A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Planting Petunias

Hi all,

I definitely had a problem this year with planting the petunia seeds. They are all bunched together in the egg carton and thinning them is going to mean loosing most of them. Is there a way to plant them next year so that I don't have this problem or should I just not do them from seeds. My eyes are not the best and I couldn't deal with the seeds individually I just had to sprinkle and hope and it didn't work.

you could try mixing your seeds with fine sand.
it does help a lot! i use it with most of my small seeds like lobelia impatiens petunias and so on...

Thankyou Markr,

That sounds like a plan to me. Thankyou for sharing your techniques with me.

Tammy,
I found packages that were those pelleted one's..
*The big white coating on them*
there weren't as many in the package, buttttt,
I didn't have to worry about dropping them and loosing them and planting them too close and then thinning either....

and last year was my first time to grow them,
and got some very pretty plants..
I had fun with them...

I have never grown petunias from seed, but plan to this year. I have the old fashion vining ones, and I was planning to just direct sow into a hanging pot, will this work alright with the fine seed, I had to open my package to see, and mine are not pellet.

TK, what's worked in the past for me when petunia seeds are sowed too close together (OK, every year because I just carelessly sprinkle the seeds) is to wait until the seedlings are at least a couple inches tall so they have a good root system, then divide the clumps without differentiating the roots of individual plants. Petunias are tough and though I lose a few plants, I always end up with way more than I need, many more than if I thinned them when they are tiny.

I'll atest to what Cricket said...
I really abused mine..
I let them go, they were in the six pack and just bloomed their fool heads' off...

and when I finally took them out, the roots were all intertwined and out the bottom, I wasn't gentle with them, and worked out great...

And the colors... just beautiful!!!!

You all give me hope. I have them planted in the egg cartons so I'm not sure they are going to make it to several inches tall but I'll wait until I see some starting to die off and then transplant. Hopefully I don't lose the entire batch. Thankyou again for your encouragement. I really really appreciate it. I've never done petunias before and am looking forward to seeing these.

TK, I've done that with petunias too. Just plant them in clumps and they'll be great.

I planted Parks Double Petunias today. Since they are a small seed, and hard to see,I empty the seeds in to a small container about one inch in diameter. I then get a white plastic spoon. I take the container of seeds and shake one onto the spoon. I take the spoon over to my tray with inserts and put the seed in the tray. It takes a little time, but it worked for me. Remember, petunias need between 75-80 degrees to germinate. Don't bury the seeds, just place them on the soil.

Thanks Ironside for the tip on the getting the seed where you want it, I will try this method.

I guess I lucked out with mine...I just bought a pack of mixed Petunias yesterday and when I planted them earlier they were coated!

I can't wait this year for all of my seeds to grow!

Me too I watch them from that little bit of potting soil all the way until I harvest their seeds. And every stage is amazing. I had a lady over today that was amazed that every bit of space in my apartment is full of sprouts lol. And I'm loving it.