#1   Report Post  
Old 23-06-2004, 04:10 AM
pilk00
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

I bought a lovely hanging basket a couple weeks ago. Flowers have been
shriveling. Read somewhere that I should not water until the soil dries
out. How can I bring this plant back to life?

Thanks,

Dan


  #2   Report Post  
Old 23-06-2004, 05:05 AM
Chriz
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

pilk00 feverishly wrote:

I bought a lovely hanging basket a couple weeks ago. Flowers have
been shriveling. Read somewhere that I should not water until the
soil dries out. How can I bring this plant back to life?


I posted here before thinking this group dealt with plants, but it is some
company or business community group. Therefore no help will be found here. I
advise you to go to rec.gardens. I have cross posted for your benefit.


  #3   Report Post  
Old 23-06-2004, 06:07 AM
Cereus-validus
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

You sure are one confused dude, Chrissihizzle.

Petunias in hanging baskets dry out quickly. You should water them
thoroughly every other day. But if they are dead, even a séance won't bring
them back.


"Chriz" wrote in message
...
pilk00 feverishly wrote:

I bought a lovely hanging basket a couple weeks ago. Flowers have
been shriveling. Read somewhere that I should not water until the
soil dries out. How can I bring this plant back to life?


I posted here before thinking this group dealt with plants, but it is some
company or business community group. Therefore no help will be found here.

I
advise you to go to rec.gardens. I have cross posted for your benefit.




  #4   Report Post  
Old 23-06-2004, 07:05 AM
pilk00
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

Thanks to both of you -- I'm going to try CPR!

"Cereus-validus" wrote in message
. ..
You sure are one confused dude, Chrissihizzle.

Petunias in hanging baskets dry out quickly. You should water them
thoroughly every other day. But if they are dead, even a séance won't

bring
them back.


"Chriz" wrote in message
...
pilk00 feverishly wrote:

I bought a lovely hanging basket a couple weeks ago. Flowers have
been shriveling. Read somewhere that I should not water until the
soil dries out. How can I bring this plant back to life?


I posted here before thinking this group dealt with plants, but it is

some
company or business community group. Therefore no help will be found

here.
I
advise you to go to rec.gardens. I have cross posted for your benefit.






  #5   Report Post  
Old 23-06-2004, 01:18 PM
Cereus-validus
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

Yeah right.

Go ahead and blow on the plants and see what that does.


"pilk00" wrote in message
...
Thanks to both of you -- I'm going to try CPR!

"Cereus-validus" wrote in message
. ..
You sure are one confused dude, Chrissihizzle.

Petunias in hanging baskets dry out quickly. You should water them
thoroughly every other day. But if they are dead, even a séance won't

bring
them back.


"Chriz" wrote in message
...
pilk00 feverishly wrote:

I bought a lovely hanging basket a couple weeks ago. Flowers have
been shriveling. Read somewhere that I should not water until the
soil dries out. How can I bring this plant back to life?

I posted here before thinking this group dealt with plants, but it is

some
company or business community group. Therefore no help will be found

here.
I
advise you to go to rec.gardens. I have cross posted for your benefit.










  #6   Report Post  
Old 23-06-2004, 09:09 PM
Doug Kanter
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

"Cereus-validus" wrote in message
...
Yeah right.

Go ahead and blow on the plants and see what that does.


He said "flowers are shriveled". One reason for that is simply that the
flowers are spent, but the rest of the plant could be fine. He did NOT say
the leaves were shriveled up, brown and dead.

1) Pinch off the dead flowers along with the buds beneath them.

2) Water the bejeezus out of the plant. If the pot has a bottom tray
attached, leave the residual water in the tray until it is absorbed. Don't
spill it out, especially if the soil was extremely dry before watering.

