Expert: C.L. Fornari - 7/26/2007

Question
I have 2 pots of petunias on my patio and 1 hanging basket.  I live in Albuquerque, NM and the hanging basket gets full sun, the 2 pots get afternoon/west sun about 7-8 hours a day.  They did well for the first month, (I do dead-head them) and then the leaves started turning brown and several of the plants died.  I'm trying to save as many as I can but I don't know what to do.  One of the pots looks more healthy than the others but it is starting to turn brown as well.  I've looked for insects on them and have not seen any.  I use Miracle Gro fertilzer (powder in water) every 2-3 weeks.

Answer
Marlene,
Petunias that are turning brown are either getting too dry, or have fertlizer burn from fertlizing a thirsty plant or using too much fertlizer.  (Unfortunately, the fertlizer packages usually don't tell you to water the plant well before fertilizing!)  

At this point, cut them back - either all at once or a third at a time.  (Cut the stems back by 3/4 - you can do a third of the stems this week, randomly around the plant, and a third in 10 days and the final third in another 10 days - which spreads the recovery time out)  After cutting the plant back, water when the soil is dry - lift the hanging basket every day and see if it's light.  If so, water it well.  In hot weather it may need watering twice a day!  Only fertlilize after the plant has been watered well and allowed to sit for a couple of hours to absorb the moisture.

I hope this helps,
C.L.