Question
QUESTION: Sadly, my eleven lovely big full-sun impatiens were hit with a surprise overnight frost in the high twenties Monday night - which was a complete shock for us who live in the moderate Malibu area of Southern California!  Now my lovely plants are shriveled, brown and dried.  Is there any way to try to save them?  Should I trim them back to their stems hoping they will be able to grow fresh leaves back or should I leave them alone for a few months?  Please advise.  Thanks, Tricia

ANSWER: Tricia,
The weather has been weird, hasn't it? The other day it was warmer in Boston than it was in Southern California...and now we're all cold! If the entire plant is shriveled you can either do nothing and see if they come back, or trim about a quarter off the top of each plant and wait.  Trimming would be what I would do, along with a MILD application of fertilizer if you haven't fed them recently. And be sure to water well before fertilizing - never fertilize a thirsty plant.  

If the frost penetrated the stems all the way to the ground, they probably won't come back. If you need to replace them with something, I'd use one of the "winter flowers" for your area such as allyssum or pansies, just to be on the safe side through January.

I hope this helps,
C.L.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for the great information!  We plan to wait until this cold spell ends and then trim the still-healthy stems down about 25%.  Fortunately it seems only the leaves and flowers are dead and dried - yay!  However, could you please advise what kind of fertilizer to use that would "mildly" assist the recuperation of these full-sun impatiens?  Thank you again for your help, Tricia

Answer
Tricia,
If you use synthetic fertilizers you could use Peters, Miracle Grow or Bayer - or whatever you've got, mixed at about half the recommended rate for occasional feeds. If the rate recommended is for feeding frequently, use that only just a time or two before the weather warms again. (You want to help the plant recover, not push a bunch of weak growth it doesn't have the resources for.)

If you prefer organic fertilizers, use Fish and Seaweed liquid, mixed at the rate recommended on the label - with organics you don't have to be so careful because they are slow release by nature.

all the best,
C.L.
www.wholelifegardening.com