What happened to my poor petunia?

Question

It was doing GREAT! The best looking hanging plant on the street. When I got home last night, I noticed little brown poppyseed looking "things" all over. I wasn't sure what it was so I sprayed it with an insect spray made by Shultz. A few hours lady the plant had splotches all over it and is dying quickly. Any advice to save my plant? Thanks.

Answer 1

Your growning skills were so good that your Annual Petunias have seeded...! On the other hand now that they have produced their seeds they will want to begin to decline as they are annuals.
Especially if it is hot and humid in your area.

Fortunately you can get a second round of full blooms that will last until frost. This will require a pair of scissors and some intestinal fortitude.

You must cut back your plant - it is reccomended to cut the stalks back as much as 50%.

I know - it's tough to do.
You do not need to replant it. (if you so you will diminish the flowering power for several weeks). But you must water dailty, maybe twice per day ...and fertilize the basket once a week roughly.

(I know it seems like it needs new soil... trust me, this is a bad practice - it's a short lived shallow rooted plant, replanting it will encourage energy for root growth and vastly diminish the few precious weeks left of flowering.)

http://www.yardener.com/CaringForPetunias.html

Answer 2

What you might have seen are the seeds of the petunia plant.

Rinse off the plant. If you see where the plant has stopped losing leaves, cut it back slightly. Petunias in late summer often need a good cutting back to rejuvenate them. If it is still doing well, I would give it a weak solution of bloom booster too -- but don't overdo it.

Also, you should be deadheading the blooms once they die. Do not wait for seed heads to form. Snip off or break off dead blooms immediately. The more you do this the more the plant will produce additional blooms for you.

Answer 3

I hate it when that happens! cut it back several inches and hope for the best. I love petunias but have only had luck with "the wave" variety. petunias are prone to get aphids. if the plant feels sticky, that's the problem. plants in containers also have to be fertilized once a week with a flowering plant fertilier. I have given up on petunias and buy impatience plants because nothing seems to eat them. happy gardening!

Answer 4

The poppyseed looking "things" may have been seeds. See photos of petunia seeds at http://www.flickr.com/photos/11145365@N00/274071766/.

Overwatering petunias can cause them to brown and die (guess how I know that!) but that does not seem to be your case.

Since you didn't list the exact type of insect spray, it is difficult to tell you what might have happened. Schultz makes so many different products, so I can't tell if the spray harmed your petunias. You may not be able to save them.

Answer 5

Pests and Diseases

Petunias are usually quite pest free. Aphids occasionally attack both young and established plants; knock them off with a spray of water. Rain can damage some plants, particularly grandiflora types. can also be troublesome in humid weather.

Please look at this links it has the pictures and the solution of different kind of petunia diseases:
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/flower/petunia.htm
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/nematodes/nematodes.htm
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/powdery/powdery.htm
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/oedema/oedema.htm
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/botrytis/botrytis_blight.htm

good luck!!

Answer 6

I'm not positive about this, however I think you may be fertilizing them too much. I fertilize about once a month! I heard if you do it too often it can kill plants.

Answer 7

rinse it and put it in new soil and go from there . Hope it survives good luck .