Busy Lizzies going soft?

davidscot

I bought some Busy Lizzie plug plants and I am growing them on. Now a lot of them seem to be going soft and dying off.
Anyone help? They are in a greenhouse at night and outside during the day.

valk_scot

If you mean gone mushy like lettuce that's been in a cold bit of the fridge, the usual culprits are too cold (been out in the really poor weather?) and/or over watering. If you put them outside on a rainy day it's best to put them under an overhang or in a sheltered corner so they don't get drowned.

bluebird

Have they drowned with all this rain,poor little plugs they didnt stand a chance RIP.

davidscot

If the weather has been really bad then ive been leaving them inside the greenhouse, think by the sound of it ive been guilty of overwatering them:mad:

mrbadexample

They've probably got downy mildew.

GQT have had loads of queries regarding this - apparently it's sweeping through the nation's impatiens. Most garden centres aren't selling them at all this year.

Sorry.

Candles_by_Lisa

My mother ordered busy lizzies that were supposed to be infection free - they weren't and they are dying off too. Everything is doing great in her greenhouse except the busy lizzies she wasn't going to by the because of the disease but these stated they were specificaly infection free. She has written a letter of complaint just this morning.

davidscot

mrbadexample wrote: »

They've probably got downy mildew.

GQT have had loads of queries regarding this - apparently it's sweeping through the nation's impatiens. Most garden centres aren't selling them at all this year.

Sorry.

So would it be better to ditch these plants then? Can this downy mildew transfer to other plants that I have?

mrbadexample

davidscot wrote: »

So would it be better to ditch these plants then? Can this downy mildew transfer to other plants that I have?

I don't know to be honest - I'd just heard that there was a problem with them this year. I think they're doomed, but I don't know if it can spread to other plants - I would guess it probably can.

Of course, I also don't know if this is the issue with yours - it might be something else.

Where did you get them from? If you bought them, try giving the store a ring to see if they can help.

madjackslam

The downy mildew only affects busy lizzies, so don't worry about other plants. But this doesn't sound like downy mildew to me. With downy mildew, plants lose their flowers and leaves and end up as just stalks that eventually wither and die. Plus, it's more once they are in the ground than when they are as plugs/young plants in potting compost.

At the moment, though, downy mildew seems to be so widespread that, even if that's not it, and these plants perk up, you may have problems later on. I'm avoiding busy lizzies for the next few years. Their appeal was that they were unfussy, trouble free plants that looked after themselves. Unfortunately that's no longer the case.

poly1

Here is a link to the RHS site about Impatiens Downy Mildew. Unfortunately most garden centres, including those in the big DIY sheds, are not stocking any ordinary impatiens this year because of this. It doesn't affect the New Guinea ones though. The link gives you a picture of an affected plant so maybe that will help you.

jonty03

I lost a lot of busy lizzies last year to this virus. Mine were planted in baskets and containers, in compost. They went from being strong, healthy plants to bare stalks before dying. I grow a lot of plants and busy lizzies were the only ones affected.

I read an article on Google about it and it was saying that growers/retailers weren't supplying busy lizzies this year in a bid to stop the virus. B&Q and Morrison's aren't selling them but unfortunately Tesco had them on sale earlier this week. Can't say what the other supermarkets are doing.

From the sound of the ops plants, it would seem that they may have been affected by the cold rather than the virus. It is still cold for busy lizzies during the day and if plants are sat in cold, wet compost, they can react badly.
HTH