Petunia is an almost indispensable balcony and garden plant, which blooms all summer tirelessly until the first frosts. Its simple funnel-shaped flowers of vivid colors are sometimes so numerous that they cover the entire plant, creating stunning flower balls.
However, for such a flower performance, it is necessary to provide suitable conditions, without which your plant will not resemble the compelling examples from Instagram!
So, if your plant blooms poorly or gives sporadic flowers, here are the reasons and solutions for that problem!
Inadequate position
The most common reason for poor petunia flowering is an unsuitable location. Namely, a petunia is a plant that needs at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day to bloom profusely. Therefore, it will bloom very little and rarely in a shady position.
On the other hand, plants exposed to hot summer sun all day can also reduce flowering and look tired.
So, the ideal position for petunias is where the plant will spend part of the day in the sun and the rest in the shade.
In other words, provide plenty of morning or afternoon sun with some shade during the hottest part of the day.
Improper Watering
Petunias are very thirsty plants, needing a lot of water for healthy growth and fresh appearance. The bright sun and lack of water usually result in scanty blooming with smaller flowers and leaves. But, too wet soil has even more devastating consequences because it causes root rot.
Therefore, on hot summer days, water the plants every day, not allowing the soil to dry deeper than one inch. Plants in the garden soil need less water so give them abundant hydration once a week when the soil dries to a depth of 3 to 5 inches.
Poor Soil
Petunia prefers light, nutritious, and porous soil with a slightly acidic reaction (ph 6 to 7). Hard, compacted soil is not suitable for the development of the root system, and without adequately developed roots, its above-ground part’s performance is also poor!
Therefore you should plant petunias in a combination of ready potting mix, peat moss or compost, and perlite or vermiculite in equal proportions.
RELATED: Petunia Flower Meaning
Too Much Fertilizer
Although petunia is an intensive feeder and needs a lot of nutrients for successful growth and flowering, too frequent fertilization has the opposite effect!
Proper feeding implies using a balanced liquid fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 10.10:10 or 8:8:8 once every fourteen days.
Always apply the fertilizer to moist soil, preferably in the morning one hour after regular watering will provide additional feeding without the risk of nutrients settling in the ground.
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Pruning
If you leave petunias to grow for the whole season, their shoots will elongate, the lower parts will lose their leaves, and the plant will produce fewer and fewer flowers, usually one or two at the top of the leggy stems.
The solution to this problem is simple! Your petunia needs pruning!
It is best to do it in the middle of summer, shortening all the branches by at least one-third! This procedure may sound radical, but the result is an abundance of flowers on newly grown stems.
Deadheading
Regular removal of wilted flowers is a necessary measure that directly affects the growth of new flowers! Once a week, using a sterile tool, remove the withered flowers – the plant will quickly compensate for this by creating new buds along the stem.
