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busy lizzies

• Message 1. 

  Posted by smilingrosie2 (U10973578) on Thursday, 19th January 2012

  hi everyone, my busy lizzies last year were really bad, they all died off early, was told a lot of these plants had a desiese, really want to buy more this year, they are very good for part of my garden that is shady , did any body else have this problem last year

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Trillium (U2170869) on Thursday, 19th January 2012

  You are not alone. Quite a few suppliers are withdrawing busy lizzies in 2012 - there is a downy mildew which is affecting them very widely.
  
  As you know, they are a very useful, inexpensive solution for shady areas, but of course you have to replant them every year and have a bare gap in winter when they are removed. You might consider investing a little more this year in shade loving perennials and bulbs which will come back year on year.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by kate1123 (U14824475) on Thursday, 19th January 2012

  There have been reports in the papers this week saying that GCs and shed are not going to supply them to try and halt the disease.
  
  There is a company selling the New Guinea impatients that claim they are mildew resistant.
  
  

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by bookertoo (U3655866) on Saturday, 21st January 2012

  Indeed, this was a national problem last year, and looks set to continue. Many of the companies that sell millions of plug plants are not even offering busy lizzies this year, or alt lead not the previous types. New Guinea and some other hybrids seem to be - so far - immune to the fungus that killed most of the busy lizzies, so that seems the way forward. Either that, or chose a different type of plant altogether, there are plenty out there from which to chose.
  
  Shade need not be a problem for colour, there are many really good web sites and books that deal with the shady garden, your local library may well have some worth looking at and making notes from. Good luck.

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by John Moodie (U14353581) on Saturday, 21st January 2012

  Hello smilingrosie,
  I've never had the problem with them but I grow mine from seed. Would that be an option for you? I'm trying ones with double rose like blooms this year. Your post reminds me that I better check the sowing date. I think it's soon.

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by thedogcody (U14659366) on Saturday, 21st January 2012

  Growing from seed will not eliminate the problem this downy mildew affects the plants in the garden so how they are produced will not help
  
  The spores remain in the soil and are also airborne.
  
  The thinking behind the voluntary ban on selling is that it will give the boffins a breathing space to find a solution
  

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by John Moodie (U14353581) on Saturday, 21st January 2012

  I'm in southern Alberta and we get very dry here. I have never planted them in the ground. They are planted in big saucer shaped pots which are placed on bricks on the ground. So how does one kill these spores in the ground? Fungicide or removing all the soil?

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by thedogcody (U14659366) on Saturday, 21st January 2012

  I dont know and I know you are across the pond so perhaps it hasn't reached you yet
  
  I had a conversation with someone from a company in the channel Islands this week as they are continuing to supply-the perceived wisdom is that the summer in the UK was not the best last year and helped exasperate the condition.
  
  This is why as I said some suppliers have imposed a voluntary ban in the UK to get a solution-I am guessing that whatever is currently available doesn't do the trick.

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 8.

  Posted by Tee Gee (U10012255) on Saturday, 21st January 2012

  I had a conversation with someone from a company in the channel Islands this week as they are continuing to supply-the perceived wisdom is that the summer in the UK was not the best last year and helped exasperate the condition. 
  
  I would tend to go along with that theory based on how other forms of mildew form in different weather patterns.
  
  This is why as I said some suppliers have imposed a voluntary ban in the UK to get a solution-I am guessing that whatever is currently available doesn't do the trick. 
  
  They are in a different boat from the 'amateur' they are in a position to lose tens of thousands of plants whereas the gardener might just lose a few dozen, meaning the potential loss is not as extreme, so I can understand the commercial peoples approach to this matter!
  
  I am growing mine from seed this ( only because I got a freebie packet)

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• Message 10

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by John Moodie (U14353581) on Monday, 30th January 2012

  I just received an email from Parks Seeds out of South Carolina. The downy mildew hit the busy lizzies in the north eastern US last year. I guess it's just a matter of time before it's here in western Canada. Not this year I hope.

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• Message 11

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by smilingrosie2 (U10973578) on Tuesday, 31st January 2012

  thank you every one, think i will give them a miss this year, and go for something else
  

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• Message 12

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by mattthegaffer (U14184801) on Sunday, 12th February 2012

  At my garden centre we have decided not to produce traditonal busy lizzies this year. WE will however be offering the New Guninea type that are resistant to downy mildew. The problem this last year is that the chemicals the suppliers where using at an early stage did not work as the fungus had become resistant so plug plants were probably already infected. It could be a fair few years before a resistant strain of traditional busy lizzie is available. In the meantime I guess it's watch this space.

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• Message 13

  , in reply to message 12.

  Posted by Don Kidick (U13987773) on Wednesday, 15th February 2012

  
  I usually make up a couple of those flower pouch thingies and fill them with Busy Lizzies, because they fill out so well and cover the pouch (I like to keep the little lady happy).
  
  Can anyone suggest a replacement if Busy Lizzies are going to be in short supply or not available this year?
  
  Cheers. Don.
  

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• Message 14

  , in reply to message 13.

  Posted by Don Kidick (U13987773) on Wednesday, 15th February 2012

  Hello!!!!!!!!
  
  Anybody out there???????????

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• Message 15

  , in reply to message 14.

  Posted by thedogcody (U14659366) on Wednesday, 15th February 2012

  Yes
  
  See message 3 or trailing begonias-two suggestions

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• Message 16

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by John Moodie (U14353581) on Wednesday, 15th February 2012

  My busy lizzies have germinated so I'm going for it. They will all be in one big saucer shaped pot in a dry shade bed.

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