The Cheerful Flower You Should Start From Seed In Winter For Sweet Spring Blooms

For gardeners, there's nothing quite like dreaming about a stunning spring garden bursting with gorgeous blooms in all the glorious colors of the rainbow. But did you know that while you're sitting there cozied up to a roaring fire with your hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee on a bleak winter's morning, that mid to late winter is the perfect time to start bringing your vision to life? That's right — depending on where you live, February is the ideal time to start seeds indoors for sweet spring blooms. One cheerful flower you may want to grow from seed in winter is the pretty petunia (Petunia ×atkinsiana). With a myriad of different varieties in colors across almost the entire spectrum of the rainbow, these attractive blooms will fill your garden with more exuberance than you can imagine.

You'll find petunias are super easy to grow from seed as long as you have a sunny, warm windowsill to place them on, or a grow light that'll provide them with just what they need to sprout and start their growth. Plus, once planted in the garden in spring, they won't need all that much care but will continue to delight you with their colorful flowers all summer long. You'll also find that petunias are one of many drought-resistant flowers perfect for hanging baskets. So instead of waiting for spring to purchase transplants at your local nursery, why not get a head start and grow them from seed?

The first thing you want to do is purchase some seeds. There are plenty of beautiful hybrids to choose from, such as the Supertunia Mini Vista, Supertunia Picasso in Purple, Fun House Potpourri, Surfinia Summer Double Salmon, or Starlet Velvet. You might also like to explore beautiful petunia varieties that will keep hummingbirds coming back for more. The best time to start your seeds is about 10 weeks before the last frost date. With seeds in hand, select a few suitable containers, such as small pots or those seedling plug trays that are sitting in your garage from last year. Remember to give these a wash in soapy water and then sterilize them using a bleach and water solution. Fill your containers with either a seed starting mix.

Now it's just a case of sprinkling the seeds over the moistened mix evenly, although this might take a little practice because they're so tiny. As petunia seeds need light to germinate, you don't want to cover them. Instead, just press them down very lightly with the back of a spoon or spatula. Gently mist the mix again with a spray bottle filled with water. Place your seeds in a warm spot that gets bright, indirect sunlight. You might want to cover them with a plant cloche to help retain some moisture. The ideal temperature for germination is around 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Given the right conditions, you should find that your seeds will start to sprout in around seven to 10 days. Once this happens, remove the cloche or plastic covering and place them under a suitable grow light. Giving your young seedlings ample light will ensure they don't become too leggy. When using a grow light, position it about 4 to 6 inches above the seedlings and set it to run for around 12 to 16 hours daily at an optimum temperature of 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you don't have a grow light, don't worry because a bright, sunny windowsill should work just as well. Once your tiny plants have at least three true leaves, it's time to pot them up individually using a good quality potting soil that has nutrients added. This will encourage the plants to grow because the seed-starting mix you used won't have any fertilizer in it. Monitor your seedlings daily and water them when the surface of the soil is dry. Before planting your petunias out into your garden or into attractive hanging pots to adorn your veranda, make sure you harden them off by placing them outside during the day and then bringing them back in overnight. You want to do this for several days so your plants are slowly being conditioned to living outdoors permanently. Finally, you might be interested to know that your petunias will thrive alongside a range of companion plants, such as geraniums (Pelargonium) and salvias (genus Salvia).