die. To prevent this from happening, a florist must take care of the plant; this is especially important if the variety you love does not produce seeds, and there is nothing to renew it with the arrival of spring.

There are two ways to preserve petunia in winter - with cuttings or with a mother plant.

To preserve the mother plant, it is removed from the ground along with a lump of earth, placed in a spacious container and brought into the room - it should be light and with an acceptable temperature of at least +10-15 degrees.

When replanting, which is carried out with the onset of autumn, damaged and dried leaves and shoots are removed. Healthy branches are cut to 10-15 cm. If the petunia grew in a flowerpot, there is no need to dig it up - you just need to bring it indoors and create the necessary conditions.

Petunia growing and care at home

Growing petunia from seeds at home necessarily involves picking. The exception is the method when peat tablets are used when growing seedlings. After the sprouts gain strength and acquire five to six full leaves, they can be planted in separate containers. This process is called picking; it must be done very carefully so as not to damage the fragile root system.

From this time on, seedlings need to be accustomed to periodic hardening. At first, 10-15 minutes of the plants staying where it is cool - 10-15ºC - will be enough, followed by increasing the time.

If you want future petunia bushes to be lush and densely branched, then be sure to pinch (more than once). To do this, you need to cut off the growth point of the stem at the level of approximately the 5th leaf - this technique provokes the growth of new shoots from the axils of the remaining leaves.

When the seedlings gain strength, maybe even produce the first flowers, the petunia can be planted in a flowerbed.

Caring for petunia in winter

Watering should be minimal so that the soil does not dry out, and elongated shoots should be pinched. At the end of February you can start cuttings.

The strongest shoots are taken from the plant and cut into cuttings with 2 - 3 internodes, the lower leaves are removed. The cuttings are treated with a means for root formation (rhizomes or enin) and planted in a substrate with a top layer of river sand 3-4 cm thick, this will prevent possible rotting of the cuttings due to overwatering.

Further care as for ordinary seedlings with subsequent planting in the ground.

How to water petunia

Water the petunia thoroughly until water begins to come out of the drainage holes. In this case, you will be sure that the lump of earth has been completely wetted. Usually in summer, petunia is watered 2 times a day - in the morning and in the evening. An important rule: never start watering if the hot sun is shining on the flowers. You will ensure that the roots in the wet soil begin to “cook”, and this can lead to the death of the plant. Based on the orientation of your balcony, create your own watering schedule. For example, if the direct rays of the sun fall on it from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., then water the plantings at 7 a.m. And at 15:00 (or a little later, for example, immediately as soon as you come home from work in the evening).

Please note that in May - early June, when petunias are already spending the night on the balcony (street), it is still quite cool at night. Therefore, try not to water the plants late in the evening to avoid overcooling the roots. The same can be said about autumn - September and October. In summer, such precautions are irrelevant.

Shower for petunia

On dry summer days, petunias should be sprayed with warm water from a spray bottle. This will be a good preventative measure against spider mites and will saturate the plant with moisture from the outside. Evening heavy spraying has a great effect on the condition of petunias, making them healthier and stronger. Spraying should be carried out when the sun leaves your balcony. Otherwise, sunburn will certainly remain on the plants - the rays will pass through drops of water, as if through lenses, and burn through the leaf plate.

Petunia cuttings

Cuttings are an excellent, inexpensive way to propagate this flower. A high percentage of rooting and easy care of bushes are the advantages of this method.

To do this, you need to cut the top cuttings, approximately 10-12 cm long, from a full-fledged, strong plant. It is worth mentioning that the opinions of experienced gardeners on this matter are divided, as some advise selecting side shoots that are located at the root of the plant for cuttings. It is worth noting that both options work well and subsequently give positive results.

Propagation by cuttings of petunias is carried out closer to autumn (end of August - September). The lower leaves are removed from the stem segments, and they themselves are briefly immersed in a container with a solution of a biostimulating drug, for example, Rhizome. After this, the cuttings are planted in cups and shaded. The soil (or sand) where the cuttings are placed should always be moist. You can also use pure vermiculite.

