Question
Impatiens2
Can you suggest any way to save this poor New Guinea impatiens? A photo is attached; it was taken yesterday.
Before bringing the plant inside for the season, I sprayed it with neem without realizing neem shouldn't be used on impatiens. Once I realized the error, I flushed the plant and soil with water and cut off the dead material down to just above the nearest growth node. Then I added about a teaspoon of slow-release fertilizer to the soil. I've been keeping it near an AeroGarden grow light, except for a couple of days last week when I had to move some things around. I've been giving it plenty of TLC (encouraging words, etc.) too.
The extremities appear to be further shriveling up (and the leaves you see are old ones), but the stem/core still looks and feels alive. I have not watered it in a week because the soil is still moist, but I'm wondering if some high nitrogen fertilizer might encourage it to produce new leaves? This was a mid-summer rescue plant from the sale rack at Lowe's and had been pretty robust. I feel just awful.
AnswerJean,
First of all, you aren't a real gardener until you've killed plants. Secondly, since you're giving it light, you're being careful about not overwatering, and you've already given it some slow-release fertilizer, you don't have to do anything more except wait. You've done everything you should do in order to encourage the plant's recovery. High nitrogen fertilizer at this point won't do the plant any favors because although it might push out some new growth more quickly, the plant hasn't yet adjusted to the indoor conditions (lower light even with AeroGarden light, and less air circulation) and indoors it would be entering a more dormant phase anyway.
In general, we don't want to fertilize plants we're overwintering until January when the days are getting longer - the exception to this rule being orchids and citrus plants. They can have a time-release fertilizer all year. Other plants are resting indoors while the days shorten, so pushing growth that the conditions can't support just weakens them.
Sometimes plants succeed against all odds, so your NG Impatiens might come back. Keep doing what you're doing and let time tell.
I hope this helps,
C.L.
www.wholelifegardening.com