Most nurseries use a soilless mix for potted plants. Often, it's nothing but
peat moss, vermiculite and/or perlite, and some lime to get the pH right.
The main purpose of this mix to that it's disease-free. The disadvantage is
that when the mix (especially the peat moss) dries out completely, it's
tough to get it to absorb water again. It's sort of like a totally dry
sponge. Like the sponge, the soil actually shrinks. You'll notice that it's
actually pulled in from the sides of the pot. You have to re-wet the soil
just to make it ready to behave like soil should. It never will behave
exactly like natural soil, but it's not worth going into the reasons why.

Also: Hanging pots force plants to survive in weird conditions. Put a
sun-loving plant like a petunia or marigold in a sunny garden bed and it'll
thrive. Put the same plant in a pot and it's another story. The temperature
of the pot & soil are at LEAST as hot as the surrounding air, and usually
higher if the pot's in the sun all day. These plants are not designed for
their roots to be that hot. You have to make up for it with extra water. If
you can't provide it, you must either move the pots to a shadier place and
accept somewhat less "performance", or find a way to keep the plants in the
sun, but shade the pots. Finally, you can switch to enormous pots. That's
one of the better solutions, since the typical store-bought hanging pot can
dry out in a few hours while you're at work.


  #7   Report Post  
Old 24-06-2004, 04:09 AM
pilk00
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

Thanks, Doug, for all the info! I'm going to do the pinching & try to
recondition the "soil".

Dan

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Cereus-validus" wrote in message
...
Yeah right.

Go ahead and blow on the plants and see what that does.


He said "flowers are shriveled". One reason for that is simply that the
flowers are spent, but the rest of the plant could be fine. He did NOT say
the leaves were shriveled up, brown and dead.

1) Pinch off the dead flowers along with the buds beneath them.

2) Water the bejeezus out of the plant. If the pot has a bottom tray
attached, leave the residual water in the tray until it is absorbed. Don't
spill it out, especially if the soil was extremely dry before watering.

Most nurseries use a soilless mix for potted plants. Often, it's nothing

but
peat moss, vermiculite and/or perlite, and some lime to get the pH right.
The main purpose of this mix to that it's disease-free. The disadvantage

is
that when the mix (especially the peat moss) dries out completely, it's
tough to get it to absorb water again. It's sort of like a totally dry
sponge. Like the sponge, the soil actually shrinks. You'll notice that

it's
actually pulled in from the sides of the pot. You have to re-wet the soil
just to make it ready to behave like soil should. It never will behave
exactly like natural soil, but it's not worth going into the reasons why.

Also: Hanging pots force plants to survive in weird conditions. Put a
sun-loving plant like a petunia or marigold in a sunny garden bed and

it'll
thrive. Put the same plant in a pot and it's another story. The

temperature
of the pot & soil are at LEAST as hot as the surrounding air, and usually
higher if the pot's in the sun all day. These plants are not designed for
their roots to be that hot. You have to make up for it with extra water.

If
you can't provide it, you must either move the pots to a shadier place and
accept somewhat less "performance", or find a way to keep the plants in

the
sun, but shade the pots. Finally, you can switch to enormous pots. That's
one of the better solutions, since the typical store-bought hanging pot

can
dry out in a few hours while you're at work.




  #8   Report Post  
Old 24-06-2004, 07:05 AM
Pen
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

I'd like to add that due to all the stress of being in a hanging pot,
petunias will attract a fair amount of aphids. If you notice these
suckers around stems and under leaves then hose them off with a gentle
spray every day or two. After a week of spraying, they should be
under control.
  #9   Report Post  
Old 24-06-2004, 06:11 PM
Doug Kanter
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

A few more things:

When you pinch off spent petunia flowers, don't just remove them as far back
as the little green "funnel" from which they grow. The funnel will have a
very short green stem behind it - get rid of that, too, unless there are new
buds in that area. And, the stems of healthy petunias can be sticky and
somewhat fibrous, so scissors help. The best tool for trimming in tight
spots: Joyce Chen kitchen scissors from a cooking store. They'll cut through
chicken bones, so very few plant stems present a problem. The same tool is
sold in garden stores for two or three times the price, as "florist's
snippers" or some such name.

