What Is Wrong With My Petunias?

Theories/Speculation

• Plant diseases such as botrytis blight and phytophthora crown rot cause severe damage to petunias. Symptoms of botrytis blight include dead spots on foliage. Symptoms of crown rot include wilted branches. Use an all-purpose fungicide to treat both diseases.

  Tobacco mosaic virus spreads to petunias from tobacco products left in the garden. It causes leaves to become deformed and turn yellow. Always discard tobacco products away from the garden and wash your hands before handling petunias.

Considerations

• Budworm caterpillars are sneaky pests that feast off the foliage of petunias. You probably won't notice them at first, but you may find their droppings on the flowers. Use a pesticide to treat major infestations or hand-pick them off and discard them away from the petunias for minor infestations.

Warning

• Petunias perform best when grown in at least six hours of sunlight each day. Though they tolerate partial shade, it will greatly decrease the number of blooms compared to petunias grown in full sun.