The roots of the shoots are formed already on the 7th or 10th day. After rooting, the cuttings can be replanted - small pots with a diameter of 12-15 cm are just right. Here petunia can survive the winter. Feeding rooted cuttings with complex fertilizers is very important.

How to take petunia cuttings

In order for the root system of the plant to be well formed, the cuttings need to be dipped for some time in a solution with phytohormones.

Since the root system of petunia is very powerful and dense, you should not neglect caring for it, since it is the roots that will influence the further development of the flower.

After this, the cuttings are planted in boxes with wet sand or loose soil, planting depth is 4 cm. The cuttings need to be planted close to each other, literally 2-3 cm from each other.

Then you can press the soil with your hands and water it.

The box should be placed in a bright place, first covered with film or glass.

When to cut petunia

I replant terry petunias in early August so that the plant still has time to take root well; they tolerate replanting quite easily; it is advisable to dig it up with a large lump of earth.

As for the varieties of ampelous petunias, I plant them in separate pots in the spring and bring them into the house with the onset of cold weather. You can replant them in mid-summer, but I noticed that non-transplanted hanging varieties are preserved better.

If you don’t want to touch the plant in the flowerbed in the summer, you can take cuttings from it at the end of June - beginning of August, root them and save the already rooted petunia for the winter. According to my observations, such plants tolerate winter more easily in an apartment.

Petunias take root easily. From a flowering plant I take cuttings with two internodes and trim the leaves. It is better to use not the apical parts of the shoots, but the lateral basal shoots 7-9 cm long. I make the lower cut of the cutting at the very internode, dip it in the rhizomes, plant it in cups and place it in the shade. The main thing is to carefully ensure that the soil does not dry out. After 7-10 days, roots appear. I transplant the rooted cuttings into pots with a diameter of 12-15 cm, in which they will overwinter. I always feed the plants with complex fertilizer.

There are 2 options for preserving petunias for the winter:

• in the form of mother plants
• in the form of cuttings

Preserving mother petunia bushes in winter

Adult petunia bushes can be preserved until spring if you move them to a bright and frost-free room. It should be light, fairly humid, optimal t = 10-15°C (but even less will do, the main thing is that the temperature does not fall below 0°C). Suitable conditions are found on closed verandas, insulated or southern loggias, and on the windowsills of entrances.

Petunia bushes are dug up, transplanted into pots and brought indoors. You need to have time to do this before frost, that is, in September - November. Dry leaves, damaged and rotten branches are pruned from the plant. Dramatic pruning is also practiced: all branches are cut to 10-15 cm/

For winter storage, petunia is cut from late August - September. During this time, petunia propagates easily by cuttings, since the life processes in it have not yet slowed down. 5-10 days after planting, the plants begin to develop roots.

Cuttings 5-10 cm long are cut from petunias, planted in cups, and covered with a “wig”. After rooting, they are placed in a cool, bright place. For example, on a windowsill, closer to the glass. To increase the humidity, you can place a jar of water near young petunias.

The main conditions for keeping rooted petunia cuttings in winter:

Sufficient watering - after drying the top layer of soil;

• spraying;
• lack of fertilizers;
• increasing air humidity (water containers next to the cuttings).

In spring, cuttings that have already formed into young petunia bushes can be transferred to balcony containers or planted in a flower bed. They can also be cut again and the required amount of planting material can be grown from the new cuttings.

To preserve the beautiful begonia until the next season, it is necessary to properly organize its rest period. In most cases, with the arrival of summer and the onset of warm, fine days, flower growers try to take their plants outdoors. Even indoor begonias feel much better outdoors. They are more actively gaining green mass, forming new shoots and buds. In anticipation of cold weather, the pot with the plant from the street must be moved indoors. Now it’s time to prepare it for dormancy, which means that watering needs to be reduced. In principle, they start watering the bush less often while still in the fresh air, and when the flower “moves” into the house, the soil does not need to be moistened at all. After all, the tubers must be able to dry before being stored. If possible, the plant can be left directly in the pot for the winter. All shoots will need to be cut off first. Place the pot in a dry room with a stable above-zero air temperature, for example in a basement. If there is no basement, the tubers should be stored in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf. Before storing the begonia, it should be removed from the flowerpot and freed from the substrate. Next, carry out the following activities:

• cut off a shoot from a tuber;
• use scissors to cut off the roots;
• leave the tubers so that the cut dries well.

