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Annuals/leggy impatients

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Expert: - 7/8/2007


Question
 I live in North Haven,CT. Every spring, after Mothers day, I put inpatients in the railing flower boxes on my deck.  They always seem to get just the right amount of sun/shade there, and last well into the fall.
   However this year they seem to have matured rather rapidly, and have started to become leggy and thick stalked (although currently blooming beautifully)much like they do in the fall. They are requiring extra watering to prevent wilting. As it is only early July , I fear that at this rate, they will not make it thru the end of summer and the August heat.
   Is there any way to slow them down or possibly cut them back so I can continue to enjoy their bloom for the rest of the summer as I always do? I currently have four 24x6 inch long boxes on the rails and I would hate to lose all of them so early in the summer.

Answer
The term is 'pinching', my friend -- you need to 'pinch' your Impatiens to keep them stocky and well branched.

This is so easy to do.  Get a scissors or a razor blade and slice the branches back to the bottom 2 or 3 'nodes'.  A 'node' is the point where the leaf forms on a stem.  If you slice just above a node where there is a small bud or a leaf or branch, you will get that node to grow.

This will require removing the blooms from most of the plant that is being pinched.  But it will be back blooming in no time.  When they have resumed blooming, make it a practice to re-pinch regularly.  You will not interrupt the bloom cycle, and the plants will stay stocky and healthy -- and bloom all Summer long.  And that, my friend, would be a beautiful thing!

Keep me posted, and if you need any more instructions on pinching let me know.  It's a great maintenance practice for Geraniums, too, by the way.

Annuals

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Long Island Gardener

Expertise

Decisions, decisions... If you can't make up your mind which Annuals to grow, you're not alone. Problem with your new flowering Annuals flats? I`ve been there, done that. Petunias, Sweet Alyssum, Larkspur, Marine Blue Lobelia -- they all grow here at my house on Garden Street on Long Island, N.Y.. Cutting and Cottage Gardens, Sun and Shade Gardens, White Gardens and Night Gardens, I`ve done them all. Annuals are the perfect summer flower, bursting with color June through fall's first frost. I can`t speak on Cactus or tender Tropical Plants -- they don`t grow outside in my Zone 7. I`m no Farmer, so I cannot guide you on Fruits and Vegetables. But whether it`s an Annual you want to start from seed, mail-order or pick up at your local garden center, I can help you grow amazing blooms this Summer. Yes, together, we can turn your neighbors green with envy.

Experience

I have a lifetime of gardening behind me here on the North Shore of Long Island. While I have degrees in related fields, there's nothing like hands-on work to build real knowledge. I stay on top of current science -- there's a boom in research, and Kingdom Plantae is filled with surprises. By the way, I really do live on Garden Street.

Publications
Gannett newspapers, The New York Times, and hundreds of others - but not on Annuals.

Education/Credentials
B.A., botany; graduate credits in European Intellectual History and Political Science; minor coursework in related fields, docent training at our local botanical gardens (required for volunteers). I'm currently working on an advanced biochemistry degree.

Awards and Honors
I could tell you, but then you'd know who I am.

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