When and how to collect petunia seeds with your own hands at home. how to collect petunia seeds how to get petunia seeds

Petunia is an annual or perennial herbaceous or semi-shrub plant. Translated from Portuguese, it means "tobacco" for its resemblance to tobacco leaves. The Frenchman Jean Baptiste Lamarck first discovered and described this flower in 1793 during an expedition to South America.

Petunia roots lie shallow, have a tap type and adventitious roots. The stems are round and green color. As a rule, the stems are densely twisted. The plant can be both short, about 20-30 cm, and high, from 60 to 70 cm. The stems and leaves are strewn with short hairs.

Petunia flowers have a wide color palette, from pale white to light pink and purple, from lavender to almost black. Petunia flowers are shaped like a cone, can be both large and small, simple and terry. Most often, flower growers use this plant as an annual., and it is never grown as an indoor plant.

A photo

In the photo below you can see beautiful petunias.

Reproduction methods

1. One way to propagate most varieties of petunias is seeds.
2. The second method of reproduction is vegetative, namely. As a rule, varieties with double flowers and ampelous petunias are propagated in this way. And this is the most popular way. It is economical, simple and accessible even to the most inexperienced grower.
3. The third way to grow petunias - seedling. This is the most easy way cultivation, but at the same time it is the most expensive. Since the cost of one bush in our country is quite high, and not every gardener can afford to purchase it in sufficient quantities, this method has not gained popularity with us.

You will find all the details about the reproduction of petunias in.

What does the plant seed look like?

After flowering is completed, a fruit appears on the plant - a box with two wings and a size of 10 * 8 mm, filled with seeds. Petunia seeds are very small. Their size does not exceed 0.6 mm. Usually they have Brown color, less often sandy. With proper storage, seed germination lasts 2-3 years.

When growing seeds yourself, you need to remember that the lion's share of the seeds presented in stores are hybrids, and guessing what flowers will be in the next generation is almost impossible. Secondly, petunia is a cross-pollinated plant, that is, it is pollinated with the pollen of other plants. And, thirdly, not all flowers (mainly terry ones) set seeds.

And those seeds that appear practically do not carry the terry gene. And, therefore, the probability of keeping the kind of plant that you love is extremely low and tends to zero.

petunia though unpretentious plant but requires certain conditions to be met.. Namely:

Petunia seeds fully ripen 60-90 days after the start of flowering. A box appears in place of a flower. The number of seeds in a box can reach 10,000 pieces (extremely rare), as a rule, it ranges from 100 to 300, but most often the number does not exceed 100 pieces. Since full ripening prevents further flowering of the plant, after the pre-planned bud has faded, it must be plucked.

How to take the seeds, you also need to know. It is necessary to collect them only manually and from the boxes located below everything. There, the seeds are tied earlier, which means they are more mature. When breeding seeds, it is important to collect on time. It is necessary to make sure that the box itself is ripe. It should be slightly dried out and have a brown tint. Next, we open each collected box over a light surface so that black peas - seeds are clearly visible.

Important! After opening the box, the seedlings need to be dried for a few more days in a warm place.

We propose to learn how to properly collect petunia seeds in.

It is worth starting to plant seeds for seedlings already in the second half of March, in a greenhouse - in April, and in open ground should be planted in May. But to get an early flowering plant, you should start planting seeds in February. Petunia is a warm and photophilous plant. Therefore, pots should be placed in a bright, warm place.

Petunia is sensitive to fluctuations in soil moisture and prefers well-drained, non-acidic soil. An excellent soil will be a mixture of hardwood, granular sand and peat. Humus or compost will be a good top dressing for a flower during soil preparation.

The cache-pot, pot or box in which you decide to grow a plant is populated quite densely, about 65-70 plants per 1 square meter. For good growth and abundant flowering, petunia must not only be watered often, but also sprayed. Fertilizers should be applied to the soil no more than once a week, and alternate root and foliar feeding.