Place peat in a bag and place begonia tubers there. Instead of peat, it is good to use moss - sphagnum.

Temperature requirements for petunia until next year

The ideal temperature for wintering is 10-15°C; if it is less, it’s not a big deal, as long as it’s not below 0°C. To do this, plants need to be dug up and placed in pots before the first cold weather sets in (September - November), the most optimal time for this is mid-August. All dried, spoiled leaves must be removed. You can do something more radical - cut off all the branches to 10-12 cm. To comfortably survive the winter, it is enough to water the petunia 2 or 3 times a month.

Soil requirement

Petunia does not have any special requirements for soil. But if you want to get decorative bushes then:

• Add compost or humus to the future bed;
• Do not apply fresh manure;
• Apply lime if soil acidity is below pH5.5;
• When digging a flower bed in spring, add complex fertilizer (nitrophoska)

An adult petunia plant already has a strong, well-branched root system, so growing the plant requires a large container (5-6 liters per plant).

Petunia loves regular feeding. As you remember, they started feeding her for the first time two weeks after the picking. At a young age, fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers for growth predominates. Potassium and phosphorus are needed to set buds and abundant flowering. An adult plant needs to be fed every 5-7 days.

Regular removal of faded flowers and seed pods will prolong the overall flowering of the bush. To obtain a bushy, lush specimen, petunia needs to be pinched above the third to fifth leaf.

The cold weather is approaching, and the petunia on your plot or balcony continues to delight with its lush color. Soon this beauty will come to an end, but it’s a pity... Well, there’s nowhere to escape from the cycle of seasons, but you can try saving petunia bushes for the winter. Petunia, at its core, is a heat-loving perennial, therefore, by creating “southern” conditions for it, we can extend its life. So, now we will reveal the secret of how to preserve petunia in winter.

We hasten to warn you right away: maintaining petunia bushes in winter is not an easy task. Although, this is the best way out if you want to preserve a particularly expensive, luxurious variety that does not produce seeds or does not retain all its properties in its daughter plants. For example, this is suitable for surfinias, supertunias and many other F1 hybrids.

There are 2 options for preserving petunias for the winter:

1. in the form of mother plants
2. in the form of cuttings

Option #1. Preserving mother petunia bushes in winter

Adult petunia bushes can be preserved until spring if you move them to a bright and frost-free room. It should be light, fairly humid, optimal t = 10-15°C (but even less will do, the main thing is that the temperature does not fall below 0°C). Suitable conditions are found on closed verandas, insulated or southern loggias, and on the windowsills of entrances.

Petunia bushes are dug up, transplanted into pots and brought indoors. You need to have time to do this before frost, that is, in September-November. Dry leaves, damaged and rotten branches are pruned from the plant. Dramatic pruning is also practiced: all branches are cut to 10-15 cm.

A petunia bush can overwinter on a cold windowsill

The main conditions for caring for petunia bushes in winter:

• minimal watering (up to 2-3 times a month);
• lack of fertilizers;
• high air humidity;
• temperature 10-15°C;
• good lighting.

In such conditions, petunias survive the winter safely and bloom in mid-February! Then you can “introduce” more frequent watering and fertilizing into the diet.

A petunia bush that has survived the winter is planted in open ground or in balcony containers. Or they do it differently: they propagate petunia by cuttings and grow young petunia plants. The latter option is more common among gardeners. It is believed (and not without reason!) that young petunias bloom better than second-year ones.

February flowering of second year petunia

How is petunia cutting carried out?

In the spring, cuttings of 5-10 cm are cut from an overwintered petunia bush - green, not woody. The lower leaves on the cutting are torn off so that a bare stem 1-3 cm long remains at the base. It is important that there is at least 1 pair of internodes in this area. There should be 2-3 leaves left at the top of the cutting. If they are large, then their plates are cut crosswise in half to reduce moisture evaporation.

Petunia cuttings are planted in loose soil, preferably with baking powder. You can use pure vermiculite or peat for rooting

The bare part of the stem is deepened into moist, loose soil.

