Impatiens are an annual flowering plant that thrive in shaded areas, making them a popular addition to homeowner landscapes. However there have been recent grim reports of a fungal pathogen, downy mildew, spreading throughout several continents that is lethal to impatiens walleriana. Reports have just started in the United States and homeowners who planted impatiens this spring are encouraged to look for the following symptoms:
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- Yellowish foliage
- Downward curling leaf
- Distortion of the leaves
- White to light-gray fuzz on the undersides of the leaves
- Emerging leaves that are small or discolored
- Flower buds failing to form
- Stunted Growth
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| Light-gray fuzz on underside of leaf |
Once downy mildew has infected the host plant there are no treatment options (the new genetic strand of fungus is resistant to current fungicides). Worse, the disease can harbor in the soil over winter and re-infect planted impatiens the following spring. Homeowners are recommended to remove the infected plants and any healthy plants that are adjacent. Other annual ornamentals that tolerate shaded conditions are begonias, new guinea impatiens and coleus. There are a variety of perennial plants that will perform well too, including hostas, ferns, yellow rocket, astillibe, blue fescue and hakonecloa.
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