Petunia Opera: 10 varieties with descriptions and characteristics, planting and care rules with photos

Petunia variety Opera is a very beautiful ornamental plant. It is very popular with many flower growers. This culture is easy to care for and beautiful appearance. The undoubted advantage is the abundance of color solutions. This allows you to choose the best options depending on the tasks. To get a strong plant, it is recommended to provide it with full and high-quality care.

Description and features

Petunia Opera is considered the result of the work of breeders from Japan. It is characterized by ease of care.This plant is very fond of sunlight. At the flowering stage, crop loops can be up to 60 centimeters, which looks very aesthetically pleasing. With proper care, you can get dense inflorescences.

This ampel culture is often planted in hanging containers. When flowering, the bush acquires a spherical shape. This effect is achieved due to young branches, which, under the weight of flowers, fall down.

Ampelous petunia has small inflorescences. Their size is 5-7 centimeters. The plant strikes with a variety of color options - from white to deep purple hues.

Popular varieties

Today there are many interesting varieties that differ in color. This allows flower growers to make more and more compositions.

Supreme Pink Morne

This ampelous petunia is characterized by inflorescences of a rich pink hue.

Raspberry Ice

In translation, the name of this variety means "raspberry ice". The culture has light pink buds with a raspberry center.

Supreme White

This cascading petunia has white flowers. At the same time, they are characterized by a yellow center.

Blue

This type of petunia is considered one of the most attractive. Its flowers are distinguished by a rich blue hue.

Red

This petunia has rich red flowers. The plant looks very impressive.

Blue

This plant has a very original color. It is decorated with blue-violet flowers.

Coral

This is a delicate shade that is actively used to create flower arrangements. Petunia of this variety has coral flowers.

Lavender

This plant looks very gentle and is very popular with flower growers. It has a delicate lavender hue.

Purple

Culture has a fairly rich color. It is characterized by flowers of a purple hue.

Supreme Red

This is a fairly bright plant that has bright red flowers.

How to plant

To get a beautiful plant, it is recommended to plant it correctly. To do this, it is worth considering a lot of features.

Choosing a seat

Petunia of this variety is not demanding on the duration of daylight hours. Culture grows well and develops in illuminated areas. However, it is quite capable of withstanding a slight shading.It is best grown on windowsills that face east.

Ground requirements

The plant needs nutritious and loose soil. It is best to make the soil yourself. To do this, you need to take 2 parts of leafy soil, peat, humus. Then add 1 part sand. The finished composition should be sieved. 1 day before planting, the plant must be watered.

Plant pattern

In order for the petunia to grow well, you should follow these planting recommendations:

1. Before planting, the material should be mixed with sand.
2. Seeds are not recommended to be pressed into the soil. They should be sown on the surface of the soil.
3. After planting, it is recommended to level the ground and sprinkle it with water. Top the container with a film.
4. Place the pot with seedlings in a room with a temperature of 20-23 degrees.
5. After 1 week, sprouts should appear. It is recommended to spray them twice a day with water. The greenhouse should definitely be ventilated.
6. Be sure to monitor the humidity parameters. Otherwise, there is a risk of damage to the culture with a black leg. If drops of condensate appear on the film, wipe them off.
7. When the first leaf appears on the plant, it is not recommended to cover the greenhouse.
8. When the number of leaves reaches 3-4, the plants dive into separate containers. However, the soil should first be well moistened.
9. When transplanting, the sprout is carefully removed from the container. It is important to ensure that the integrity of the clod of earth is maintained.

Care

This culture is considered quite unpretentious in care. Therefore, even inexperienced growers actively grow it.

Irrigation

Petunia Opera handles drought with ease. However, with a prolonged moisture deficit, too poor flowering is observed. It is necessary to water the plant under the root. It is important that the liquid does not get on the delicate flowers.

The next day, the soil should be loosened to avoid the formation of a crust. It is recommended to water the culture 1-2 times a week.

Fertilizer

To achieve abundant and long flowering, it is recommended to use fertilizers in time. This should be done at intervals of 10 days. It is advisable to use formulations that contain a lot of potassium. Petunia well perceives organic fertilizers - mullein or humic acids. To achieve a brighter shade of flowers, you should use Aquarin flower. The substance is used with an interval of 10 days. You can make a special solution. For this, 2 small spoons of the product are mixed with 10 liters of water.

Cutting

After planting the crop, it is worth pinching 2 leaves at the top. This encourages branching of the main stem, making the plant more lush.

Diseases and pests

The plant is susceptible to various diseases. It also often encounters attacks by harmful insects. The use of special tools will help to cope with the problem.

Black leg

This disease is quite common. With its development, the stem becomes dark and soft. Provoking factors are dense planting or high humidity.

It is not possible to cure the black leg. Therefore, the affected bush should be thrown away. At the initial stage, you can try to eliminate the disease with drugs that contain mancozeb or oxadixil.

