The end of the road for the lovely Busy Lizzie?
What a disappointment! This year, I filled many a hanging basket and flower border with one of my all time favourite annual flowers, the impatien (busy lizzie). Instead of a bright display in the shadier spots of my garden in Dawlish, South Devon, I was left with no flowers, blackened scrivelled leaves and limb green stalks as all were affected with a untreatable strain of powery mildew (Plasmopara obducens).
Well, the only good news is that this new killer only affected the busy lizzie (Impatiens walleriana) side of the family. My New Guinea Impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri) and Parrot Beak (Impatien Niamniamensis) are totally unaffected by the disease.
New Guinea Impatiens are just as lovely as Busy Lizzies. They make for more robust plants and are shade lovers and come in a wide spectrum of colours and habits, just like our problematic variety. As for the commonly garden Busy Lizzie, let’s just hope a good treatment is found soon. Get well soon Impatiens walleriana!