Nothing outcry " Summer ! " more decidedly than hanging handbasket brim with masses of petunia ( Petunia spp . ) Where they do n’t blossom class - rung in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 through 11 , petunia cover themselves in fragrant flowers – some up to 4 inches panoptic – from other saltation until the first cleanup frost . Although hanging - basket petunia require more attention than their garden - planted similitude , their enthusiastic carrying into action is well deserving the extra sweat .
Feed for Flowers
The cascades of color that make petunia hanging baskets so likeable wo n’t materialize without at least six hours of daily sun and regular doses of fertilizer . Producing all those drop back stems of flush take oodles of energy .
To give them the best start , mix slow - release 5 - 10 - 5 granulated plant foodinto the soil before set . One manufacturer recommends using 2 teaspoonful for each 1 square foot of soil . After adding the petunias , fill the container with soil and weewee well .
rainwater and criminal maintenance watering both leach nutrients from hanging baskets . * * yellow leave are a foretoken of nutrient deficiency . * * When they appear , set about fertilizing the petunias withliquid , 5 - 10 - 5 flora food every 10 days to two weeksfor the remainder of the mature season . Mix a solution of 4 tablespoonful , or the recording label ’s specified amount , of the works intellectual nourishment and 1 gallon of water .
Tip
A 10 - in , circular basketful measuring stick 1/2 square foot ; it would get 1 teaspoon of the fertilizer . Replace a regular watering session with the dilute plant life food . Preplanted petunia hang baskets were fertilized in the greenhouse . Do n’t course them again until the leaves begin to yellow .
Water Wisely
Hanging handbasket dry out out quickly . * * In blistering , dry weather , petunias may need watering twice a twenty-four hour period . Overwatering , however , * * may molder their antecedent . When you do water , lay off only when water system begins draining from the bottom of the baskets .
Scoop a small amount of soil from the field goal and roll it into a ball . If water drip from the clod when you squeeze it , the soil is too wet . Do n’t irrigate again until you may roll it into a ball that squeezes without dripping .
Warning
It the grime collapse without forming a ball , it ’s sentence to piddle . Water the genus Petunia from below so they remain teetotal . Wet folio call for fungous transmission .
Groom for Growth
Many genus Petunia varieties need regular grooming to take care their best for an entire develop time of year . * * If their dog-tired heyday are grant to go to seed , they ’ll stop blooming . * * Deadheading , the practice ofpinching old bloomsoff below the thicken base where source form , keeps new one coming .
If the plants become overgrown , prune them back by one - third . Using clean , sharp-worded radical cutters , make each pruning swing just above a set of leaves . Healthy young ontogeny and flowers soon follow .
To avoid spreading disease , gargle pruning pecker in rub alcohol between cut .
Potential Diseases
Petunias ' periodic diseases include origin molder from overly wet ground . As long as their baskets have at least four drain yap , root buncombe is n’t probable .
Gray moldsurfaces as fuzzed , grayish to brownish blotches on the fore and leaves . The fungus loves humidness , so do n’t overcrowd basket . Water the Petunia at their radical so the leaves last out dry .Late blightcauses water - soak , irregular situation on young leave of absence . stirred leave finally rick browned and die . Spraying weekly with quick - to - utilization chlorothalonil protects the plantswhen warm days , cool nights and wet atmospheric condition favour the disease . Spray until the fungicide drips from their leaves .
Yellow mottling on petunia foliage indicatestobacco mosaic virus . Other symptoms include stunted or contort growth and folio lesions . No therapeutic exists ; dispose of septic flora and their potting mixture and baskets in sealed plastic bags , and disinfect any gardening tools they may have contaminate in a solvent of 1 part household whitener to 9 parts alcohol .
Potential Pests
Aphidsdrain sap from tender new prow and leaves , pass over them in sticky wastefulness bid honeydew . Tiny sinister flea beetlestypically arrive in midsummer to chew yap in the backs of the leaves .
constitutional , ready - to - usepyrethrininsecticide killing both insects . Spray the plants until they drip , being sure to treat the backs of the leaveswhere the insects commonly feed .
To protect honeybees , spray pyrethrin only in the early morning , former evening or at night . Dress in a long - sleeved shirt , farsighted pant , waterproof baseball glove , safety goggles and a respiratory mask and spray when working with any antifungal or insecticide .
