Too much water. Your pots may look dry but I'll bet there's plenty of moisture below especially if they're of any size. Cut back on the water.Petunias don't like to be kept constantly wet.

A plant will recover in a few hours from a wilt from lack of water but it is sure death if you overwater.

How jam-packed are the pots? Problem with buying those lush, gorgeous full pots in May is that after a month or so they peter out because there is just no room for root growth.

You could try to divide the plantings, re-planting half in the pots and filling with good potting soil and fertilizing. It should perk up, but problem is it will probably take a couple weeks to perk up - not the best option during high summer when you want those prime displays.

Other than that, no suggestions for you, really, other than save the containers and make your own plantings next year (no, I'm not being humorous, I'm dead serious - you'll save *a lot* of money by DIY on planters once you invest in planters/pots you like, and because you won't over-stuff them the plants will thrive the whole season).

Providing your pots have drainage holes, then also check to make sure that your plants have enough water. When some potting soils dry out, it becomes challenging to wet them again. You can pour a generous amount of water into the pot, it will drain out, and yet the soil will be bone dry.

After you water, stick a finger down into the soil. Is the soil wet? If not, then the best method I've found to get your potted plant to accept water is to sink the pot into another filled with water. Let it sit in the water. The water will slowly be absorbed by the dried out potting soil and your plant will perk up.

When the soil is finally wet, then be sure to let the pot drain thoroughly because, as Oilpainter said, petunias don't want too much of a good thing (water) either.

Don't do this if your petunia pot has NO drainage holes.

Whenever I baby petunias I get the same result - dead plants. Petunias seem to do best being neglected. By the end of July they are petering out, I cut them all back to short stems with a few leaves and within a few weeks they are lush again. Don't pamper the petunias.

And they are greedy plants. Plant food is a requirement for these guys. I toss on a bit of milorganite and move on to other things. My petunias from last year reseeded. They were purple wave and now they are purple and white blooms. How cool is that?

I love petunias and grow them every year. One thing that causes some of my potted petunias to decline is outgrowing their pots and becoming too root bound. You could cut them back on top and give the roots a trim to rejuvenate them if that's the case with you.

Also, petunias don't like prolonged heat. Several days in the 90's, ok, but weeks of 90ú-ish heat will cause them to lose their vigor. Since they're in pots, if you could move them to a shadier location mid-afternoon, they may improve if temperatures remain that hot. Here on the west coast at 1000' we don't generally get really hot summers, and petunias, given enough room, run amok.

I have grown wave petunias in pots on my front porch for over 10 years. I had 2 large urns (about 16" across top) that had no holes in the bottom, so I converted them into self watering pots, (took about 30 minutes). I inserted old black tree pots into the urns, and made the appropriate wicking tubes, air holes, supports etc (minus the fill tube), and drilled the overflow hole in the urn. I add osmocote fertilizer once in the beginning 5/22 and then 1/2 strength on July 30. I water them every 3 days by just watering the soil until my pail is empty, & hear the water dripping into the resevoir. Even if it has rained, I water those containers. Those 3 wave petunia and one grass grow well, and overflow those urns hanging down about 2 1/2 feet. So while the soil remains wet, it is not saturated. You can do the same thing with two 5 gallon pails. Directions are on 'container gardens' forum. Mine get full sun from 11am to 6pm.
Those self watering containers kept my plants happy while I was recently in the hospital and no one was watering them.

My potted ones started doing bad once the sun got too hot, unless they only got part sun. I always add mulch into potted plants too even if you can't see it, they dry out fast in the sun. Even the shady ones dry out fast.

Last year all I could get to grow were petunias! They were magnificent in a garden around a small tree with Varigated ginger and hydrangeas in the background. Those petunias were so showy that people would turn in my driveway just to see what they were! This year, same bed, same petunias--every single one on the E side of the tree died. W side ok, but nothing to write home about! Replanted the E side and they all died again! Now I'm in a quandry, do I replant with petunias or go for lopsided and plant something else? I have also had LOTS of petunias that I planted in pots die. In fact the only ones that have lived are some I grew from seed and those that survived the winter and are last year's crop! So, what's up with the tunias this year?

as i understand it ...

you bought these pre-planted ... which to me means OVER planted ... for fast sale and immediate gratification ...

if they are flopping every night after being in the blistering sun during the high heat of the day ...

that means the roots are too jammed in what little potting media there is ... there isnt enough media.. to hold the water they need

the ONLY solution.. FOR NEXT YEAR ... is bigger permanent pots ... with enough media ... to sustain the plants for the season ... and just enough plants to grow in such ....

but you will have to wait a month or two.. for them to fill up the pot ...

i would bet my shiny nickle... if you took the pot apart.. and tipped out the root mass.. you would be hard pressed to find any media.. to hold water.. for the whole day ...

these pots need to go in shade.. during the heat of the day.. and you will probably find.. that they can actually making it thru the day ... without looking like a bunch of wilted cut flowers ...

yes.. i know.. that defeats the purpose you bought them for...

but them dying does also ... put them in the patio in the yard in the shade.. and you can enjoy them for the rest of summer ...

ken

My beloved "Petunia Black" aka "Petal" is laboring. My bad. Placed her (root bound) in a (small) pot in the apartment-with limited sun (in ZA,June) and she is not happy. Nay, wilting. Have just re-potted to a large pot, new soil... ANY assistance greatly appreciated... P.S. have read all the comments in this thread (and all that my books have to offer)

will ... start your own post.. and add a pic of your plant ...

your base issue is that Ps are full blinding sun plants... not houseplants ...

ken

This is the first year I've taken my petunias indoors and one or two are doing well. The others dried out but as soon as I put the dry ones on my sunny deck they revive. I'm on the east coast.

What can I do to keep them fresh, pretty and revived?

HaHa buy geraniums. They are fool-proof!!!!! But I can't pass up the pretty petunias either. Just have to have both!!!

i have the small petunies they have little white things on them and they are dying what can i do

I bought two of these that included a dark purple leafy vine, a green vine, and the beloved black petunias. I repotted them into a bigger pot and hung them by the door. It hasn’t been super hot here but we’re in an heat advisory now. However, I noticed my petunias were wilting and turning brown. I bought organic all purpose plant food and put some of it onto each planter and watered them. I don’t water every day but sometimes every other day or a few times a week (and from reading what everyone said, I obviously shouldn’t have). I put drain holes into the pots and layered the pots with pea gravel and then potting soil so that the water would have a way to escape. The exact same planter on the right is doing great over than the green vine. However, the planter on the right is in distress. I bought the plant food a few weeks ago and treated them again last night. The only difference I could think of that could possibly affect the petunias is the porch light above them. I don’t know a whole lot about how to care for petunias other than not to over water, which I still did. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I don’t remember the names of the purple leafy vines or the small green vine. However, the small green vines are not doing too well either from the looks of it, do y’all think they’re overcrowded? Dang these flowers are hard lol, I never had any problems with vegetables or herbs or any other flowers and I’ve been able to revive them that looked like this in the picture to full health, this has me stumped. My gladiolus are doing beautifully though.

The vines look like Ipomoea batatas, sweet potatoes. Petunias don't do well in high temps.

The Petunia which is still green is rather lanky and covered in expired flower stems implying that wasn’t in great shape when you bought it and hasn’t been deadheaded since. And it may be in too shady a location. The small green vine could be variegated Glechoma hederaceae. I don’t consider them overcrowded but I do think they look underfed and if anything under watered. If the pot drains properly it should be hard to overwater.