The leaves of the cuttings can be cut in half to reduce moisture loss through the leaf blades

A vapor barrier is placed on top to maintain high humidity around the cuttings. For example, cover the planting container with a plastic cup, glass jar or glass. Every day the “greenhouse” is ventilated to prevent the appearance of mold, rot, and blackleg on the cuttings.

For ventilation, holes are made in the bottom of the plastic greenhouse glass.

After about 10-14 days, young shoots will appear in the axils of the cuttings - this means that rooting has taken place! The greenhouse is removed, the cuttings continue to grow in the same way as petunia seedlings: watered, fertilized, sprayed. Above 5-6 leaves, young plants are pinched for tillering.

After 2 weeks, new shoots appear in the leaf axils of petunia cuttings

How to cut petunia is described in the video:

In March-April (depending on the region), when stable positive temperatures of 10-12°C are established, the rooted cuttings are planted for permanent residence - in open ground or in balcony containers.

Flowering of petunia cuttings grown from a second-year mother bush

Option #2. Preserving petunia in winter by cuttings

In residential premises, rooted cuttings, rather than adult petunias, have a better chance of survival. They do not need special conditions and need to be cared for in the same way as indoor flowers. This method will also help those gardeners who do not want to clutter their verandas, balconies and loggias in winter with large containers with petunia queen cells. Cuttings in cups on windowsills take up very little space!

For winter storage, petunia is cut from late August-September. During this time, petunia propagates easily by cuttings, since the life processes in it have not yet slowed down. 5-10 days after planting, the plants begin to develop roots.

Cuttings 5-10 cm long are cut from petunias, planted in cups, and covered with a “greenhouse”. After rooting, they are placed in a cool, bright place. For example, on a windowsill, closer to the glass. To increase the humidity, you can place a jar of water near young petunias.

Young petunia cuttings require as much attention in winter as ordinary indoor flowers.

The main conditions for keeping rooted petunia cuttings in winter:

• sufficient watering - after drying the top layer of soil;
• spraying;
• lack of fertilizers;
• increasing air humidity (water containers next to the cuttings).

In spring, cuttings that have already formed into young petunia bushes can be transferred to balcony containers or planted in a flower bed. They can also be cut again and the required amount of planting material can be grown from the new cuttings.

Overwintered cuttings bloom already with the first rays of the warm sun - in February or early March

Benefits of preserving petunias in winter (cuttings or mature plants)

The main advantages of preserving petunias for the winter:

• early spring flowering. An adult “second-year” plant or cuttings taken from it can bloom as early as February-March. And this will happen even in the northern regions, such as the Urals, Siberia, etc.
• ease of obtaining adult seedlings. To do this, you do not need to sow small seeds or nurse frail shoots. The planted cuttings will already bloom in 2-2.5 weeks.
• preservation of vegetatively propagated petunia varieties until spring.

A little more and November will come. And the flower beds are still full of cheerful petunias here and there. Proper care of plants during the active growing season did its job - it ensured long-term flowering of these charming plants. And the weather didn’t let us down this year. Both summer and autumn generously pleased us with warm days. There have been few windy and wet days, which flowering plants do not like so much.

zelenaya Elena / Myproplants.com

On the eve of the end of the season, let's try to prolong the joy of communicating with our favorite flowers by preserving the plant until spring. Moreover, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Experienced flower growers know how to do this and generously share their advice.

There are at least two ways preserve expensive (literally and figuratively) and luxurious varieties of petunias. The first is when the mother plant is stored, the second is when the cuttings are stored.

Storing petunias in winter is no more difficult than growing a flower from seedlings. To some extent it’s even easier. The main thing is to create suitable conditions.

Storage the first way is as follows. Before the onset of the cold period, until frosts become a stable phenomenon, an adult petunia bush with a lump of earth is dug up. This may be October or November depending on the weather and region. Dried leaves and damaged shoots are cut off. Radical pruning of all stems is possible, but not completely. 15 centimeters should be left.

Elena Sukhanova / Personal archive

Dug up and trimmed petunia bushes are transplanted into flower pots or flowerpots with a drainage layer and loose nutritious soil. Purchased flower soil or fertile soil from the garden will do.

