"marci" wrote in message
...

Actually... I think I have solved the mystery. I did some more research
and came up with this..

One of the most common pests of petunias is the budworm caterpillar.
These small green worms appear in late June and July. You won't often
see the worm itself. Instead, you'll see the droppings, which often are
described as small black seeds. The worms feed on the flower buds,
making small holes in the buds and the leaves.

These caterpillars are difficult to control but Bacillus thuringensis
(B.T.) and Bifenthrin are reasonably effective insecticides. If left
unchecked, the presence of the caterpillars will cause petunias to stop
blooming.


Thanks to everyone to tried to help me.. I'm sad to say that I think I
may be buying a new bunch of petunias instead of trying to fight this..
it's cheaper


--
marci

Marci, I've posted before that I really do hate petunias. Nothing against
how pretty they look when well grown and tended, thats not the point. For
ME, petunias are just tooo darned co-dependant and not worth the effort to
coddle with pinching spent blooms practically daily.

So in one sense, I do agree with you. Replace the basket with something you
like ( even if its another basket of petunias, LOL). Any reason to shop the
greenhouse AGAIN!!!!!

Sue
Western Maine