Hi grny28, I am going to refer to The Ortho Problem Solver, seventh edition on this, because I am no expert on Petunias (zinnias are my "thing"). The book's coverage on Petunia problems starts on page 262 and continues onto page 264. It has articles on Gray Mold (everywhere in the US), Smog Damage (limited to relatively small coastal areas), Caterpillars, Cutworm Damage, and the last article on Crown and Root Rot (everywhere in the US) seems the most likely culprit. Crown and Root Rot is caused by Phytophthora (I don't think you can say that without spitting a little), a fungus that lives in the soil. It initially attacks the roots or stem at or just below the soil level. The dark dry decay of the lower stem tissue and roots reduces the flow of water to the leaves and flowers, causing the petunia to wilt and die. Crown and Root Rot is common in heavy poorly drained wet soils. The fungus (Phytophthora) is spread by contaminated soil, transplants, and tools. The solution is to remove and destroy infected plants and all the soil within 6 inches of their roots. How do you destroy soil? Well, I guess you could throw it into an incinerator, but I would just put it a plastic bag and send it to the landfill with the rest of the garbage. To prevent a recurrence of Crown and Root Rot, you should improve your soil drainage and drench it with a fungicide containing Captan. That's what the Ortho book says. Repeat the drench monthly during the growing season and let the soil dry out between waterings. I try to avoid problems of this sort with my zinnias by adding a lot of sand to my garden soil to create a sandy loam, and I add Perlite to my indoor growing medium to increase its drainage. "They were planted in larger containers along with other plants that are fine, What are the chances of a disease from so many different nurseries?" Many plants aren't susceptible to Phytophthora, and the problem is in your soil or growing medium, and not at the different nurseries. ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

Hi Ken, I did the same thing this year that I've done for the past 24 years. Dug the holes a little larger than the container each seedling was in and a little deeper than really needed. Put about 1 cup of miracle grow potting mix in the hole, then the seedlings and the soil that I dug out making the hole and watered well, as the ground was dry at the time. I've direct sowed, started seeds indoors and WS 4 0'clocks and never had these results before. Some of the seeds where from trades, some where commercial packs of the same kinds as the trades and all grew the same. Grew just the regular ones, broken colors and kalaidescope.

I don't think I picked them too early. Their skins were hard and they had a lovely blue color. When I did pick them, it was because I had to (zone 4). The cross-pollination is a good theory, but I got the seeds straight from the package (same package as the previous year). Growing conditions- I did grow them in a new spot as I have been trying to thwart the darn squash vine borer. I think i did a good job of adding in compost and manure to the soil before planting. This was the only squash I grew this year (SVB!) but all of the fruits off of the two vines I grew together taste awful. One thing worth mentioning- while in storage I didn't keep them as cool as I have in the past. The skins turned from slate blue to a pale peach/pink color. Perhaps that is significant? I appreciate your ideas. Barb

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