Petunia is often used to decorate houses, apartments, offices and other premises. She is also a permanent resident of flower beds and flower beds in suburban areas. This is not surprising since she is not capricious, does not cause difficulties in growing. At the same time, it attracts attention with beautiful flowers and a pleasant aroma. However, it happens that petunia wilts after a transplant or even with growth in one place. Factors affecting this can be both harmless causes and serious diseases. In the second case, urgent need to take action, otherwise the plant will die.
Why does petunia dry
Petunia begins to turn yellow and dry out for several reasons.
Florist Errors
In most cases, the drying and yellowing of the petunia is associated with errors in care:
- insufficient amount of watering in hot weather;
- excess fluid in the soil on cold days (the roots begin to rot, because of this the aboveground part dies);
- lack of fresh air (in warm weather, daily ventilation of the room is necessary, in summer it is recommended to take the flower outside);
- sharp temperature drop;
- use for irrigation of hard water;
- lack of iron in the soil.
Due to maintenance and care errors, the lower leaves dry in the petunia:
- dryness or excessive soil moisture;
- lack of fertilizer;
- lack or excess of sun (in the second case, the stems will stretch).
Disease
Petunia will dry with the following diseases:
- gray rot;
- chlorosis;
- powdery mildew;
- Fusarium
These are all fungal tracheomycotic lesions. Their development mechanism is identical: diseases affect the vessels in the basal zone, because of this, nutrients and liquid cannot get into the aerial part. Due to deficiency, the leaves curl and turn yellow.
Pests
The cause of petunia wilting can be the defeat of the following pests:
- Spider mite. Starts up more often in high humidity. You can determine it by the silver web on the leaves and branches.
- Aphid. These are small insects of a grayish or green hue. Live on the inside of the leaf plates. They feed on the juice of the flower, leaving punctures in the green. Another sign of pest is the curl of leaf ends.
- Nematodes. These are small worms that destroy the root system. Because of this, the petunia withers and dries.
Other reasons
Falling foliage from the bottom of the bush can occur for a natural reason, if it is more than 2 months old. Thus, the plant gets rid of old leaves. As a rule, this is observed in late August-September.
What to do if petunia dries and withers, depending on the cause
If the cause of the wilting of the bush is improper care, it is necessary to adjust it.
When the bush dries due to pests or diseases, serious measures must be taken:
| Cause | Facilities | Treatment |
| Root rot | soft water at room temperature (preferably melt or rain); new pot; material for the drainage layer. | Put drainage on the bottom of the new tank so that the liquid does not stagnate. Remove the bush from the old pot, remove the affected parts. Plant in a new planter. |
| Gray rot (Fusarium early wilting) | charcoal, ash or chalk; purchased preparations Integral or Skor. | Adjust care: moderate watering, good light, temperature more than +25 degrees, humidity from 80%. Remove affected parts. Treat these areas with charcoal, ash or chalk. Use toxic drugs (dosage: Integral - 25 ml per 1 liter of water, Speed - 2 ml per 10 liters). |
| Powdery mildew | copper sulfate, Fitosporin, Fundazole (with a weak lesion); Ordan, Proton, Purebranch (at an advanced stage of the disease); Bordeaux liquid. | Destroy the affected parts of the plant. Ventilate the room. Till the soil with Bordeaux fluid. Use drugs depending on the degree of damage (dosage is indicated in the instructions on the package). |
| Iron chlorosis or iron deficiency in the soil | lemon acid; copper sulfate; boiled water. | Prepare a solution of citric acid and copper sulfate (½ teaspoon per 0.5 l of water). Pouring root after normal watering 2-3 times a day (until symptoms disappear). |
| Aphid | Actara (1 g per 1 liter of water); Decis or Confidor (0.5 ml per 1 liter); Fufanon (1 ml per 1 liter). | With a small number of pests, collect them manually (for example, with a vacuum cleaner) and treat them with a weak solution of these drugs. In case of severe damage, immediately use chemicals in the indicated dosage. |
| Spider mite | Neoron (1-2 ml per 1 liter of water); Apollo (0.5 ml per 1 liter). | Treat the entire bush with solutions, especially the lower part of the leaf blades. |
| Nematodes | Daffodil (0.5 ml per 1 liter of water). | If the drug does not help, transplant the plant into a new pot with hardened soil. |
Resuscitation of a diseased flower
If the petunia has dried up, but it has at least one living part left, the flower can be saved:
- Cut off all dry parts.
- Fully place the bush in warm, clean water for 3 hours (some on the forums of gardeners recommend leaving the plant for a day).
- If cuttings begin to appear, it means that they managed to reanimate the petunia.
After planting the seedlings of the saved flower in a new pot, it is important to follow all the rules of maintenance and care in order to no longer allow drying.
How to avoid the death of petunias
So that the plant does not dry and does not sluggish, it is important to provide comfortable conditions for development for it.
Petunia does not like dampness (especially large drops of water falling on leaves and flowers), shade and partial shade, drafts and strong winds.
It is important to water the flower correctly:
- when grown indoors, this should be done 2-3 times a week;
- when planting in the open air - once every 2 days, with dry weather daily.
In no case should acidification of the substrate or stagnation of moisture be allowed. In this case, the bush may die.
The plant is not very demanding on fertilizers.
For feeding, you can use any other than manure.
Petunia is a fairly unpretentious plant. It does not require special conditions of detention and does not cause difficulties when leaving. The most important thing is to follow the rules of irrigation, to ensure a comfortable temperature, humidity and lighting for it. If you follow the simple recommendations presented above, the plant will not dry out, it will delight you with its beautiful and lush flowering for many months.
