Petunias growing faster than expected

Hi, I planted some petunia seeds at the beginning of feb. Im a bit worried there growing quicker than i expected. I already have a bunch of small seedlings. Will this mean they grow to large for the house and that I have to put them outside before the risk of frost has passed?

ta

David -you may have started too early-I trust they are no longer in the propagator

Get them onto a well lit window in cool room and turn daily will stop them getting too leggy

They will need pricking out into trays soon-when they are big enough but you must protect from frosts-or zap

You do have a greenhouse I take it?

I went to dobbies in Jan and they had the starter plants in, the staff member advised me not to buy them unless I had a cold frame. I bought some seeds and the internet said that usually when the shops have there starter plants in, it is a good time to start seeds. I have still got them in the propagator as I have had no problems with them dying like the strawberry seeds? I take it i should still take it off then? I have no space for a green house but I want to get a cold frame but not until payday which is the 19th.

Ill try and upload some pics shortly

Sorry David but you have sown far too early

Germination is the easy bit what you do next is the tricky part-they need coming out of the propagator now -heat is no longer required but they need good light to grow compact sturdy plants-and at present you cannot do that-a cold frame will not provide sufficient protection

Far better to have waited till early March at the very earliest as I said cool room good light now- they must not grow too fast

The internet covers the whole world and is only good for general information-the seed packet is not a great guide either-you need to grow things to suit you personal conditions

oh dear what should i do with these now?

They are titchy-do nothing yet-windowsill

Come back in a few weeks for the next stage-you might just get way with it-it depends on the weather

ooh fingers crossed. they are currently on the south facing windowsill? would moving them to the north windowsill be better or worse?

Good light is the vital thing-as I say keep turning daily-the north one at the moment is probably your best bet-slow and steady

ok thats what i was thinking. heres hoping. i will come back in a couple of weeks with an update

given their size, you may be over panicing

have a look at this;

http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/petunias.html 

That's a useful article, discodave. Thanks.

David25, as long as you pot on these seedlings at the appropriate time and make sure they are watered and turned regularly (they grow towards the light), they should be OK. They will need to be carefully hardened off and then put in your cold frame and protected from any late frosts with bubble wrap or fleece, and be careful that they don't get leggy because they ae growing towards the light. You want nice compact, well-shaped plants. If they get too tall and thin, you can gently pinch out the tops.

i have one for example that is so much taller than the rest. what do u mean exactly by pinch out the tops?

David again relax-you are getting ahead of yourself-just leave them alone

The pinching out stage is when they are big plants-in about 2/3 months

Sorry, should have made that plain. Just let them grow, as sotongeoff says. You pinch them out when they have been potted on and are several inches high. You could have a look in garden centres at the shape of their larger petunia plants, later on in the season, and compare yours to see if they need pinching out. 

Hey all, this is my petunias so far, how long till i need to do something else?

When they are big enough to handle-in a few weeks-you need to transplant them into a seed tray as individual seedlings or into individual modules to get separate plants.

But not just yet

It is coming along-how are the strawberries doing?

the straw seedlings all have one true leaf each which seem to be getting bigger every day( albeit still very small) the strawb plants outside dont seem to have got any bigger but i dont check them every day.

hey here is an update on petunias so far. what do you reckon?

this is the full pic...

David 25, can I ask what compost you used?

heres a video article on petunia sedlings.

http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/basics/how-to-prick-out-seedlings/298.html