Petunias are ornamental plants from South America that have been cultivated for a long time.The name of the genus derives from the word "petun", which the Guarani Indians also referred to as tobacco related to petunias. Until the 1990s, mainly varieties of petunia with raised shoots and large flowers reaching 10 cm in diameter were known.Plants propagated by sowing seeds were used mainly for beds and flower beds.
Since then, petunia has undergone a real revolution as an ornamental plant. It started with the receipt of the first hybrid by the Japanese breeding company, Santora, with overhanging shoots and extremely intensive growth - under optimal conditions, the shoots grow up to 3 cm a day. The name of these plants - Surfinia - is known to every flower lover.
Since then, new groups of petunias have appeared for hanging containers, e.g. 'Cascadia', 'Fortunia', 'Supertunia', 'Surprise', 'Conchita' or 'Tiny Tunia'. These varieties are propagated only by shoot cuttings. All of them, along with seed-propagated bedding petunias, belong to the species of garden petunia Petunia atkinsiana, until recently Petunia hybrida.
Apart from the described petunias, there are also varieties with smaller, abundantly blooming flowers, the best known representative of which is the group 'Million Bells'. Other groups include 'Celebration', 'Superbells' and 'MiniFamous'. They resemble miniature surfinas, but have differences that are invisible to the naked eye, e.g. in the number of chromosomes and the fact that they do not cross petunias.The above factors meant that they were included in a separate type of Calibrachoa Calibrachoa named after the Mexican pharmacist Antonio de Caly Bracho.
They are usually more tolerant to unfavorable environmental conditions, and thus easier to grow - they can, for example, grow in partial shade and are more resistant to fungal diseases.
Black petunias
Black is an unusual color for flowers. Until now, black or almost black varieties of roses, tulips, oneta (cosmos), and irises were known. Petunia recently joined this group.Its black varieties were presented in 2011 at the gardening exhibition in Essen.
One of them, called 'Black Velvet', is black with a purple tinge, the other, 'Phantom', has five oblong yellow spots on the almost black cup, like a yellow star.
Petunia cultivation and care
For the cultivation of petunias, make sure to use good quality soil that is slightly acidic and has a good structure.There should be sand in the soil mixture as the roots of the petunia need a lot of air. Petunias are voracious plants that quickly consume the food stored in the pot.
Special fertilizers for petunias, which contain an additional dose of iron and thanks to which it is possible to avoid symptoms of iron deficiency typical for plants, are recommended.Regular fertilization should be started 3-4 weeks after planting and we continue throughout the growing season. Mix the fertilizer with water for irrigation in the amount of 1 g or 1 ml per liter of water.
Remember to systematically remove the flowers after flowering. This stimulates the plant to develop new buds.This operation is performed with scissors or pruning shears - then we will not damage delicate shoots.
