If you revel planting shade - fuck impatiens in your garden , you might obtain your plants suffering from a pathogen called impatiens downy mildew ( Plasmopara obducens ) . Though this disease has been in the U.S. for at least a decade , it ’s becoming more and more common .
What Is Impatiens Downy Mildew?
Impatiens downy mildew is a pathogen that affects every mixture of Impatiens walleriana along with all of the hybrid impatiens that employ this species as a parent .
At first , the leaves of infected plants turn a pale shade of green and curl in a downward direction . The second level of contagion causes white growths to appear on the lowly leafage Earth’s surface . Eventually all the leave of absence and flush put down from the industrial plant , leave behind nothing but the au naturel stem which will finally succumb to the disease , too , and droop to the background .
How Does Impatiens Downy Mildew Spread?
Like manyfungal organisms , the pathogen that do impatiens fluffy mildew prefers soused weather condition and travel readily via soil , water and air . It broadcast easily from plant to plant , especially during soaked or humid develop time of year .
Because it can live for many year in the soil , if you ’ve grow impatiens that evidence sign of impatiens fluffy mould in the past times , you ’d be wise to not institute them again for several years . you may strain develop them in a unlike garden expanse , but bet on the weather condition and the prevalence of the disease , you could confront a new infection .
How Do I Prevent Impatiens Downy Mildew?
Unfortunately , there ’s small you’re able to do to prevent transmission once the sporangia are present . However , you should only buy symptom - free plants from a dependable , local nursery . Often new infection make it in a garden from transplants that were not yet demo symptoms . Since this pathogen is more prevalent in warmer mood , if you live in a northerly gardening zone , keep off buying plants from nurseries that ship their plant life stock certificate in from southern greenhouse .
To keep the feast of this disease , water plants in the break of the day so they have plenteousness of sentence to dry before nightfall . And water usingdrip irrigationor soaker hoses , if potential , to keep the foliage as juiceless as possible . Do not space plants too closely to ensure they have upright air circulation as well .
Thankfully , this pathogen only harm impatiens . It will not infect other flowers or vegetables .
Are Some Impatiens Resistant to Downy Mildew?
There are a handful of other impatiens species that are resistive to impatiens downy mildew and they are a good pick if you enjoy the look of impatiens but do n’t need to gamble misplace your plants to an infection .
Try New Guinea impatiens ( I. hawkerii ) or SunPatiens , two darker - leaved impatiens varieties with prolific , brightly coloured prime . Both are immune to this pathogen .
Another selection , of course , is to jump the impatiens and establish a differentshade - loving annualin their stead . gratefully , there are lots of beautiful option uncommitted .