The pots are placed in a room that must meet the following requirements - be bright, with good lighting, moderately humid and not freeze. The temperature should ideally be around +10°C, even lower is possible, the main thing is that it does not drop to negative values. A summer kitchen, an insulated balcony or loggia, an enclosed veranda, as well as any cold window sill are quite suitable for these purposes.

If you manage to find such a place, consider success guaranteed. You should know that until mid-winter the plants are not fed and watered minimally - no more than twice a month. But from mid-winter, as soon as the regrowth of young sprouts becomes noticeable, care becomes complete. Plants are transferred to a warmer (+15°C), but still bright room with good lighting. Watering becomes regular, plants are fed with nitrogen-containing additives and treated with drugs to stimulate growth. In addition, the top layer of soil in the pot is renewed. The old one, 2 cm thick, is removed and replaced with fresh, nutritious and fertile one.

Sadasiv Swain / Flickr.com

If your petunias did not grow in open ground in the summer, but in containers, then there is no need to replant anything. After trimming the shoots, bring the containers into the room and grow there, adhering to the above recommendations.

In spring, the renewed bush can be used for propagation by cuttings. Or plant it back in the flower garden, in a container, closer to the warmth.

Second way winter storage - cuttings. Cuttings are prepared closer to autumn. The shoots of the plant you like are cut into cuttings about 10 cm long, always with a pair of internodes. The lower leaves are removed. Prepared small containers, always with a lid, are filled with nutritious, loose, well-moistened soil. When planting, the cuttings are buried into the soil up to 2 cm and covered with a lid until rooting. Rooting occurs quite quickly, since the plant is still full of vitality. You can notice rooting by the growth of young leaves.

Cuttings planted in a common container, after rooting, are seated in separate containers. The main requirements for growth: a cool and well-lit room, watering (without overflowing), spraying, high air humidity.

Domorad Anna / Myproplants.com

In spring, young bushes are planted in flower beds or again used for propagation by cuttings.

Preparing for storage does not cause any difficulties, the main thing is to ensure optimal storage conditions. If this succeeds, then in the summer your favorite flowers will once again delight you with unforgettable bright blooms.

Petunia is a beautifully flowering perennial that prefers warmth, but in the Russian climate this plant is not able to survive the winter. You can save the flower until next year by cuttings. This simple and effective method of growing young crops is especially good for hybrid terry petunias, which cannot be grown from seeds collected independently without losing the parental varietal characteristics.

Benefits of preserving petunias over winter

This plant has beautiful and long-lasting flowering. The first buds bloom on the branches at the end of spring and decorate the garden or balcony until mid-autumn. Since the flower blooms already in the first season after planting, it is most often grown as an annual. When cultivating rare or hybrid varieties, this method is not entirely convenient, since next year you need to buy seeds again to grow capricious seedlings. You can simplify the task if you save petunia for the winter in the form of cuttings.

Compared to annual sowing of seeds, the following advantages of this method are distinguished:

• cuttings take root very quickly and begin to grow;
• already at the end of February the first buds appear and flowering begins;
• saves time and effort on sowing seeds and growing capricious seedlings;
• It is possible to receive free young plants of rare varieties that do not produce seeds and reproduce exclusively vegetatively.

Rules for cutting cuttings

If necessary, this procedure can be carried out not only for the winter, but all year round. In this way, ampelous varieties and calibrachoa are usually stored. Terry varieties of the plant are taken from cuttings in the winter months and spring.

Mother crops must be transplanted into a pot in the fall and stored under favorable conditions. The optimal temperature for petunias in winter is +16 degrees. Illumination should be moderate, and the room should have high humidity. There is no need to increase the temperature, since then for a comfortable existence the plants need more light. It is advisable to water rarely and not abundantly.

It is very difficult to organize suitable conditions in a city apartment. Therefore, the only way to preserve petunia in winter is by cuttings. They do not need special care; it is no different from maintaining ordinary indoor flowers.

In the winter months, cuttings are taken only from healthy, well-growing plants, when young leaves form on the stems.