An example of a mixture for planting petunia seeds:

• 2 parts well-rotted humus;
• 2 parts of sod or leaf land;
• 2 parts lowland, well decomposed peat;
• 1 part sand.

Seeding process:

1. If the pH of the mixture is below 5.5, then lime must be added to it.
2. All components are thoroughly mixed, sifted through a sieve (mesh size 3-5 cm) and disinfected by fumigation, steaming, etc.
3. Then again sieved through smaller sieves (mesh size 0.5 cm).
4. The largest fraction (screenings) is poured into the lower part of the box and slightly compacted, the fine fraction is filled in the upper third of the soil layer, it is carefully leveled and slightly compacted again.

A plant grown from seeds will flower in about 70 days. In more detail, we wrote about how to grow seedlings of these beautiful flowers in, and read about the features of growing petunias from seeds.

Where and for how much can you buy?

When choosing seeds in a store, you should rely only on the honesty of the manufacturer, and proceed from what is indicated on the bag of seeds. Foreign manufacturers, American and Dutch, guarantee 100% seed germination. But only the price of such professional seeds will significantly hit your pocket. Domestic seeds are cheaper, but the result is unpredictable. And here the question is not only in germination, but also in color, plant variety. Expectations are not always justified.

Reference! There are seeds-granules. Almost always these are hybrid plants. They are much more convenient to plant, but because of the cocoon-granule, they take longer to sprout.

You can buy petunia seeds at any specialized store for gardeners and gardeners.. Also a large assortment seeds are also offered by online stores (semena-tut.ru, onsad.ru and others). In online stores, the range of prices for a bag of seeds is very large, starting from 16 rubles. and end at 160 rubles. So the online store for the garden Onsad.ru offers seeds not only from domestic producers, but also from foreign ones, such as the USA, the Czech Republic, and Japan. Prices for imported goods start from 50 rubles.

In Moscow, petunia seeds can be bought, for example, in the Russian Garden store. The minimum price of a bag of seeds is 16 rubles, the maximum is 100. But only domestic producers are represented here.

The most popular place to buy seeds in St. Petersburg is the House of Seeds store. This store offers a wide range of seeds from various manufacturers. Prices start from 6 rubles. for a sachet.

Or is it very important point, on which the further growth and development of your plant depends. To grow a petunia that will delight you with its healthy and blooming view, we propose to study all important nuances this procedure.

Conclusion

Petunia is a very beautiful, colorful plant, not particularly whimsical, but requiring attention. If the gardener chooses this flower to decorate his flower beds, shows a little attention and patience, he will be rewarded with delightful long-blooming buds that attract enthusiastic glances from passers-by.

Petunia is a favorite of gardeners, as it is distinguished by a wide variety of colors and shapes, unpretentiousness and undemanding care. It is not difficult to grow a flower on your own, but in order to collect petunia seeds at home, you need to know some rules and subtleties.

Collecting petunia seeds at home

Petunias are easiest to grow from seed. Florists note that their germination leaves much to be desired, so many collect the seeds of this beautiful flower on their own to save on the purchase and have them with a margin.

What are petunia seeds

Petunia seeds ripen in a capsule fruit. It is small, but contains about a hundred dark brown, sometimes yellowish seeds. Due to their tiny size (about 0.5 mm), the seeds have a small supply of nutrients, which is why their germination is incomplete.

Petunia fruits are a bivalve box that cracks when ripe with very small seeds of dark brown, rarely yellowish color.

Without problems, you can collect seeds from one-color, simple varieties of petunias. They are stable in offspring, every year they will repeat the color and shape of the parent plant. But the hybrid forms of seeds are practically not tied up, so it is extremely rare to find a seed box on these varieties of summer. This is due to the fact that the pistils of the flowers are transformed into additional petals. Even if an exception to the rule has occurred, and a box with seeds has formed on a terry petunia, do not flatter yourself - such seeds usually do not carry signs of a parental form.