Grey Rot

Pathology is caused by a deficiency or excess of nitrogen in the soil. It can also be caused by high humidity. The provoking factor of the disease is the fungus. It enters the root system and affects the entire flower.As a result, spots appear on the branches and leaves. Then they dry out, and a gray coating forms.

Preparations such as Skor and Integral help to cope with the disease.

White rot

Weeping brown spots help to identify white rot. In conditions of high humidity, they become covered with a white coating. Damaged fragments become soft and white. The stem is affected by a white mycelium, which eventually becomes covered with dark spots. To cope with the problem, it is recommended to remove damaged plant fragments in time. It also requires processing by such means as Fitosporin-M, Maxim, Integral.

Wet rot

This disease is also called rhizoctoniosis. This violation is a consequence of high humidity. It's hard to deal with him. In this case, sprouts and adult plants may suffer. At the initial stage, remedies based on mancozeb or oxadixil help eliminate the disease.

Brown spotting

In high humidity there is a risk of brown spotting. Brown spots on the leaves help to identify the disease. To cope with the problem, you can use copper-based products. It is recommended to process plants 2-3 times with an interval of 7-10 days.

Light blight

When pathology appears, the base of the stem becomes brown and begins to rot. Culture withers and dies. The cause of the problems is the increased humidity of the earth and air. To avoid problems, it is important to exclude excessive planting density. After planting, the culture should be treated with products based on metalaxyl and mancozeb.

Leaf galls

This term refers to the formation of short and thickened sprouts that are localized at the base of the stems.

Timely protection of petunias from pests will help to avoid this.

Viruses

Petunia is prone to various viral infections. Florists advise burning infected bushes, since it is impossible to eliminate the disease.

Cucumber mosaic

With the development of pathology, the plant develops small flowers, which are covered with dirty yellow spots.

Tobacco mosaic

In this case, light green necrotic marks appear on the leaves of the petunia. Gradually they die off.

Y and X potatoes

Infection with this virus appears as a wrinkled mosaic. Leaves may also become covered with necrotic spots.

Tomato Aspermia

With the development of pathology, there is a violation of the development of flowers. The plant is significantly weakened.

Aphid

These tiny insects settle on the underside of the leaves and provoke their deformation. To cope with the problem, you can put an onion or garlic near the pot. In advanced cases, it will not be possible to do without chemicals.

Whitefly

This is the most dangerous pest that feeds on plant sap. Insecticides help control whiteflies. For this purpose, Actellik can be used. Also suitable Verticillin G.

Thrips

Pollen, which spills out of the stamens onto the petals, helps to identify the anomaly. To cope with thrips, it is worth removing weeds in time. With a large number of pests, it is recommended to cut the plants.

It is also worth using special tools, such as Fitoverm, Aktara, Intavir.

Spider mites

Identifying these insects is very problematic. When they are active, red, yellow or silver spots appear on the leaves. It is impossible to cope with the problem with the help of insecticides. To eliminate ticks, only acaricides and insectoacaricides are suitable. Actellik is considered the best remedy.

Slugs

To deal with slugs, it is worth applying superphosphate to the surface of the soil and treating the culture with chemicals.

Reproduction

Seeds or cuttings can be used to propagate the culture. Each method has its own peculiarities.

Seeds

This is the most common method. To breed petunia Opera, it is worth sowing seeds for seedlings. It is recommended to do this in February or March.

Shanks

This method is used to preserve your favorite variety. For its implementation, strong cuttings are cut from a he althy plant, flowers and lower leaves are removed. The cut should be treated with a special stimulant. After that, the cuttings are planted in pots with nutrient soil.

Possible problems

When growing petunias, there is a risk of some problems. To avoid this, it is worth familiarizing yourself with typical mistakes in advance.

Tight potty

In too small capacity, the development of the plant stops.

No side shoots

In case of insufficient branching, you can pinch the top. This will provoke the emergence of new buds.

Lack of light

Lack of light causes no or too little flowering.

Lack of top dressing

If you do not fertilize in a timely manner, the plant will begin to grow green mass. This will negatively affect its flowering.

Dried earthen room

Too dry lump of earth will cause insufficient development of culture.

Viral diseases

Infection with viral diseases can lead to the death of the plant.

Tips for landscape designers

Petunia Opera is actively used in landscape design, allowing you to create beautiful compositions. It can be planted along paths or fences. Also, experts advise creating beautiful flower beds or alpine slides.

Bright mixborders will decorate the site. Compositions with stones and sculptures look great. They can be of different sizes and shapes.

Reviews of flower growers

Numerous reviews confirm the popularity of this plant:

1. Marina: “I really liked the petunia of this variety. She pleases with bright colors and is distinguished by unpretentious care.”
2. Svetlana: “For the first time I planted a petunia Opera last year. I really liked the result. The plant has excellent decorative properties.”

Petunia Opera is a beautiful plant that is easy to care for. Even novice flower growers can cope with growing a crop. To do this, it is enough to water the flower in time and apply the necessary fertilizers.

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