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Petunia help
ogameuni11GFYG24Wx
Posts: 3
Hi there,
I'm looking to grow petunias from seed here in the UK this year for myself and friends/ family. The misses won't let me have them in the house!! So I'll have to grow them in the garden. I have bought the mini greenhouse at the bottom of the thread.
My garden gets very little sunlight for the next few months so I'm looking for some recommendations on growing lights for the 4 shelves. Additionally I've read that petunias like about 75f/ 24f so I'm probably going to need some sort of mini heater/ heated lights to control the temp
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
I'm looking to grow petunias from seed here in the UK this year for myself and friends/ family. The misses won't let me have them in the house!! So I'll have to grow them in the garden. I have bought the mini greenhouse at the bottom of the thread.
My garden gets very little sunlight for the next few months so I'm looking for some recommendations on growing lights for the 4 shelves. Additionally I've read that petunias like about 75f/ 24f so I'm probably going to need some sort of mini heater/ heated lights to control the temp
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
-1
Posts
And dealing with the greenhouse first, I would say don’t expect much from it. They are flimsy, easily blown down in brisk winds, are not that effective at maintaining temperatures, have light levels that are no more than satisfactory, and will probably need replacing in a couple of years. Also, can you get electricity to it for the grow lights and the heated propagator?
I would also add that I have never had much success with petunia germination though I know the theory. They should be sown very thinly, difficult as the seed is minuscule, and very definitely not covered, just gently tamped onto the surface of the compost. The temperature should be a fairly steady 70° F or thereabouts. They do not relish night time temperature dips.
I do not think I would sow the seeds any earlier than April and would expect germination within a week or so. They then need maximum light once the seedlings emerge for about 14 hours a day so natural daylight should suffice though on the darker lower shelves then a grow light might be needed if you can rig it up in such confined circumstances with little support for the lights. Once the seeds reach about an inch in height, prick them into smaller pots and try to keep the temperature, close to 50° F if possible as this encourages basal shoots.
Grow them on, harden them off, and they should be ready to plant out in early June.
There is another way. Allowing for the cost of the greenhouse, the propagator, the growlights, the electricity, the seeds, the compost, the seed trays and the plant pots, wouldn’t it be cheaper to buy plants from a garden centre or supermarket? They are usually less than 50p each. You can also take cuttings from shop bought plants that should be ready for planting out in mid July.
How many petunias do you want in your garden?
Apologies, it is not an advert. I just screenshoted the Amazon screen to show what I've got
Acknowledged with regards to the greenhouse. I'd absolutely love a proper greenhouse but space is limited and the measurements matched up perfectly to the space I've set out. Although I admit it's going to be perhaps more hassle than a first imagined!
I have electricity yes
Acknowledged on the expense front, i was after a little spring project so that justifys the expense for me. I'm really planning to grow as many as I can fit in there. Three hanging baskets for myself, certain friends and family and the rest I can sell.
I've found some growing lights on the internet that are cheap and it looks like I can attach them quite easily. Hopefully someone could shed some light on a heater that may be suitable? I've had a small amount of experience with growing petunias and from my experience and what you're saying it looks like they require an almost constant temperature at different phases. Perhaps I need a heater where I can set and adjust the temp?
Many thanks again.
https://www.brooksidenursery.co.uk/petunia-bedding-plants.html
or this
https://www.jparkers.co.uk/summer-plants/bedding-trailing-plants-in-trays/premium-petunia-mixtures-in-trays
I am a big fan of Petunia Tidal Wave Red Velour.
https://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/petunia-tidal-wave-red-velour-pas1085269-tidal-wave-series/classid.2000023196/
These plants are easy to propagate from cuttings and there is a good chance you’ll be able to overwinter them in your grow house so next season you’ll have an abundance just for the cost of a bag of compost. Note these plants are protected by Plant Breeders’ Rights. You can give them away but you cannot sell them without having to pay a royalty.
You can see the Red Velour here growing in front of my brick shed
There are four plants growing in a pot here.
Last season I tried a new petunia-calibrachoa cross called petchoa. These are from the Beautical series and were bought as plug plants. Like Red Velour, I have overwintered cuttings to have more next season.
I've grown them successfully without a grow light for years but if you are growing in the plastic greenhouse you will need a electric propagator I like using the Stewart 38cm propagator think it cost around £20-30 its average temperature is 18C which is fine. You'll need to site the GH in a sunny place but sheltered from the winds , if winds are forecast best to remove the petunia from the GH ( put them in the shed etc ) they really don't stand up to the weather at all.
I am not sure where abouts in the country you are ? I sow my seeds Mid Feb in the house , if I were to sow them in your GH outside I probably look around Mid / late March in to April but that's for my area.
Once the seeds have germinated you'll have to prick them out into individual pots / cell trays but only after they have grown their first true leaf. They will need to be kept reasonably warm ideally around 15C + but no lower than 8C this maybe difficult with the little GH temperature fluctuations can vary up and down fast . Grow on and plant out into the garden late May / June maybe early or later depending on where you live.
At the end of the day its a little project for yourself if it doesn't go as planned which happens quite often even with experienced growers they always next year or try another batch this year. Or buy some plug plant later on
Have you decided what petunias you are growing ? If you want so recommendations ask away. Like Bencotto has mention Petunia Red Velour is a excellent trailing / climbing variety they are around £3 - £4 for 10 -15 seeds dobies sell them and others which slip my mind at the moment. I buy quite a lot of seeds off Ebay .
I put a clear plastic cup over each seed, which was planted more or less on the surface of the compost. The cups acted like little mini-greenhouses, and the seed tray itself was kept in our unheated greenhouse. I didn't start them off until about Mar/Apr time. I am buying some more Petunia's this year (Beautical), but plugs instead of seeds.
I'm living in the south east so it's relatively warm, I'm thinking of either getting a small heater such as the one bellow where you can set the temp or getting a few propogators such as the one mentioned by perki and returning the existing stand. I'm keen to get going resonably early to get all the plants out to friends/family so will have to give it some thought as to when I started!