hanging basket with petunias..dry and brown at roots up.....help!?

Question

i'm not a brown thumb, i grow plants fairly well, but petunias are new to me. i have the kind in a hanging basket, and they are dying from the root up. they are brown and dead halfway up ,it's still blooming and green at the ends. what is going on? it its fall here, getting colder, and i have brought it inside now. any suggestions????

Answer 1

I don't know if they'll make it indoors. Sometimes not enough sun. You also shock it by moving it while still in bloom. It could be dying because it's just an annual and that's what it's meant to do. You can change or add some potting soil to "top" it off. I'm sure from being out and watering w/ hose all summer there probably isn't alot of soil left. It can be lots of reasons. Snip a piece of from root and bring the sample down to your local gardener's center/ nursery, they'll tell you.

Answer 2

Petunias, when grown as annuals, are among the plants that show signs of their age by leaf yellowing and wilting with cold temperatures. This is also the natural appearance of the older portions of a spreading plant that flowers on new growth.
They are native to Argentina, Brazil, and other warm parts of South America where they are perennial so it should be possible to winter them over with shelter from cold nights. Areas like Georgia can mulch them in the garden to protect them from cold nights in most winters.
In places where they grow naturally they are sheared back right after bloom to keep them from sprawling and exposing bare older stems. I would trim it back so there is much less foliage, no flower buds but still a few healthy leaves. The older stem may branch or there may be new basal breaks.
They can be open to insect damage if they are suffering from stress so watch for infestations. You could spray it with insecticidal soap and, once the soap has dried, rinse the plant the plant to remove the soap residue.
The plants like full sun so be sure there is enough light to keep your plant healthy.
Petunia conditions should be 45-55 degrees F. at night rising to 65-70 degrees in daytime with 5500-9000 footcandles of light.

Personal comments on over-wintering petunias
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tips/msg0417141822857.html
Here is ageneral article on over-wintering herbaceous perennials and the problems in a commercial setting
http://hortweb.cas.psu.edu/ohortex/news/1999/October_99.html