Petunia ampelous - annual or perennial

Ampel petunias are decorative indoor flowers that are grown in a cascade way in hanging pots. There is a huge variety of this plant, especially the various hybrid varieties.

What is ampelous petunia

Petunia ampelous is a beautiful dwarf plant with stems flowing down. They have small but very attractive flowers of various colors.

The ampelous petunia has many different varieties and species.

Small ampelous petunia is grown both at home and in the open field. It will look beautiful on alpine slides, tall flower beds and hedges. If you plant flowers in pots, then most often they are used to decorate balconies and terraces.

The light-loving plant is not particularly picky, but does not like to completely ignore the main care measures. It rarely gets sick, but sometimes it can suffer from attacks of insect pests. In general, caring for a flower is not so difficult, so not only a professional gardener, but also an amateur beginner can grow it at home.

Botanical description of ampelous petunia

Petunia belongs to the plants of the Solanaceae family. The ampelous variety of these flowers differs from the simple form. These petunias have sprawling hanging shoots that are covered with many small buds. In flower beds, this plant looks like a bright colorful carpet.

Variety of varieties and types

Petunia has a variety of species and varieties, the number of which is increasing every year. In addition to various colors, breeders develop varieties that are more resistant to frost, with standing or creeping shoots, etc.

In addition to ampelous, there are also bush, undersized and multi-flowered species. The most popular representatives of this group are:

• Opera;
• White Avalanche;
• Easy Wave;
• Waterfall;
• Starry sky;
• Velvet, etc.

What does petunia ampelous look like?

The ampelous small-flowered petunia has very long creeping shoots, which can reach up to 1.3 m.However, in indoor conditions and depending on the species or variety, there are also more compact bushes.

Small leaf plates of the flower have pubescence on the front side. Their size increases in proportion to the growth of the bush itself.

From each sinus, one flower emerges, resembling a small bell in appearance. Terry buds are evenly distributed throughout the shoot. The color of the buds is different, there are varieties with iridescent shades.

Types of ampelous petunias for a balcony

Ampel petunia boasts a wide variety of species and varieties. Despite the general similarity, they all have certain differences that help to accurately determine the name of the plant.

Terry look with purple buds

Terry

This species in its natural environment grows on the American mainland in the tropical part of it.Terry ampelous petunia is a small bush with vines 50-70 cm long. Oval leaf plates are arranged in pairs on the shoots and are painted in a bright green hue. Both the branches and foliage of the shrub have a noticeable pubescence, which gives the variety a beautiful appearance.

Small buds form a funnel-shaped shape, its petals resemble corrugated paper to the touch. The flowers are located on short peduncles and come in different colors: yellow, white, purple, pink and red.

In recent years, varieties with flowers in the shape of stars, which have edging of a different color than the main one, have become especially popular among terry ampel petunias.

Rapunzel has bicolor petals

Rapunzel

The shrub has a height of about 80 cm, more precisely, this refers to its shoots, since they are creeping. However, in the first 2 years of its growth, Rapunzel's stems are erect with a slight deviation to the sides. As soon as the shoots are elongated, they bend to the ground.

An adult plant looks like a sprawling shrub with a carpet of small purple-white flowers. The buds do not grow wider than 8 cm in diameter and bloom from early summer to August.

Opera

At the Opera, the shoots reach a length of 1 m and tend to grow in the form of a ball, enveloping the crown. On the unusual shape of the stems there are white flowers with a diameter of about 5 cm.

This petunia has species with a different color of flowers:

• Blue is a pale blue shade. Some are deep, almost blue;
• Pearl, or Parple - purple with a raspberry or purple tint;
• White is a snow-white shade inherent in the species.

One of the young varieties - Success Silver Wayne

Success Silver Vein

The youngest variety, it was bred in 2016. Early flowering is a characteristic feature, it begins to dissolve the buds 1-2 weeks earlier than other varieties. Then it blooms without interruption almost until autumn.

Avalanche white

Ampel petunia White avalanche differs from other species with its giant flowers. The average diameter of one bud is 10 cm. But the stems of the Avalanche are thin with small leaf plates arranged in pairs on them.

The buds of the bush are white, in the middle of the stamens the color turns into yellow. The white avalanche begins to bloom in mid-June and continues until mid-September.

Avalanche purple

Another variety of the variety is Avalanche purple. Peduncles are colored lilac-purple with a darker core. According to the description, it is similar to the previous species, but has a different color of the buds. The reddish-purple flowers are in a darker shade closer to the middle.

