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)

And they could actually be petunias. The petite flowered petunias have been around quite awhile now. I've grown Danziger petitunias for many years now. I agree, sometimes the care labels are pretty useless, but the label or store display sign should tell WHAT they are. Give us a name and we can help you out a little better.

If you want to spend $2 on some Coleus, hummers like those blooms too. It's difficult to find one of the plants from a list of 8-10 "hummingbird attracting plants." I've compiled a list over the years, through personal observation and photo verification, that includes those that bees like as well. YMMV. Botanical name, common after comma if known. Abutilon, flowering maple Acanthus, Achillea, yarrow Aeschynanthus, lipstick plant Agapanthus africanus, Agastache, Aguilegia formosa, western columbine Alcea rosea, hollyhock Aloe maculata, Alstroemeria, Peruvian lily Angelonia, Antirrhinum, snapdragon Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly weed Asclepias, various, any = milkweed Aster, Begonia, Bletilla, Buddleia, butterfly bush Calibrachoa, million bells Callicarpa americana, beautyberry bush Callistemon rigidus, stiff bottlebrush Calotropis, Camellia japonica Campsis radicans, trumpet creeper Cannas, Catharanthus roseus, Madagascar periwinkle Ceanothus americanus, New Jersey tea, CA lilac Centranthus ruber, Jupiter's beard Cephalanthus occidentalis, buttonbush Chaenomeles Flowering Quince Chrysothemis pulchella, sunset bells Cleistocactus, monkey tail Clematis heracleifolia, Clematis virginiana, virgin bower Cleome hassleriana, spider flower Clerodendrum paniculatum, Pagoda Coleus, (Solenostemon, yeah right, NO!) Anyway, both hummers and b'flies love the flowers on these! Coreopsis, Crocosmia, cardinal flower Cuphea, cigar flower Curcuma, Dahlia, Delphinium, Delphinium, larkspur Dianthus, pinks, sweet William Dicentra spectabilis, bleeding heart Digitalis, foxglove Echinacea, coneflower Echium candicans, Eupatorium, Joe pye Flaveria linearis, Fuchsia, Gladiolus, Hamelia patens, firecracker shrub Heliconia, Heliotrope, Hemerocallis, daylily Hesperaloe parviflora, false yucca Hesperis, dame's rocket Heuchera sanguinea, coral bells Hibiscus syriacus, rose of Sharon Hosta, Hoya, Hyssop, Impatiens balsamina, jewelweed Impatiens capensis, jewelweed Ipomoea coccinea, red morning glory Ipomoea multifida, cardinal climber Ipomoea purpurea, morning glory Ipomoea quamoclit, cypress vine Ipomopsis rubra Standing cypress, Texas plume, Red Texas star, Red gilia Jasminum, Jasmine Justicia brandegeeana, shrimp plant Kalanchoe luciae, flapjack plant Kniphofia, red hot poker Kohleria, Lantana, Lavendula, lavender Liatris, Lilium, lilies Lobelia cardinalis, cardinal flower Lobelia siphilitica, blue lobelia Lonicera sempervirens, honeysuckle Lupine, Lychnis, rose campion Malva, rose mallow Manzanita, Maranta, prayer plant Mentha, mint Mimosa, invasive tree in parts of the world, but good to know it has this quality Mirabilis jalapa, 4'o'clocks Monarda, beebalm Nepeta, catmint Nicotania silvestris, Nicotiana alata, flowering tobacco Ocimum basilicum, Basil Odontonema strictum, firespike Passiflora, Pelargonium, annual geraniums Penstemon, beardstongue Pentas, Petunia, petunia Phaseolus coccineus, scarlet runner bean Phlox, Phygelius, cape figwort Physostegia, obedient plant Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender', Plumbago, Rhipsalis, Rhododendron, azalea Ruellia, Mexican petunia Salvia, sage Saponaria, soapwort Saponaria officinalis, bouncing bet Scabiosa, pin cushion flower Schlumbergera, Thanksgiving cacti, Christmas cacti Senna bicapsularis, Christmas Senna, host for Cloudless Sulphur Caterpillar Sidalcea, prairie mallow Silene, Spaghneticolia trilobata, creeping daisy Streptocarpus saxorum, Streptocarpella Trachelospermum jasminoides, Confederate jasmine Tropaeolum majus, nasturtium Tropaeolum peregrinum, canary creeper vine Verbena, Veronica, Vitex, wild grape Weigela, Wisteria frutescens, American Wisteria Zinnia,

Looks like a big one to me, Bostedo. I'd leave it in a pot sitting on your driveway cement until it gets big enough to be sure of the type and whether it produces seed pods or not. That way runners can't move out and any seed pods will drop their seed on cement. Looks like the hybrid "Mayan" strains are sterile but there would still be runner issues. You might want to sweep that area of your driveway daily (into a dust pan to discard them) until you're certain what you're dealing with. ;) This site might help Bostedo: https://www.hmaplants.com/varieties/ruellia-brittoniana-compacta-blue/ I just went out and looked at my 3 empty pots and they don't specify the specific type of Ruellia I bought. I read on one site it takes 2 months for seed pods to develop after the flower drops away, so we should know what we have about 8 weeks from first flow drops. I planted my first Ruellia about a month ago, so 4 more weeks for me. :)