NFRR: Garden chat.

Yes, I am aware of that. And my German grandmother planted...

her petunias in the same soil every year and there was never a problem.

This year, all of the planters and their soil were replaced with new soil. The new garden that we excavated from the yard had never had petunias.

I'm talking: plants that are overgrown, full of flowers, next to "i'm dying."

They are in the same soil and they receive the same water as the ones that are flourishing.

 
This is wierd. It still sounds like a fungus to me. Did you grow them from seed or buy plants?

Nurseries get fungus too sometimes, despite all their sanitary practices.

My hunch is that your grandmother grew hers from seed each year and so she had an isolated population.

 
No, my grandmother purchased them at the nursery that

took over her family's farm after my great-grandparents sold it. She loved going back "home" to buy her plants each spring.

I purchased plants from several sources. They all looked fine until just recently, and then some of them just died in a matter of days. All of my heliotrope did the same thing. 1 each week until they were gone. Weird.

I have a new bed enriched with top soil, so nothing had grown there except grass. Half of the petunias are glorious, 1/4 are stunted and small, 1/4 have died. They are literally side by side getting the same treatment. These are wave petunias, BTW. Same in planters, which were filled with new potting soil this spring, side by side, one flourishing, one withers up, turns brown and dies.

I think you are right about a fungus though. It would make sense with what is happening to them.

But on the bright side, my youngest pup caught his first trophy on Sunday: one of the moles that is currently plowing my backyard. I told him what a good boy he was, left him to his fun, and encourage him every time I see a rabbit or squirrel lurking. He almost got a rabbit as well, but they are fast. LOL

 
It's possible that the nursery on the old farm grew its own seedlings--not likely today with mega-

growers supplying all the nursery chains. Moles area possible culprit.

At my house I had to take a full two years off pansies, petunias and violas, and now this year I have had both in profusion. You may consider skipping them next year.

 
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