In terry varieties of petunias, varietal characteristics are unstable, many of them do not produce seeds

Experienced flower growers successfully propagate hybrid forms of petunias with cuttings.

Seed collection time

One of the conditions lush flowering petunias - timely removal of wilted flowers. Since the seed box ripens only on dry, naturally dried flowers, the lower buds are noted at the beginning of flowering, left on the plant and waiting for maturation. Signs of seed readiness for harvest:

• about two months have passed since the blooming of the flower;
• the seed pod changed color from green to yellowish and began to dry out.

If the fruit-box of a petunia opens, then all the seed material can simply scatter in the wind

by the most favorable time Flower growers consider the collection of petunia seeds August-September.

Collecting Petunia Seeds: A Step by Step Process

Only ripe seeds should be collected, as immature ones simply will not sprout. Collection of boxes is carried out in dry, clear weather:

Video: collecting petunia seeds

Storing Petunia Seeds

After collecting and drying, the seeds are poured into small bags of paper or natural fabric, each of which must indicate the name of the variety and color.

It is easy to glue paper bags for storing seeds from ordinary office paper according to the presented scheme.

Sachets must be stored at room temperature in a dry, dark place. high humidity, as well as direct sunlight spoil the quality of the seed. Subject to storage conditions, petunia seeds retain their germination capacity for 3-4 years.

If the collection was carried out taking into account all the indicated nuances and the seeds were stored in appropriate conditions, then you will be able to provide high-quality seed material not only for yourself, but also for your friends.

Reference! Petunia is a perennial or annual herbaceous or semi-shrub plant of the Solanaceae family.

Petunia stems are erect or creeping. Depending on the species, the height of the plants varies from 10 to 100 centimeters. The leaves are sessile, variable in shape and size, entire, covered with fluff. The flowers are mostly large, often solitary, simple or double. Arranged on short stalks. The corolla of a petunia has the appearance of a funnel and consists of five petals.

Flower color varies:

Petals can be fringed or ruffled. The fruit of a petunia is a box. The plant comes from South America. Petunias are bred as annual garden or balcony ornamental plants , are usually used for pot culture.

What are seeds?

Very small. One seed is half a millimeter in diameter. The seeds are light brown or dark brown in color and are formed in small boxes 5-8 millimeters in diameter, each containing about a hundred seedlings.

When do they appear?

Petunia bloom usually lasts for several months: from late June to October.

1. Buds form within a week.
2. Then comes the flowering period and the buds open - it takes about 20-25 days.
3. The plants are then pollinated.
4. Petunia pistils ripen before stamens; these are cross-pollinated flowers.
5. Seeds are laid for about a month.
6. On site withered flower a box is formed in which the planting material is formed.

For full maturation, petunia seeds need 3 months from the moment the flowers open.. Ripening occurs unevenly: on one plant you can find absolutely dry opened boxes, strong hard and even unripe green fruits.

Collection period

The collection period for seed material is August-September. As soon as the flowers are completely withered and the boxes begin to turn yellow or light brown, you need to start collecting seeds. A dry, sunny day is best for this event.

Important! The petunia fruit cracks when ripe. Seed material can be collected only until the box is fully opened.

Now you know when to collect.

Step by step instructions with photo

Here you look at the photo, how the process goes step by step at home.

Important! If the buds are a little underripe, you need to place each box in a bag of thin transparent fabric or a tea bag and leave it on the windowsill. A few days later, the ripe boxes open, the seeds are in bags.

What to do after?

1. Choose a dark, well-ventilated place.
2. Spread the planting material at room temperature in a thin layer on clean slate paper.
3. Leave to dry for 2-3 days.

It takes 3-4 months for the seeds to ripen. It is not necessary to wait for full ripening. After drying, planting material can be sent for storage until sowing.

