Impatiens virus

Hi weedpatch, i did hear about this, my little girl planted a bright pink one in a little pot outside her playhouse, and that was fine, no problems, i think this virus was a result of the weather conditions last year, i think we solved the problem by putting in a pot with legs good drainage and topdressed with gravel, so Brookes was very free draining, and very lovely, full of 'Barbie' pink flowers all summer long, ofcorse we did'nt get much time to enjoy it as it rained so much! lol and we did only have the one. i went for petunia in my beds and had a few problems with them due to all the wet. if the current weather system is anything to go by we should be in for a better summer, so i would say go for it!

Hi - yes, I reckon it was the most asked question last year! A lot of people had problems with Impatiens - including me. Some in one area were fine, but others ended up looking like a stalk with a leaf on! Pathetic. Out they came!

I shall get more for this year as I have a shaded area where I grow them in containers.

I think the general advice is not to grow them this year in soil where they were affected last year. By 2010, it should be safe to grow them in the same place again

Thanks. I usually grow alot and couldn't afford to replace them if they went. I grew begonias though last year for a change. They were very good but the colours are more limited. As I grow them in troughs, I would have both good drainage and new compost, so I'll risk it.

Hello fellow gardeners. As with any crop there are a handful of viruses that can go to Impatiens. The virus(s) causing the infection can yield wildly different symptoms from little or no disfigurement to death in severe cases. Considering the complex way things operate it is important to understand that simply not planting a specific host for a year doesn’t mean that the following year the same host is replanted that it will stay healthy. The reason being is that many of the viruses can me moved by vectors such as thrips, aphids, nematodes, ect. into reservoir hosts like surrounding weeds or other plants. When the following year comes around the new healthy plant can become re-infected pending the right factors. If you are interested in identifying possible viral and bacterial infections check out a company called Agdia Inc. They seem to offer a wide array of testing tools for various hosts and viruses as well as a testing service. Sorry to get soooo long winded!