Fascinating beauty - Petunia "Starry sky". Varieties, their description, care features

Petunia "Starry Sky" (or, as it is popularly called, "Starry Night") is a very special flower, a modern achievement of breeders, perfectly adapts to our climate.

Decorative flower is quite easy to care for and original in bloom. This type of petunia is very popular among flower growers due to its color.

Due to the unusual color and ability to bloom all summer, this variety of petunias has become very popular in home floriculture.

Botanical Description

Petunia "Starry Sky" - a hybrid of petunias, a genus of grassy or shrubby perennial flowers, belongs to the large family of nightshade, grows up to 1 m. In nature, lives in tropical regions of Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, lives in southern and North America. There are about 40 species.

The flowers are dark purple in color; in their background is an original spotty white pattern in bulk. The color of the flowers varies depending on the conditions of maintenance: watering, soil, light.

Petunia "Starry Sky" perfectly branches, grows in a small bush, differs in early flowering. It has the ability to form kidneys almost continuously, therefore flowering is long, 2 - 3 months. They grow up to 1 m in length, usually grown in hanging baskets or decorative flower pots.

History of occurrence

The first discoveries of petunias were recorded by scientists - botanists in the 18th century. For more than a century, hybrids of this extraordinary flower have been decorating balconies and gazebos of houses and summer cottages.

Petunia "Night Sky" - "Night Sky" is a completely new hybrid discovery of 2015. A hybrid was bred in Germany by the breeders of the Select Clemm company. This variety was nominated for the highest award of European exhibitions of decorative flowers.

Reference: At the beginning of the 20th century, astronomers, having discovered a new asteroid, named it after the petunia, "968 Petunia".

Varieties of varieties and their photos

There are not so many varieties of this decorative variety of petunia, but in 2017, German experts developed new, very interesting varieties of petunia. There are two of the most common hybrids to date.

Photo of the petunia "Night sky"

Petunia "Night sky"

Hanging shoots branch, grow up to 1 m in length. Each shoot has numerous branches that grow rapidly, densely covered with endless buds. Flowering early, long, lasts throughout the summer. The flowers themselves have an unusual color - dark blue, with a purple tint. Against this background, white spots are located in bulk spots - stars.

Petunia "Doll"

It is distinguished by bright green foliage, the leaves are located close to each other, which allows the petunias to grow with a beautiful dense weaving carpet. Very bright flowers are scattered across his field. The petals are bright pink, drops sparkle on their background - blotches of white.

This hybrid tolerates transplant very well, excellently “bears fruit” - buds appear quickly and are abundantly located on branchy shoots. Petunia "Doll" is unpretentious, feels good outdoors, decorates balconies, loggias and terraces.

Landing instruction

Transplant petunia "Starry sky" is possible only with the help of cuttings. The procedure is not complicated, follow the basic rules of transplantation:

1. Cut the stalk with a length of not more than 10 cm with two "knots".
2. Pick flowers and lower leaves.
3. The slice can be treated with root.
4. The shoot can be blackened from the main seedlings or taken from last year's flower bed.
5. The shank is dipped in water for 2 weeks until the roots appear.
6. Transplanted into small pots with soil.
7. For 14 - 16 days, the transplanted process should be placed in partial shade for rooting.

Petunia "Starry sky" quickly takes root and painlessly grows the root system.

Transplanting the starry sky petunia into open ground:

1. We transplant in cloudy weather after lunch.
2. We transfer saplings from a pot or a cache-pot together with an earthen lump.
3. A hole for seedlings of at least 10 x 10 cm at a distance of 25 - 30 cm from each other.
4. We pour it in - mulch the soil with humus or peat, this will speed up the process of rooting seedlings.
5. Be sure to water.

Soil requirements

The composition of the planting soil of the petunia "Starry sky":

• Peat - 2 parts.
• Turf land - 2 parts.
• Sheet earth - 2 parts.
• Humus - 2 parts.
• Sand - 1 part.

Attention: the substrate should be light, so it is advisable to sift and moisten it before planting.

Lighting and location

Petunia "Starry Sky" loves partial shade. The light should be bright, but diffused. For good development and abundant flowering, a long daylight hours are required: 11 - 13 hours a day. If the lighting is not enough, you need to use additional artificial lights.

More information on how to plant petunia in open ground and form a beautiful flower arrangement can be found in this article.

How to care?

• The air temperature during the day is permissible up to 35 - 38 ° С, night temperature should not be lower than 10 ° С. It is for the Starry Sky petunia, for the formation of white pigmented "stars" on a purple background, a temperature difference is required. At least 10 - 15 ° C.
• Watering. From the moment of transplanting the Starry Sky petunia into a pot or flowerpot, regular watering begins. Water under the root, 1 time in 3 days as the substrate dries in a pot. Water should not fall on the bud or the flower itself, water only under the root.
• Fertilizer. The first top dressing is carried out only with phosphorus fertilizer. Phosphorus is necessary for the formation of the root system. You can use regular super phosphate, which is diluted in water. Solution: 1 tablespoon of fertilizer per 10 liters of water. The second top dressing is carried out after 14 - 20 days. Nitrogen or complex fertilizers are desirable here. Combine top dressing with watering, fertilize no more than 1 time in 10-14 days.

