Question
Hi Mike,
 I bought several flats of wave petunias for our annual beds. Planted and fertilized them the next day. The first week they looked beautiful. Well I live in North Ga. We had a dry spell for about 2 weeks. We kept them watered. Now they are dying. They are drying up and dying. We have been watering them pretty regular. We finally got rain the past day or so. They are looking better. But the flowers are blooming out real small. I have a basket of petunias I had won a couple of pots of petunias from a another nursery those petunias are looking great. I planted just one of the other and it is dying also in the basket. Can you tell what I have done wrong. It is breaking my heart that the petunias are dying. Thanks Tonya

Answer
There are two possibilities. My first suspicion is that you fertilized the plants too soon. After transplanting, seedlings need a couple of weeks to acclimate to their new location. This is why plants "stunt" for for a couple of weeks before growing again. Fertilizing can burn the roots since they have not yet established themselves within the soil.

The second possibility is that you are not watering deeply enough. It is more important to water only once or twice per week, but to water heavily. This will result in the water getting down to the subsoil and will force the roots down rather than to the surface. Most plants, petunias included, only need 1-2 inches of water per week.

Finally, be sure to mulch around the plants with shredded bark or shredded leaves. This will help retain the moisture in the soil, reducing the need to water.

The good news is that the plants should recover. It may take 10-14 days, but once they do, they will grow and bloom as normal.

I hope this answered your question. Please write again if I can ever provide assistance.

Regards,

Mike