Petunia has beautifully colored flowers that will make your garden look rich and attractive. These flowers are of many colors including pink, red, white, purple, yellow, etc. with a very delicate single petal. They are a perfect choice for your home garden as they do not grow too tall and wide. You can easily grow them in containers – especially hanging baskets. Use the following tips for growing Petunia in your home garden.
Popular varieties of Petunia plant
There are many varieties of Petunia cultivars available in the market that are ideal for growing in home gardens. These varieties fall under four main species namely,
- Grandiflora Petunia
- Multiflora Petunia
- Multiflora Petunia
- Spreading Petunia
You can choose the one that suits the environment you live in and, of course, your fancy.
Where to keep your Petunia plant?
You should offer excellent growing conditions for your house plants for their optimum growth. There are a few important things that you should follow. One of the most important is the choice of the place where you will keep your Petunia plant. Since Petunia loves to bathe in bright sunlight, you should make sure that you never grow your plant in shady places.
Keeping them in open areas of your home like the terrace, porch or balcony is ideal. If you need to grow them in your kitchen, make sure that you choose a sunny window to place the container. The container you use need not be too large as Petunia is a small sized plant that doesn’t need much space for growth.
Providing right nourishment
Any plant thrives when its nutritional requirements are met by the owner with enough alacrity. If you want a well-blossomed Petunia in your home garden, make sure that you provide it with enough nourishment in the form of fertilizers, sunlight, air, and water.
The soil you use should be rich in organic matter. This not only offers nourishment but also improves the aeration and water-holding capacity of the soil. The soil must be enriched with organic manure and compost before sowing the seeds or planting it from a cutting. Spreading 2-3 inch layer of organic matter for mulching the soil is a great way to provide nutrition.
The plant should also be kept well-watered throughout its growing period so that it can take the nourishment from the soil easily. Liquid fertilizers can be used once every month or twice a month according to the type of the Petunia you are growing.
Protecting the Petunia plant
The most important enemies you should guard against are the pests and insects like aphids that suck away their vital juices turning them yellowish and puckered. You can pinch off the affected tips of the plant and spray insecticidal soap to remedy the problem.
Some other problematic pests include Tomato hornworms, yellow wooly bear and some other types of caterpillars that damage the plant. Simply picking these pests off the plant is the easiest and safest way to get rid of them.