  There should be no more than 3-4 feedings per month. During the ripening of buds, usually this occurs in late spring, potash fertilizers can be applied. There should be no more than 2 fertilizers. The dosage is the same: 1 tablespoon of fertilizer per 10 liters of water. During flowering, Starry Sky petunia can be fed once every 15 days with complex water-soluble fertilizers for flowering plants.

• Pruning is required to form a beautiful bush. Make sure that the branches do not become much longer, as they will thin out, and the flowers themselves on such elongated shoots will be small and may lose the brightness of the color.

It is important to monitor the growth of the vegetative mass. If you properly care for the flower, it can bloom all summer, until the first frost.

Common Diseases and Pests

Petunia "Starry sky" is very "attracted" by spider mites, aphids, thrips. In order to get rid of pests in time, you often need to carefully inspect the flowers.

• Spider mites. Petunia buds are especially fond of. If you notice white small dots on the leaves, a braiding sticky cobweb on the stems and leaves, then the flower is sick. White spots will increase on the affected leaves, and then dry and fall off. Spraying the flower with any acaricides 3-4 times a day will save the flower. Florists are advised to treat the leaves with tincture of dandelion - 25 g per liter of water. At least 3 procedures are required once every 8 to 10 days.
• Various aphids eat petunia buds and flowers very quickly. The stems and leaves are covered with drops of honey dew, which contributes to the appearance of the fungus. Leaves curl, buds fade. Aphids carry viral diseases, if not taken, petunia will die. Here they use a spray of tincture of tobacco with soap. For indoor flowers, you can use the drug Fufafon: 1 ml per 1 liter of water. Just read the instructions carefully so as not to harm the flower.
• Thrips. These small pests can settle on the outside and inside of the leaves. White dry stripes appear on the leaves. Buds and flowers bend, begin to fade. Black or green traces of pests remain on the leaves. Petunias need urgent help. Confidor or Aktara insecticides will be required once a week for a month. Carefully read the instructions, observe the dosage.

The most dangerous diseases of petunias "Starry sky":

• Powdery mildew - white spots and plaque on the leaves. This is a fungus, the infection spreads from the bottom up, gradually covers the entire plant with a white destructive coating. Leaves curl, dry. The affected areas are rejected so as not to infect the entire flower. Spraying with garlic tincture helps: 25 g per 1 liter of water, still use mustard infusion: 2 tablespoons in 10 liters of warm water.
• Gray rot - the leaves became sticky, covered with a "fluffy" gray coating. Then the leaves become covered with brown spots, dry. This is also a fungal disease. Petunia can die in 2 to 3 days. Remove fallen leaves and buds, stop fertilizing the flower. Trichodermil preparations, Ordan, etc. will help. Spraying is carried out according to the instructions.

Propagation Features

Attention: Petunia "Starry sky" propagates only vegetatively, by cuttings. Producers of this variety do not provide the seeds of this hybrid for open sale.

The method of propagation of the Starry Sky petunia is very simple, even an inexperienced grower can do it:

1. A small shoot breaks off, up to 10 cm.
2. We place the handle in a glass of water with a volume of 100 ml.
3. We observe the appearance of root hairs.
4. 12-14 days after planting, the first root processes, hairs, appear.
5. We move the shoot to a container with a peat substrate, the volume of the pot is 200 ml.
6. Petunia continues to feed on the leaf, the root system has not yet been formed.
7. Spraying with clean water 2 times a day is required.
8. After transplanting into a peat substrate, we feed it 1 time with a rooting solution.
9. Solution: 25g of fertilizer per 10 liters of water.
10. After 2 weeks, a small but complete root system is formed.
11. Within a month, petunia builds up its root mass.
12. The flowers are ready for transplanting into a hanging pot or pot with a volume of 2 - 2.5 liters.
13. We feed with fertilizers.

Possible problems

All the problems, diseases of the Starry Sky petunia are caused, first of all, by improper care. How to avoid flower diseases?

• For the prevention of diseases or in the presence of signs of damage, it is necessary to regularly treat the leaves with special chemical compounds, having previously studied the instructions.
• If petunia receives a lot of moisture and light, the leaves may turn yellow, buds and flowers will begin to fall off. Adjust the watering, do not get carried away with top dressing, obscure the location of the petunia.
• Make sure that when watering, leaves and flowers do not get wet. Watering should only be under the root.
• The leaves are wrinkled, darkened - saturate the roots with moisture, they simply do not have enough water or the petunia is infected with viruses, carefully examine the flower.

Petunia "Starry Sky" has become popular with flower growers - amateurs and professionals. This variety came to us from Europe recently. The reasons for success are simple: unpretentiousness in nutrition and care, abundant unusual flowering. You can decorate a balcony, windowsill, plant in elegant flowerpots or decorate the walls with hanging planters.

Watch the video: Take PETUNIAS Hanging Baskets Garden Tour. (April 2024).