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Senetti Plant Dying? 8 Common Causes & Simple Solutions

Having beautiful flowers in your garden can bring vibrant color and life, and the Senetti plant is no exception. This plant is highly resilient and with some care, it can continue to bloom throughout the summer.

Where else can you find vivid blues, ultraviolets, magic magentas, and stunning bicolor with large daisy-like blooms from early spring to summer?

The Pericallis ‘Senetti’ has a unique reblooming ability with bloom counts that can be as high as 200 on a plant grown in a 10-inch pot!

However, despite its resilience, the Senetti plant is also subject to several issues. 

Why is my Senetti plant dying? Your Senetti plant can die because of too much direct sunlight, extreme temperature fluctuations, poor watering practices, pests, and disease. Sudden frost, root rot, Alternaria leaf spot, downy mildew, and leaf miners can also negatively affect Senetti plants

This guide will explore eight reasons why your Senetti plant is dying and provide some tips on keeping your Senetti plant alive. 

8 Reasons Why Your Senetti Plant Is Dying

Some reasons that can cause your Senetti plant to lose its shine and start dying even after doing your best include:

1. Too Much Afternoon Sun

The Senetti plant is susceptible to the afternoon sun. If you’ve planted yours in a spot that gets warm afternoon sun, you’ll soon notice it quickly starts drooping within a few days and look terribly sad. 

The drooping gets significant by the end of the week if there’s too much afternoon sun. The Senetti plant will start dying, and you can lose it if you don’t make a swift decision by the following weekend. 

Solution

Senetti grows perfectly well in positions that get morning sun and afternoon shade. Protect your plant from the hot rays of too much afternoon sun by moving it to a shaded spot. 

In a few nights, it will recover, and you can prune it to give it a chance to grow new leaves and flowers. 

2. Too Much Heat

Pericallis ‘Senetti’ is a heat-sensitive plant, and a sunny spot can be too much due to excessive heat. It resents full sunlight and likes cool weather, often succumbing when conditions are too warm.

Too much heat can also make the soil around the plant incredibly warm and dry, which is problematic.

Solution

Keep the plant out of bright direct sunlight, and instead, choose a spot with indirect sunlight. Keep it in the shade in the heat of summer, and bring it indoors during scorching days.

Senetti thrives in moist soil that isn’t soggy, so steady watering at the base of the plant in hot weather can help revive it. 

3. Overwatering

The Senetti plant needs constant moisture, but it also needs to breathe. It doesn’t like constantly soggy and drenched soil.

Overwatering can result if you don’t plant your Senetti plant in well-draining soil. It can make the plant lose its vitality and become dull or brown or develop black root rot in worst-case scenarios. 

Solution

Because the Senetti plant requires frequent watering, it’s critical to plant it in soil with good drainage. Water well and frequently, and always check the soil to ensure it feels moist but not soggy. 

4. Underwatering

The trickiest part of growing the Senetti plant is getting the moisture levels right.

It thrives in a humid environment, and your plant may lose its vigor, fail to bloom, turn brown, and die if you don’t water it enough. 

Solution

Senetti plants require soil that is consistently moist but not soggy. At least 2 inches of the soil should be moist. If not, it’s a good time to water the plants.

Water the plant regularly, topping up once or twice a week and whenever the soil feels dry when touched. 

5. Pests

Senetti can be infested by various pests, like leaf miners, white flies, spider mites, thrips, and aphids. They can cause severe damage and may be why your Senetti plant is dying.

Check for white trails on the leaves and signs of distress on the plant or other neighboring plants. 

Solution

If the infestation hasn’t spread, you can cut off the affected leaves and throw them away.

In severe cases, immediately spray the plant and others in the vicinity with horticultural oils, like this organic neem oil, to knock out any larvae. Insecticides may also prove helpful. 

6. Diseases

Your Senetti plant may also be subject to various diseases caused by fungal infections.

Alternaria leaf spot results from a fungal infection that causes black and dark-brown spots to form on the leaves. The spots spread and cause the death of the plant. 

Downy mildew can also affect the plant and form yellow spots on the underside of the leaves, which eventually turn black. 

