Expert: C.L. Fornari - 6/15/2005

Question
Hello! I am not a very good gardener...I kill everything!!! I live in Northern Kentucky and the plants I have arein hanging baskets. I bought these beautiful impatients about two weeks ago. They are in sun for most of the day and have done great for two weeks and just yesterday they totally drooped and are dying. I am regularly watering and cannot figure out what happened to them. Can you help?

Answer
Melissa,
Drooping plants can be one of three things - they  are all concerned with water getting to the leaves and stems.   Both too much water and too little water can cause plants to droop... too little water makes them wilt because without water in their leaf-tissues they become limp.  If a plant is getting too much water, the root rot and so they are no longer supplying the stems and leaves with water to keep them firm, and the plants wilt.

Sometimes when we first see some wilting we assume that it's because the plant is thirsty, so we give it more water, but what is really causing the problem is too much water resulting in root rot.

Wilting can also be caused by fertilizer burn - this happens when too concentrated mix of fertilizer in water is given to plants, or if a plant is given fertilizer when it is dry.  In both cases, the roots of the plant "burn" or get dried from the fertilizer, and again, no water is being delivered to the plant and it wilts.  This is why fertilizer should never be given to a thirsty plant, and only small amounts of fertilizer at a time.

You'll have to figure out which of these may have caused your problem.

Take comfort in knowing that you aren't a REAL gardener unless you occasionally kill plants.

all the best,
C.L. Fornair