How to Propagate Petunias From Stem Cuttings

Petunias are versatile garden plants that look lovely when in bloom and are completely edible. Available in nearly every color, the bloom is used as a garnish for finger foods in some areas. This annual flower is extremely frost resistant and can, if sheltered, spend winter outdoors in zones 7 and up. A gardener wishing to propagate petunias can do so by starting them in the early spring from seed or by starting them from a fresh cutting.

Petunia plant
Soil
Pot (5 or 6 inches)
Water

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare a 5- or 6-inch pot with a mixture of light, porous potting soil.
- 2
  Pre-moisten the soil. Mix it so that it is moist throughout, but not saturated at any point.
- 3
  Cut a section of green growth from the parent plant. New growth will work best. The cutting should be 2 to 3 inches long, taken from directly below a leaf node. A good cutting will include three to six nodes. A node is the point from which a plant leafs and is often just a little bump on the stem if leaves have not yet emerged from it.
- 4
  Remove all but three or four of the leaves. These leaves should be left at the very top of the cutting.
- 5
  Remove any flower buds or seeds from the cutting. These elements will take large amounts of energy from the cutting if they are allowed to remain; removing them ensures that the plant can grow a healthy rooting system.
- 6
  Prepare two more cuttings as described above.
- 7
  Place three cuttings into the prepared pot. About an inch of the cutting should be placed below the soil.
- 8
  Pack the soil tightly around the cutting. It is important that soil is compacted so that air pockets are removed.
- 9
  Water the cuttings thoroughly after they are set.
- 10
  Place the pot in a window that does not receive direct sunlight or outside in the shade.

How to Grow Petunias From Cuttings

Care Instructions for Impatiens

Growing Annuals