Solution

Cut off and throw away any infected leaves. Apply fungicides to protect healthy plants on the same bed, and don’t let the leaves get wet.

Maintaining correct soil moisture and humidity levels can help prevent disease problems. You may also need to remove any severely affected plants altogether. 

7. Sudden Frost

Although the Senetti plant can survive in harsh winter, sudden and rapid frosts can damage the plant and even kill it, especially if the temperature dips rapidly.

Newly planted, young, and tender plants are more susceptible to sudden frost than fully established plants.

Solution

Position your plant in a warm sunny spot, or move it indoors if possible when the temperatures drop.

Avoid exposing the plant to the early morning sun immediately after a frost to prevent rapid thawing.

You can also mulch the root area with thick layers of organic matter to prevent the ground from freezing. 

8. Root Rot

Root rot is common in Senetti plants and is often caused by overwatering. If your plant’s roots constantly sit in too much water, they’ll not find any oxygen to aspire.

The roots get deprived of nutrients and oxygen and die. They often turn black and mushy, creating a suitable environment for fungus to grow. 

Solution

To prevent root rot, avoid overwatering your Senetti plant. If the root rot is already advanced and most rootlets are spoiled, it will be hard for the plant to survive.

Always ensure the soil isn’t already moist when watering and use well-draining soil. 

Senetti Plant Care

Blue and white flowers on a mature senetti plant.

The Senetti plant requires low maintenance, and putting in a bit of effort to care for the plant during planting and growth can help it thrive and prevent any issues.  

Planting Guide

  • Ideal Soil – Rich, moist soil with a pH of 5.6 to 5.8 and good drainage.
  • In-ground vs. Container planting – It can do well in garden beds as a bedding plant or as an outdoor patio plant in large containers. Senetti plants are happiest in 8-inch pot sizes or larger. Give it enough room to show off.
  • Ideal Location – It thrives in cool, airy climates with consistent humidity. Protect it from the wind by planting near other shrubs or a garden wall.
  • When To Plant – Early spring.

Light Preferences

Senetti does well in partial shade or filtered sunlight conditions. Give indoor potted plants more light than is required for outdoor plants. 

Watering

The Senetti plant is prone to thirst, and you need to water it regularly. Use clear, fresh water only, and ensure the soil doesn’t get soggy or too dry. 

Fertilizing

Plenty of food is needed for the plant to grow large flower displays, but don’t overdo it.

Half-strength balanced fertilizer (Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster is excellent) every two weeks can help it stay green and regrow flowers every 3 to 4 weeks.

You can also add pelleted chicken manure, which releases slowly to feed the Senetti gently. 

Deadheading/Pruning

Deadheading or pruning will help keep the plant healthy and looking tidy while extending the bloom season by prompting the plant to produce more flowers.

Cut faded flower head to around 6 inches. 

Senetti Plants Over Winter

The Senetti is a tender perennial usually treated as an annual, and you can overwinter it in a cool, frost-free spot, preferably a cool glasshouse or conservatory.

Senetti is not fully hardy but can withstand considerable cold. It can establish itself very quickly, especially after deadheading the first flush of flowers. 

Related Questions:

How Big Does Senetti Get?

A mature Senetti plant can reach 6 to 12 inches tall and 9 to 12 inches wide. 

Are Senetti Perennials?

Yes. The Senetti plant is generally grown annually, but it’s a short-lived perennial by nature. Annual plants only live for one season and die off.

Senetti has unique reblooming abilities with excellent branching and good vigor.

They can provide long-lasting, unmatched fall, winter, and early spring colors for several months, and you can cut it back to rebloom. 

Conclusion

The Pericallis ‘Senetti’ is one of the brightest flowers you can plant in your garden, and it guarantees high-impact colors when it blooms.

It’s ideal for early spring and summer landscapes and patio containers, and it thrives in cool, humid weather. 

It requires low maintenance but can be affected by too much heat or afternoon sun, overwatering and underwatering, pests, diseases, and sudden frost.

The Senetti plant can give you impressive displays of daisy-like flowers packed with color with proper care and nutrition.