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It’s not even September but the petunias are already dying...

Big Blue SkyBig Blue Sky Posts: 689
in Plants
... or is it just me?
Except for one petunia (stripy purple and white) they all look like they are ready for compost. 
If yours are still fresh and beautiful - please share your secret... 
Surrey
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Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 21,869
    Everything blooms later here so my petunias were coming on a treat, this morning, after a night of gales and power cuts they’re all broken down.😢  
    You could cut them right back and may get a second flush, feed with tomato feed or similar. 

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 52,034
    Annuals of any kind have a 'life span'. They need lots of food and water while they're growing, and deadheading to keep the going, but the earlier they start, the earlier they stop really.  :)

    In a normal year my sweet peas can be kept going until October, but they don't start till July. They get loads of water and food, and I deadhead daily if possible. 
    Like @Lyn, the rough weather last night didn't help them, but they'd already had a thrashing a few weeks ago. That's just how it is with gardening  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 969
    I started pulling them out last week ! We had a week of up to 40degrees pretty much killed anything that was not already over because of this years early summer here. Law of diminishing returns with petunias for me.. cut, see if I get decent new growth, if still crispy out they come!
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
  • Big Blue SkyBig Blue Sky Posts: 689
    edited August 2020
    Aww Envious of you fresh petunias @Lyn
    I don’t think I will get a second flush though - mines are kind of closing the shop already 😔
    Surrey
  • rachelQrtJHBjbrachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819
    Mine are terrible but it was the torrential rain that did for them. Like you, I have them in hanging baskets and, upon closer inspection, the heavy deluge has broken all the stems as they go over the edge. There is no redemption. I am thinking of pulling them out and popping in something else to take their place until the end of the summer.
  • LynLyn Posts: 21,869
    I was a bit late sowing the seeds this year, couldn’t get out for compost, then lots of places weren’t selling seeds but I had that packet from last year from Wilco, think they were only a pound.
    Wind does awful damage. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 16,665
    Deadhead, feed and water.
  • Big Blue SkyBig Blue Sky Posts: 689
    I think I will be looking for an alternative to petunias for the next season. I love how pretty and cheerful they are, but they are indeed quite vulnerable to rain and strong wind. Besides they are not really bee friendly - from what I read they don’t produce nectar or pollen, so are useless to the pollinators. Any ideas of a bee friendly but robust and long flowering alternative to petunias?
    Surrey
  • bullfinchbullfinch Posts: 636
    Do you like cosmos or sunflowers? I think they are both quite good for bees. Or maybe poppies?
  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    Mine, in hanging baskets, are on their way out. I have dead headed the ones knackered by heavy rain and there are hardly any flowers left. If no big flush after this week's storms, I will consign to the compost. I've been v disappointed by them this year. All very underwhelming.
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