Asked by: Neyzan Koepke
home and garden landscaping

Can you revive dead petunias?

Examine the foliage of your petunia plants. If the leaves are limp and wilted, but remain green and pliable, watering may be all that is needed to revive them. Water them thoroughly until water runs freely through the bottom of the pot or, in the ground, until the soil is well soaked. Keep the soil evenly moist.


Then, can I bring my petunias back to life?

Without adequate water, petunias may cease blooming, or foliage may wilt and die, within a day or two during hot, dry weather. With quick intervention, petunias can often be revived. Cut back foliage on overly dried petunias to within several inches of the soil level.

Additionally, why are my petunias turning brown? Leaves or stems that turn brown on vining petunias and have fuzzy white or grey spots are indications that the plant has a fungal infection. Prune the petunia, and remove all infected portions of the plant and dispose of them. This will reduce the spores' ability to spread to the rest of the vining petunia.

how do you know if petunias are dead?

If the first frost of autumn has come and gone, your petunias are likely dead and won't be coming back. Check the stems -- if they feel squishy, slimy and brown, your flowers are goners.

What happens if you don't deadhead petunias?

Deadheading Petunias: How To Deadhead Petunia Flowers Unfortunately, those colorful blossoms die off quickly, leaving you the job of deadheading petunias. Only if you want to avoid straggly green stems without blooms for at least half of the season. Keep your garden colorful and productive by deadheading your petunias.

Related Question Answers

Duguneh Aranguren

Professional

Why are my petunia hanging baskets dying?

Water a Wave petunia only when the soil feels dry to the touch. You may be over- or underwatering your plant, causing the leaves to die back. Container and hanging basket plants dry out more quickly than garden plants, but how quickly varies depending on light, wind and air temperature.

Azzeddin Chokri

Professional

Can you overwater petunias?

With petunias, keep them on the dry side. “Like pansies,” she says, “petunias must never be allowed to wilt, either from under- or overwatering. Once they wilt, it's all over.” She advises providing good soil conditions, including preparation with organic materials and ample mulching.

Sofya Dennstedt

Explainer

Why do my petunias look so bad?

Each plant flowers from late spring through fall, or until frost and cool weather cause the plants to decline and die. Healthy petunias have a bushy growth habit but they can become leggy and produce weak, overgrown stems during the growing season. Leggy petunias flower poorly and may die prematurely.

Smahan Recuenco

Explainer

Why are my hanging baskets dying?

Too much water leads to root rot, while too little will leave the plant dehydrated. In both these cases, the plant will wilt and die. Plants in baskets need to be watered more frequently than gardens.

Robustiana Matamala

Explainer

Should I water my petunias every day?

Petunias are tolerant of heat so you don't have to water them regularly. A thorough watering once a week should be sufficient (unless there are prolonged periods of drought in your area). The spreading types and those in containers require more frequent watering though.

Patrik Salvago

Pundit

How do you keep petunias blooming all summer?

To encourage additional blooms from petunias, old blooms should be removed through deadheading to encourage new blossoms instead of seed production.
  1. Look for signs that petunia blooms are beginning to fade and die.
  2. Remove, or deadhead, the petunia plant by hand.

Grisel Grauberger

Pundit

Why are my petunias turning yellow and dying?

A number of fungal diseases can cause petunias to turn yellow. Some common diseases, including crown, stem and root rot, also cause the plant to turn mushy. Others such as verticillium wilt cause yellowing before the leaves turn brown and drop from the plant. Water at the base of the plants to keep the foliage dry.

Dominykas Essid

Pundit

How long do petunias last?

How long do the plants themselves actually live for, or perhaps you want to know how long the flowers last once your petunias bloom? To tackle the first part of the question, petunias can live for 2 or 3 years but generally behave as annuals because they can't survive the freezing temperatures of the winter.

Novella Hoffers

Teacher

How do you get rid of dead petunia flowers?

Trim off the spent petunias at the stem beneath the base of the flower with scissors or pruning shears. All parts of the flower should be removed, but some of the stem can remain. Do this no more than once a week, so the plant can recover between trimmings.

Jorg Cogollos

Teacher

How often should you water hanging baskets?

In general, water plants in hanging baskets when the soil surface becomes dry to the touch. On hot, sunny days it may be necessary to water once a day. When watering hanging baskets, be sure to apply water until water begins to flow out the bottom of the container.

Bassem Chardi

Teacher

How do I make my petunia bushy?

Keep petunias bushy to maintain their looks and keep them blooming.
  1. Move container-grown plants into the yard in the morning and back onto the porch in the afternoon so they receive at least five to six hours of beneficial morning sunlight.
  2. Pinch grandiflora and multiflora petunia seedlings back when you plant them.

Evon Hugenschmidt

Reviewer

What could be killing my petunias?

Heavy or poorly-draining soil will hold on to too much water and actually start to drown your plant. Without the added air around the roots that good soil allows, the plant has difficulty drawing in water properly. The result is again wilting petunias because there isn't enough water in the plant tissues.

Ami Balazs

Reviewer

Can you revive a dying plant?

The answer is yes! First and foremost, the dying plant's roots must be alive to have any chance of coming back to life. It's even better if your plant stems still show signs of green. To get started, trim back any dead leaves and some foliage, especially if the majority of the roots are damaged.

Edinalva Kendell

Reviewer

Why are my impatiens suddenly dying?

Verticillium wilt is a soil-based fungal disease that causes impatiens to wilt and turn yellow, with older growth affected first. Eventually, the plant turns brown and dies, although younger growth may remain green. Plant impatiens in well-drained soil, and then water only when the top of the soil feels slightly dry.

Kerri Fosse

Reviewer

How do you tell if petunias are overwatered?

Learn to take it back a few notches with these clues.
  1. Wet and Wilting. It looks wilted, but the soil is wet.
  2. Brown Leaves. If the leaves turn brown and wilt, there is the possibility that you have been overwatering.
  3. Edema. The third sign that your plant has been overwatered is edema.
  4. Yellow Falling Leaves.
  5. Root Rot.

Konstantinos Ontikov

Supporter

Are coffee grounds good for petunias?

Manure or coffee grounds can be added to the organic matter to replace the 10-10-10 balanced fertilizer for organic gardens. Compost tea or fish emulsion can be used in place of the water-soluble fertilizer.

Rytis Michelsen

Supporter

What's the best fertilizer for petunias?

Garden petunias like a balanced fertilizer such as 8-8-8, 10-10-10, or 12-12-12. In early to mid-July, start using a liquid fertilizer every two to three weeks. Spreading petunias may need weekly fertilization, while container-grown plants will respond well to a time-release fertilizer.

Fabricio Lukas

Supporter

How do you revive potted petunias?

Examine the foliage of your petunia plants. If the leaves are limp and wilted, but remain green and pliable, watering may be all that is needed to revive them. Water them thoroughly until water runs freely through the bottom of the pot or, in the ground, until the soil is well soaked. Keep the soil evenly moist.

Maybelle Conraria

Beginner

Why are my hanging baskets turning brown?

Some times these baskets have dried out in between waterings, so there are some leaves that are brown and dried. In other cases the soil has been kept too wet and the plants are yellowing from over watering.