-Doug




"pilk00" wrote in message
...
Thanks, Doug, for all the info! I'm going to do the pinching & try to
recondition the "soil".

Dan

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Cereus-validus" wrote in message
...
Yeah right.

Go ahead and blow on the plants and see what that does.


He said "flowers are shriveled". One reason for that is simply that the
flowers are spent, but the rest of the plant could be fine. He did NOT

say
the leaves were shriveled up, brown and dead.

1) Pinch off the dead flowers along with the buds beneath them.

2) Water the bejeezus out of the plant. If the pot has a bottom tray
attached, leave the residual water in the tray until it is absorbed.

Don't
spill it out, especially if the soil was extremely dry before watering.

Most nurseries use a soilless mix for potted plants. Often, it's nothing

but
peat moss, vermiculite and/or perlite, and some lime to get the pH

right.
The main purpose of this mix to that it's disease-free. The disadvantage

is
that when the mix (especially the peat moss) dries out completely, it's
tough to get it to absorb water again. It's sort of like a totally dry
sponge. Like the sponge, the soil actually shrinks. You'll notice that

it's
actually pulled in from the sides of the pot. You have to re-wet the

soil
just to make it ready to behave like soil should. It never will behave
exactly like natural soil, but it's not worth going into the reasons

why.

Also: Hanging pots force plants to survive in weird conditions. Put a
sun-loving plant like a petunia or marigold in a sunny garden bed and

it'll
thrive. Put the same plant in a pot and it's another story. The

temperature
of the pot & soil are at LEAST as hot as the surrounding air, and

usually
higher if the pot's in the sun all day. These plants are not designed

for
their roots to be that hot. You have to make up for it with extra water.

If
you can't provide it, you must either move the pots to a shadier place

and
accept somewhat less "performance", or find a way to keep the plants in

the
sun, but shade the pots. Finally, you can switch to enormous pots.

That's
one of the better solutions, since the typical store-bought hanging pot

can
dry out in a few hours while you're at work.






  #10   Report Post  
Old 24-06-2004, 06:11 PM
Bill R
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

Pen wrote:
I'd like to add that due to all the stress of being in a hanging pot,
petunias will attract a fair amount of aphids. If you notice these
suckers around stems and under leaves then hose them off with a gentle
spray every day or two. After a week of spraying, they should be
under control.



I grow MANY Petunias in hanging planters (see my web site)
and I have never had a problem with aphids on Petunias. In
fact, I don't believe that I have seen an aphid on a
Petunia. I wish I could say that about other flowers.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)

Digital Camera: HP PhotoSmart 850

For pictures of my garden flowers visit
http://members.iglou.com/brosen

Remove NO_WEEDS_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail



  #11   Report Post  
Old 25-06-2004, 06:06 AM
pilk00
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

Thanks, Doug & Pen!

Bill R, I'm in Ohio Valley too!


"Bill R" wrote in message
...
Pen wrote:
I'd like to add that due to all the stress of being in a hanging pot,
petunias will attract a fair amount of aphids. If you notice these
suckers around stems and under leaves then hose them off with a gentle
spray every day or two. After a week of spraying, they should be
under control.



I grow MANY Petunias in hanging planters (see my web site)
and I have never had a problem with aphids on Petunias. In
fact, I don't believe that I have seen an aphid on a
Petunia. I wish I could say that about other flowers.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)

Digital Camera: HP PhotoSmart 850

For pictures of my garden flowers visit
http://members.iglou.com/brosen

Remove NO_WEEDS_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail



  #12   Report Post  
Old 26-06-2004, 04:18 PM
Bill R
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question About Petunias

pilk00 wrote:
Thanks, Doug & Pen!

Bill R, I'm in Ohio Valley too!



Hi neighbor.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)

Digital Camera: HP PhotoSmart 850

For pictures of my garden flowers visit
http://members.iglou.com/brosen

Remove NO_WEEDS_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail

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