The key to good seedling germination is proper storage. To do this, you need to follow these recommendations:

1. The contents of the fetus should be placed in paper envelopes, on which it is necessary to indicate the type and variety of petunias, the date of collection. You can write down some important characteristics for the gardener.
2. Petunia seeds should be stored at room temperature in a dry, warm place. It is necessary to choose a place away from heating devices, since overheating has an extremely negative effect on germination. planting material.

seeds prepared in this way can be already in February-March. It is also permissible to leave this planting material for the next year. If stored correctly, they do not lose their properties for 3-4 years.

Many varieties with terry and other complex flowers when collecting planting material manually and in the future, they give specimens that differ from the parent in shape, size, and even color.

Related videos

Watch a video on how to collect petunia seeds at home.

Conclusion

Preparing petunia seeds at home is a rather laborious and time-consuming undertaking. However, if you know and follow all the recommendations, the process will not be too difficult. The result will certainly be positive, because petunia is a plant with high germination of seed.

Petunia is a favorite flowering plant most gardeners. The flower will decorate the site and take up very little space if you install it in hanging planter or in a small flower bed. Petunia is a perennial plant, but it is grown mainly as an annual. To do this, summer residents have to purchase seeds in specialized stores. In order not to buy seedlings every year, it is important to know how to collect petunia seeds at home.

Single-color varieties of petunias are suitable for collecting seeds for seedlings. By harvesting and planting plants every year, you will grow flowers that will repeat their colors. Petunia seeds are small black or brown seeds. Sometimes they take on a yellow tint. The seeds are contained in a box, from 100 to 300 pieces are placed there, in rare cases the number of seeds reaches 10 thousand.

The terry petunia does not have a box with seeds, since this plant does not form seeds, or rather does not tie. Experienced gardeners know that terry varieties plants propagate only with the help of cuttings. hybrid varieties differ the same. In exceptional cases, a seed pod is found in them, but after planting, the shades of flowers are likely to change. You can easily collect seeds from ampelous petunias on one's own.

When to collect seeds

Seeds ripen 60-90 days from the beginning of flowering of fruits, by forming a box at the location of the flower. Harvesting begins when the seed pod turns light brown or yellow.

Fruits suitable for collecting seeds are located at the bottom of the stem. They ripen earlier than others and, accordingly, fade faster. To make it easier to find such boxes, it is recommended to make notes already at the flowering stage. If you wait for the full ripening of the fruit, then there will be difficulties with the further flowering of the plant. Therefore, it is necessary to pick a bud before it blooms.

How to collect seeds: instructions

First, be sure to mark the flowers from which you plan to collect seeds. For the continuous flowering of the plant, the main thing is to remove wilted buds in time. To organize the correct collection, wait until the fruits are fully ripe. Choose those buds that bloom first.

Step-by-step instruction for the collection of petunia seeds:

1. Determining the readiness of seeds. As a rule, seeds are collected from the lower flowers, as they are the first to ripen. If the flower is completely wilted and the seed box has turned brown, it means that they are ready to be harvested.
2. Collection of seeds. The collection period usually falls on August-September. The previously marked boxes are carefully cut off. Then they are placed on a newspaper sheet until completely dry. Separate the seeds in advance according to varieties so as not to get confused in the future. After drying, the boxes will begin to open. If this does not happen, try to open them yourself with your hands. Petunia seeds need to be left to dry and ripen at room temperature. Do not leave seeds in direct sunlight. Finally, they can ripen after 2-3 months.
3. Seed storage. If you don't want to wait for the seeds to ripen, place them in paper bags. On each bag, write what variety of petunias the seeds were collected from and the date of collection. With proper storage, without exposing the seeds to moisture, germination will last up to 4 years.

By properly collecting petunia seeds at home, you will reduce the cost of buying planting seeds and be able to decorate your garden or home already in next year.

How to collect seeds from a terry petunia

The terry petunia variety is the brightest and most attractive of all plant varieties, but there are problems with this type of flower. The fact is that it is impossible to collect seeds from a terry petunia, since this variety does not set seeds. This variety appeared due to the tying of seeds into petals. In this case, the stamens develop in the usual way, but the pistils form petals.