Easy Wave - American species of petunia

Easy Wave

The name of this species is literally translated from English as "light wave". Easy Wave was introduced in the United States relatively recently. The shrub grows no more than 30 cm above the ground, as it is an ampelous petunia.

Easy Wave has abundant and long flowering, almost all summer without interruption, it dissolves soft pink buds with a light border at the ends.

Craisitunia Mandeville

Craisitunia Mandeville has a ball-shaped crown due to bizarre hanging shoots that can grow up to 1 m in length. The shrub has an unusual flowering, its buds have dark scarlet petals with bright yellow veins. In their shape, the buds resemble small lilies.

Flowering begins in early June and after a few weeks it becomes so abundant that the green mass of the petunia is completely invisible due to the flowers.

The Starry Sky has the most unusual color of petals.

Starry sky

Another novelty among the ampelous varieties of petunias is the Starry Sky. This variety immediately gained popularity among flower growers. The variety appeared in 2015 thanks to the efforts of German breeders. Already by the name of the flower, it is clear what its buds look like. Small and terry to the touch, they have the shape of stars and are painted in a deep blue with purple tints. But its most distinctive and unusual feature is the white specks on the petals, which makes them resemble a starry sky.

Big Time

A small shrub with small foliage of bright green color. It is distinguished by its high resistance to frost and the fact that it almost never gets sick. Short shoots do not grow longer than 50-60 cm.

In the process of development of shoots, they form a spherical crown. Medium-sized buds are colored pink and completely cover the green mass.

Growing petunias outdoors

To grow petunias outdoors at home, you first need to sow the seeds. Planting with seedlings is one of the most convenient and effective ways to get flowers.

Sowing seeds should be carried out in early March so that the seedlings can grow to a certain size and get stronger before planting in the garden. This will take her three months. Before planting, you need to prepare seeds and equipment. Planting material should be purchased from trusted stores with a good reputation.

Seed sowing stages:

1. A ready-made nutrient substrate is purchased or made independently. To do this, it is enough to mix light fertile soil of weak acidity with peat and coarse river sand. If the soil mixture is prepared with your own hands, then it is recommended to disinfect and ignite the earth. To do this, it must be carefully spilled with boiling water or a not too concentrated solution of potassium permanganate.
2. The landing box should have several holes in the bottom so that excess liquid can drain from there. At its bottom, you first need to fill the drainage material with a 3-5 cm layer. Only then a third of the total volume of the container is covered with a substrate. You can lightly crush it with your hand.
3. The soil is thoroughly moistened with a spray bottle.
4. Seeds are carefully laid out with tweezers at a distance of 2 to 3 cm and to the same depth.
5. The soil is sprayed again.
6. The box is covered with a glass lid or plastic wrap.
7. Placed in a well-lit place.

The first shoots will appear in a week. In the subsequent period, you need to monitor the lighting and periodically ventilate the seedlings. Do not forget about regular watering. The water should be clean and soft and not cold.

As soon as the seedlings release 3-4 leaves, they can be planted in separate small pots. This is done by the transshipment method. After planting, the bushes require care, which consists in constant monitoring of the temperature regime, humidity indicators and watering.

In the same period, it is necessary to start feeding petunias with complex mineral fertilizers. One feeding every 7-10 days is enough for the bushes to begin active growth and a set of green mass.

After the land in the garden has completely warmed up under the spring sun rays, you can transplant the seedlings into open ground. Experienced flower growers recommend carrying out this procedure in the morning or in the evening, and preferably on cloudy days. So the leaves of the seedlings will not burn in the sun after planting.

For cultivation, they choose open places where there is a lot of light. You need to dig up the ground in advance and add humus or compost to it. Feeding with mineral fertilizers will not be superfluous.

Ampel petunia will decorate any terrace

Planting seedlings in open ground is carried out according to the following algorithm:

1. Seedlings are pulled out of containers along with the soil. Do not abruptly pull out the bushes, otherwise you can damage or cut off the stems.
2. Dig holes slightly larger than the diameter of the seedling root together with the soil. The distance between each flower should be 25 cm.
3. Fill the bottom of the holes with expanded clay crumbs.
4. Add some earth on top to cover the drainage.
5. Arrange the bushes and sprinkle with earth.
6. Tamp well and pour over with water.
7. Cover the ground with sawdust or peat.

Perhaps some gardeners will have a question: ampelous petunia - what is it and how does it look externally? This is the most decorative and hardy variety of this kind of flowers, which, with simple care, will ennoble not only the garden, the terrace, but even the interior of the house.