What does the grey number above the petal container indicate?

Hmm, have you not watched the tutorial yet?

When you feed nectar to Pikmin, you can make them bloom. Tapping these bloomed Pikmin will reward you with flower petals, which can be planted.

Wasn’t there a way to reset the tutorial? For now, we recommend watching the " A few tips for new players that are getting started on Pikmin Bloom." or checking out the beginner’s guide video.