Expert: C.L. Fornari - 7/18/2008

Question
I just bought a couple hanging baskets of impatiens less than a week ago and they appear to be dying - looks like they are drying up. I water them every day and they are in the shade. I also planted an impatiens border the same day and water them the same amount. They seem to be doing fine. I have given them miracle grow. Could that have an effect on the hanging baskets? Is there any way to save my baskets? They really look terrible - leaves and flowers are just shriveling up.

Answer
Amanda,
Lift your hanging basket down before you water it and feel the dirt. Is it damp?  Next, llook at the stems where they meet the soil. Is that area a bit darker than the rest of the stems? And smell the soil to see if it smells "fresh" - what you are doing is looking for signs that the plant has been TOO wet.  Plants that are too wet look like they are thirsty - they wilt - because the roots and stem are rotting and can't get the moisture up to the leaves. So if your soil was still moist before you watered it, or if the stem is a bit darker or if the soil smells a bit "swampy" then you have root or crown rot from being too wet.

If those do not apply, I"m wondering if you might have given them too much fertilizer or given the fertilizer when the plant was dry. Fertilizer burn causes plants to turn brown as if they are dry - the salts in the fertilizer dry up the cells so that the plant looks burned. Giving a dry plant fertilizer will do the same thing unless the solution is VERY weak/dilute.

If you suspect fertilizer burn you could cut the plants down to about 4" and they should come back in three weeks or so.  If the plants have rotted roots and/or crown rot there's probably not much you can do except start over with new baskets or replant the ones you have with new potting soil and plants.  

I hope this helps!
C.L.