For winter storage, petunia is cut from the end of August or early September. At this time, propagation by cuttings occurs easily, since all life processes in the plant still proceed at the usual speed.

Harvesting cuttings

Planting material is taken from healthy, non-lignified stems of sufficient length. They are cut from the mother plant diagonally, leaving a stump 5 to 7 cm long. Then all the buds and blossoming flowers are torn from the cut branch. The resulting workpiece is cut into fragments 5-10 cm long. The cut is made straight from the top, 1-1.5 cm away from the leaf node. The workpiece is cut diagonally from the bottom. The result should be cuttings with one or two internodes and 2-4 pairs of leaves.

Cuttings for planting

The lower oblique cut is powdered with a powdered root formation stimulator or placed in a liquid solution with similar properties for several hours. Prepared cuttings can be rooted in fertile soil or water.

Rooting in the ground

To plant planting material directly into the soil, small containers with soil are first prepared. It is recommended to add perlite, vermiculite or coconut fiber to it to make it more loose. Several holes are made in the bottom of the container before filling it with soil.

Small-sized shoots can be rooted in peat tablets. They contain all the necessary nutrients for rapid growth, proper development and early flowering of young plants. Before planting, leaves on cuttings should be cut in half to reduce moisture evaporation.

Rooting in the ground

The cuttings are planted, deepening the lower cut by 1-2 cm. Then the soil is watered with warm water. The containers are covered with a plastic bag to simulate greenhouse conditions. Until the planting material takes root, they are kept in a well-lit place. Every day the shelter is removed for a few minutes for ventilation and watering. After 10-15 days, roots appear.

Creating greenhouse conditions

The successful regrowth of roots is indicated by the appearance of small leaves in the axils of the cuttings. Then the bag is removed and the plants are grown in the same way as seedlings: they regularly moisten the soil, spray them and periodically apply fertilizer. When 5-6 young leaves appear, pinch the top to stimulate lateral branching.

Rooted petunia cuttings

Rooting in water

Material for petunia cuttings is prepared in a similar way. The length of the cut pieces should be from 10 to 12 cm. 5 or more leaves are left on each of them. To reduce the evaporation area, the sheet plates can be shortened by half.

Plastic cups with boiled and cooled water are prepared in advance, and immediately after cutting the prepared material is placed in them. For faster development, cups are placed in a dark place or opaque containers are used for containers. To create greenhouse conditions for the cuttings, they are covered on top with a cut plastic bottle or a plastic bag. The water in the cups will gradually evaporate, so add it from time to time.

After 10-15 days, the first roots will appear on the lower sections. After this, the cuttings are kept in water for about seven more days, and then it is recommended to plant them in fertile soil.

Caring for rooted shoots

Caring for cuttings at home is easy. It consists of performing several mandatory activities:

• The soil in the pot is regularly moistened. Watering is carried out with settled, non-cold water when the top layer of soil begins to dry out.
• To increase humidity, young plants are regularly sprayed. If this is not possible, place water in a bowl between the containers with petunias.
• To increase daylight hours, backlighting is used. Until the end of January, the duration of daylight hours is increased to 12 hours. Then gradually add time and bring it to 16 hours.
• To stimulate the growth of green mass in February, young animals are fed with nitrogen fertilizers.
• As the shoots grow, pinching is carried out. This stimulates stronger branching and the formation of a lush bush. The frequency of this procedure is twice a month or every week.

By spring, young, strong plants will form from the planted cuttings. They should be transplanted by transferring them into larger pots, hanging flowerpots, or planted in open ground with the onset of spring. Petunias obtained in this way begin to bloom in March or April.

Features of cuttings depending on the variety

When growing terry varieties of petunias from seedlings, the plants are characterized by slow growth and short shoot length. Therefore, cuttings for the winter are carried out later, allowing the branches to grow to a sufficient length. Planting material for terry petunia is rooted exclusively in the soil.

Ampelous varieties are propagated from cuttings throughout the growing season. You can begin this procedure already 2 months after the seedlings emerge. If the branches grow quickly, then cuttings can be carried out twice a month. This way you can get many new plants and rejuvenate the mother plant. This enhances the growth of lateral shoots and encourages petunia to actively flower.