Me Again wrote:
Hi all! Since buying a house about 6 months ago after living in
apartments for 10+ years, I've suddenly taken an interest in all
things green. I've planted some petunias of the Tidal Wave Cherry
kind beside the house and am having mixed results.

Probably within 2 days of first planting them, the flowers up and
died. Knowing next to nothing about how plants work, I considered
pulling the whole bit up but I'm glad I didn't. It turns out that the
leafy part was still alive, but the flowers had basically closed up
and shrivelled away as far as I can tell. About a week later, the
flowers were coming back and I thought great, maybe they'll start to
spread like I want 'em to. But no, about half a week later, those
flowers died, too.

This cycle has been repeating itself over and over since I first
planted the petunias about 2 months ago. What gives? Are they rain
sensitive? I've noticed the flowers tend to disappear after a rain.
Are they not getting enough sun? I planted them beside the house next
to the fence, they probably only see about 2-3 hours of sun per day at
most, the rest is shade. I don't think bugs are a culprit, there was
nothing growing in that plot of land for a good while before I put the
petunias and heather there. The soil is kind of 'clay-ish' but not
clay itself. I'm giving it some Miracle Gro plant food every 2 weeks,
one capful to the soil.

Or is this all normal and I'm not being patient enough?

Wave (r) Petunias don't go to seed, and do not need to be pinched. They
will close-up in rain or overhead watering. They also should be planted
in full sun. Planting them where they only get 2-3 hours of sun a day
you'd be lucky to get a flush of flowers at all, let alone have those
flushes come close enough to look like continuous blooming. You also
won't get the growth and spreading that's bragged about in the ads. Toss
in less than ideal soil conditions, and I'd say you're doing darn well
considering everything!

As for the pre-diluted Miracle Gro, you're darn right it's more
expensive. That bottle is primarily water. You're likely paying even
more than if you diluted the concentrate with the most expensive bottled
water you can find.

BTW-- When you do find a sunny spot to grow petunias, don't waste your
money on the Wave (r) Petunias. There are other low-maintenance
varieties out there that don't need to be pinched, and they may be less
expensive than the heavily marketed Wave (r). And if you've got the time
to pinch, you may find that the cheapest flat of petunias will do just
fine, and probably cost 1/4 (or less) the price of the Wave (r).

Just remember that petunias need more sun than 2-3 hours a day, and they
will do better in a loamy soil (as just about anything will) than a very
"clay-ish" soil. If you can do what you did with shade and bad soil,
you'll have amazing results with better conditions even without buying
the brand named petunias.

--
Warren H.

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