Expert: C.L. Fornari - 5/28/2008

Question
I am losing my Im "patients" with this hanging basket.  It is double inpatients and all of the flowers are brown around the edges.  The leaves and stems are not a rich shade of green.  I am new to gardening and have had this basket about 3 weeks.  The nights are cold here, but do not frost and it is in morning sun.  Thanks in advance.


Answer
Melissa,
If the nights are going below 50 degrees this plant will not do well - cold temps make the stems and foliage a lighter yellow green and make the plants sulk!  You could bring the basket in at night until the temperatures go up day and night.

For impatiens to do well they need regular watering when dry and at least some sun every day although this can be as little as one or two hours. The best way to feed such a hanging basket is to apply a tablespoon of Osmocoate Indoor Outdoor which is a time-release fertilizer. This will supply fertilizer for at least 3 months on a gradual basis.  If you use a liquid be sure to water the plant first - fertilizing a thirsty plant can cause fertilizer burn which makes the leaves and flowers brown on the edges.

The flowers might be turning brown now because the original ones are fading and the new ones aren't opening since the nights are too cold. Once the plant is warmer the older flowers will brown and fall off but there will always be new ones forming so that you won't notice the old so much.

Hang in there...the season has just begun!

all the best,
C.L.