My nasturtium looks wilted: is it finished, or can it recover?
The photograph shows a potted nasturtium with many drooping, spent flowers but still plenty of green foliage. The main issue is less the leaf spots than the burden of old flowers and what is happening to moisture at the bottom of the pot.
This does not look like a plant that is necessarily finished. Your nasturtium has many spent flowers and some tangled, tired stems, but still a good amount of green foliage, with new buds or developing seed structures visible too. There is often energy left if you lighten the load.
What to do now
- Cut off wilted and brown flowers, ideally back to the next healthy leaf or side shoot.
- Remove some of the most exhausted, thin or damaged stems as well, to open up the plant.
- Check whether the bottom of the pot really drains. Compost can feel evenly moist on top while remaining too wet below.
- If it stays wet for a long time, water less often but thoroughly, allowing all excess water to drain away.
- After tidying, give one weak dose of flowering-plant fertiliser rather than a strong feed.
Some leaf spots are visible, but they do not look like the main problem here. A little spotting and wear is common on potted nasturtiums late in the season. I would not discard it for that reason; tidy it first and see how it responds over a week or two.
Sources and images 1
- Original reader contribution ↗Reader question