Terry petunia is propagated by cuttings, or, in other words, by vegetative propagation. There is another option - to plant a terry plant variety next to a simple one, and collect seeds from the latter. If you're lucky, you'll get 30-45% of the desired plants as a result of cross-pollination.

Storing Petunia Seeds

After collecting the planting material, its thorough drying, the seeds are transferred to paper bags. You can also use a small plastic flask to collect and store seeds, this method is more convenient.

Seeds must be stored in a dry place, subject to room temperature. Do not store seeds in direct sunlight. Subject to simple rules storage, next year you will receive lovely plants from self-collected seeds.

Secrets for Proper Growing of Petunias

For growing seeds at home, it is important to remember that most of the planting material presented in stores is hybrids. This means that it is almost impossible to predict what plants you will get in the future.

Although petunia is an unpretentious plant, but still for proper cultivation certain conditions must be met:

1. The container in which the petunia seeds are planted is covered with a film or any nonwoven fabric. Such an action will create the most favorable conditions and microclimate for the development and growth of the flower.
2. The plant needs constant daylight to thrive.
3. It is recommended to comply temperature regime without exposing the plant to changes in cold or heat.
4. It is required to control the condition of the earth and prevent the formation of a dry crust on the surface.
5. In the case of a strong stretching of the plant, it needs to be sprinkled periodically.

Conclusion

Petunias give a lot of seeds, you just have to organize the right collection and ensure proper storage conditions before planting next year. This procedure does not require special skills and is not at all complicated, as it seems initially.

So, petunia seeds are collected exclusively by hand, from seed pods located at the very bottom of the stem. It is important to observe the terms of collection and at the same time wait for the full maturation of the box. The ripe fruit has dark shade and looks dry. When opening the seed box, you will see more than a hundred black seeds. It is better to do this over a light surface in order to clearly see the seeds.

Petunia is not only a beautiful, pleasantly smelling flower, but also an unpretentious plant. How to collect petunia seeds at home for planting? The process is simple, but requires some knowledge.

How to collect petunia seeds correctly?

How to collect petunia seeds?

Seedlings of the flower are small (about 0.5 mm in diameter), brownish in color with a yellow tinge, are located in a box in an amount of up to 100 pieces. AT flower shop seeds are sold individually, so it is easier and more economical to collect seedlings yourself.

Signs indicating the readiness of seeds for collection:

• at least two months have passed since the blooming of the flower;
• fruit-boxes turned yellow and begin to fade.

Remove mature fruits to collect seedlings and prevent flower growth from slowing down.

Collection instructions:

• outline in advance the most mature petunia buds;
• remove the boxes (carefully cut with scissors);
• clean the fruit to seeds. Pre-lay the boxes on a light cloth or paper so as not to drop the tiny seedlings;
• pack the seeds in dry paper bags and sign the variety.

Place packed seedlings in a warm and dry place until the second half of March - the time of sowing into the ground. Planting material can be stored for up to four years, while not losing germination.

Is it possible to collect seeds of petunia hybrids?

The time and methods of flower propagation depend on the variety of the hybrid. For convenience, all types are divided into 6 groups:

• hybrids of multi-flowered petunia (multiflora). An early-flowering plant reproduces vegetatively and by seedlings that germinate 2-3 months after sowing;
• floribunda hybrids (abundantly flowering petunias). The flower reproduces only by seeds that germinate when sown in the ground after 3 months;
• grandiflora hybrids (large-flowered petunia). The most capricious plant, terry varieties of which reproduce only vegetatively. Other species germinate 3-3.5 months after sowing;
• small-flowered petunia hybrids (milliflora) germinate 70-80 days after sowing;
• hybrids of pendula (ampel petunia) are unstable and prone to diseases (black leg), do not tolerate waterlogging of the soil. Therefore, the flower is usually propagated vegetatively, and not by seeds.