[Penny Finn]

I normally grow lots of busy lizzies in my pots and wall baskets.  They are usually beautiful but this year the wall baskets are fine but ALL the pot ones have practically disappeared.  There are just bare stalks which look as though they have been eaten.  I can't see anything in the pots and I have put anti slug everywhere!  Any suggestions?

[sunshineband]

They don't like the chilly weather 


or they might have shed ther leaves if they are too wet

[mumofstig]

My wall basket ones are dying back whereas the potted ones are fine The difference is that the basket ones are in a windy position

[Penny Finn]

They aren't in the wind particularly.  I still can't understand it, when they are usually in the same place on the patio each year and normally do so well? I just wanted to avoid the same thing happening again next year

[Growster...]

Exactly what happened to Mrs Growster's Penny!

I was going to ask the same question, but thanks for raising it!

We just don't have a clue, other than wonder if the seed (last year's gatherings), might have just 'worn out', and the plants were too weak.

[mumofstig]

If in doubt always blame the weather

micro climates within garden can vary a great deal.......................

[New shoot]

I think 'tis the weather this time MoS  It's the alternating hot humid weather and cool wet days that has done it.

We've had loads of customers at work asking the same question.  The plants that have been brought in with any remaining leaves on have all been suffering with a kind of mildew.  It goes on the undersides of the leaves on busy lizzies and they get a silvery sheen and curl over at the edges.  Next stage is defoliation.

If you spray with fungicide you might get fresh growth of heathy leaves, but whether they get back up to flowering speed any time soon is debatable 

[catllar]

I saw an article today in this weeks Sat Telegraph regarding this. There is some sort of mould attacking  the Lizzies and it's proving resistant to fungicides (at least to thos available to domestic gardeners). According to the doom and gloom mongerers in the paper, it could be the end of the BL!

[Penny Finn]

Thanks for all the interesting replies.  I will  just assume it was either weather or some sort of fungus then.  Strange if it is though because you would assume all the plants growing in such close proximity would be affected the same way wouldn't you?  Grateful for all the comments though and glad I am not the only one!

[tosca100]

Our busy lizzies have deteriorated too. It was very windy, wet and cold this week and I think it was just too much for them. We were so pleased with them because they only cost £2.50 each and they have been really beautiful. Wouldn't normally choose busies, but thought they were worth a go as there is no way you could make a basket up for that cost!

Last week......

To this in a week

[PeterP]

I don't grow these, but a friend of mine does and he has had the same problem here in north Wales. he did say that he was given an article from one of the Gardening mags, which does state it is a virus. And it is possible that they will not produce any more BL for a few years in the hope it vanishes.
So burn any you have, DO NOT put them in your compost bin.
Pete

[Jamie Butterworth]

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=205

Here you are

The nursery i work in are also getting a lot of quetions about why are there bizzie lizzie doing realy bad this year, apparently, according to my boss, it could signal the end of the bizzie lizzies unless they can find a way to combat it, either way, they cant be planted in the same soil that the virus has been in for at least 2 years

[New shoot]

Probably being pedantic here but have had lots and lots of the same question at work, so bear with me.  There are 2 diseases being discussed here as if they are one and the same

There is a virus which attacks busy lizzies but it's spread by flower thrips who feed on plant sap and 'inject' it into the plant tissues.  It causes black spots and leaf necrosis.  Apart from spray your plants to kill/deter the thrips, there is no treatment.

What all the tragic little specimens of busy lizzies I have seen have had is mildew and that is spread by windblown spores, which have flourished in the wet warm weather we have had in a lot of the country.  As I said in my previous post, sick looking plants and curled over leaves with a silvery sheen on the underside are the symptoms.

The fungicides on offer to the home gardener are very limited these days so treating the mildew is hard.  That plus it lurks on the underside of the leaves which is not helpful.  Best to bin/burn the plants and replant with autumn stuff at this stage of the game.

[mumofstig]

Just read the RHS page and it makes sense now that several places were selling large trays of tiny plugs for a £1, that didn't do very well
As a cynic, perhaps that's why they wanted to get rid of them....after all, a £1 is better than dumping them all 

[New shoot]

Just read the RHS page and it makes sense now that several places were selling large trays of tiny plugs for a £1, that didn't do very well
As a cynic, perhaps that's why they wanted to get rid of them....after all, a £1 is better than dumping them all  

That's terrible practise and hopefully comes back to bite them on the bum when dissapointed customers vote with their feet   Not only is it unfair on the customer who bought them but on all their neighbours as well.

We had a single batch that looked iffy after a day or two and were whipped off sale and put ooot back.  They went downhill and were chucked in the skip.  We got a credit from the grower.  

We've given credit notes, refunds or replacement bedding to any customers who have come back, but there have been fairly few given the amount of busy lizzies we sold this season.  Maybe people were lucky or just put it down to the weather.