My sister just got a Petunia. How often do we have to use the plant food/fertilizer?

The plant's label says it is to be fertilized every month, the label of the fertilizer says it feeds up to 9 months (2 lbs bottle), then the lady at Lowe's said that one tea spoon lasts 9 months. Can someone please tell me how often to use the food/fertilizer and how to tell when it is needed?

My sister just got a Petunia. How often do we have to use the plant food/fertilizer?
Its very late in the season for fertilizing any annuals...and if you are correct, its a Petunia, its an annual. Even in warmer climates, its just a late annual.





I Would plant it in a good top soil or potting soil and just use a VERY weak solution of water and the fertilizer. This time of year, everything is getting ready to go dormant. Fertilizing will damage it.





Just water often the first week you plant it and then after that, give it water only every couple of days, unless indirect sunlight. Then water once or twice a day.





Petunias are hard tokill....if you water it, it will grow. Avoid the fertilizer..return it if possible.
Reply:Petunias are annuals. Annuals die every year, that's what they do, no matter what you do that's how they grow and you can't change it. If you are in the northern hemisphere, there isn't much 'lifetime' left in your plant, so don't waste your money on fertilizer. Water it, and enjoy the blooms while it lasts. On the odd chance that it does survive your winter, you will not want to be encouraging it to grow until spring.





If you are in the antipodes, it will just be starting to grow. Annuals, especially annuals that have been hybridized as much as petunias have been, are *greedy*. I'd give it that teaspoonful every month.

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