Petunias are very unusual and beautiful flowers. They can meet in almost every garden, because no one can resist the beautiful flowers, resembling butterflies. These flowers have a huge variety of shades from white to deep purple.
Spray petunia can be easily recognized, but cascading and ampelous are regularly confused. In order to understand in as much detail as possible what they are similar and how they differ in, we consider each of them separately.
Kinds
Ampelnaya
Ampel petunia has a number of properties characteristic only for it. To confuse it with most other types of petunias is almost impossible. The length of its shoots can reach more than a meter, the shoots gently fall down, and do not stick out in all directions. Because of such properties, it is most often grown in hanging pots - in them it looks the most elegant and luxurious.
Petunia has very tender and soft leaves. Old leaves that are closer to the root, as a rule, are larger in size than the young leaves on the shoots.
Flowers of various colors are very reminiscent of the bells and are located along the entire length of the shoot. In some varieties, flowers are larger and reach a diameter of 10 cm, while others only have from three to five.
Petunia is a unique plant. On one shoot there may be buds of not only different size, but also of different colors. There are colors from snow white to dark purple.
Cascade
The shoots are strong enough and do not break in the wind. If this plant is planted in hanging pots, it will be very similar to octopus. Flowers in its diameter reach 5-8 cm, all of the same size. Their shades may vary, but not very much.
A photo
Familiarize yourself with the photos of both types of flowers in order to understand the differences between them.
Ampelnaya:
Cascade:
What is the difference between these species?
These two plants are surprisingly similar, because they not only belong to the same species, but also close relatives. Yet there are differences between them. Their shoots are of unequal length and thickness. In ampelous petunias, they are more dry and brittle.
Cascade Petunias have an amazing curling ability. and it can be used to decorate hedges. The differences are also visible in the size of the buds. To make the comparison more visual, a table is filled with basic data about these plants.
comparison table
| Description | Cascade | Ampelnaya |
| Shoot size | Up to 1.5 m, grow rapidly, can twist around a support. | Up to 1.2 m |
| Size and color of flowers | Large flowers of the same size, similar shades. | Flowers are up to 8-10 cm in size, of different shades, often two-colored. |
| Growing points | Cuttings and seeds | |
| Soil required | Fertile, ideally black soil | |
| Top dressing, watering | Demanding to feed and watering | |
| Landing places | Beds, pots, free areas of the garden, pots, tubs | Pletenki, tubs, pots. |
| Bloom | From mid-June continuously until the start of frosts. | |
| Do I need to pinch | Yes, in order for the flower to grow faster and more carefully. | Not |
| Growth features | First stretch up, then scattered around | Immediately pull down |
Difference in care
Since the ampelous and cascade petunias are not very different from each other in origin, then there will not be too many individual features in the care of each of them, but still you need to take into account some nuances to get the most beautiful and healthy plants.
For example, ampelous petunia is best planted in open ground after stable warm days are established - any freeze can be critical for it. It is believed that the best time to transplant ampel petunia in its permanent place is the beginning or even the middle of June.
You can also use garden boxes or flowerpots for growing - petunia will look beautiful everywhere. But do not plant it next to other flowers. Petunias grow very quickly and simply suppress all other plants in the flower bed. A much better option would be to allocate a separate corner for these flowers - then soon it will be covered with a luxurious fragrant carpet of buds.
Ampel petunia is very demanding on fertilizers and watering. Especially careful to be at the beginning of flowering, when the buds just bloom - at such moments the flower is extremely sensitive to the amount of moisture and the quality of fertilizing. We can not allow the stagnation of water near the roots of ampelous petunia - they begin to rot very quickly, and young shoots die off.
If you choose the right feeding and frequency of watering, petunia will delight you with its magnificent flowers from the beginning of June until the first frosts.
Cascade petunia has its own characteristics, although in essence it is one of the subspecies of ampelous. For example, for the most comfortable growth it will need a separate small glade - cascade petunia scatter lash, forming a natural flower bed with a diameter of one and a half to two meters.
Also, petunia grows well, clinging to the support - for example, a pole or a fence. However, in this case, it will have to be specially sent in the right direction so that the flowers do not start crawling on each other and hanging down.
When planting a cascade petunia always care must be taken that the distance between the seedlings is not less than 50 cm. Otherwise, the shoots will simply choke each other, they do not have enough space to grow and show all their beauty.
If the cultivation of cascade petunias is planned in pots or tubs, then you need to make sure that their volume is large enough - not less than 5 liters of land per escape. If you want to plant 2 or 3 plants in one container at once, it is better to take a pot more than 15 liters.
Also in order in order to get a cascade petunia of beautiful shape and achieve the most abundant flowering, it is necessary to regularly pluck itwhich in no case can be done when working with ampel varieties of petunia.
How to choose?
A huge variety of varieties and types of petunias can cause an inexperienced gardener to be seriously embarrassed. Indeed, it is not immediately clear whether the amblen ones or cascade petunias are suitable for decorating the terrace, the dacha area or the balcony. But in fact, everything is quite simple. One has only to pay attention to the size of the zone that you want to liven up with these lovely colors.
Amppelnaya petunia will look great on large garden areasHowever, it may look a little coarse on the tiny terrace.
Petunias are rightfully among the best flowers for home and garden decoration. They will organically fit into almost any space, and even the most picky gardener will surely find himself the sort that will be to his heart. But in any case, whatever petunias you choose - these flowers will delight your eye for a very long time with their unpretentiousness and exquisite beauty.
