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| I wonder does anyone in Europe or the UK know of anyone who sells this very old-fashioned and once common plant. It is not the seed-grown one, but the tall, gangly type which was passed from person to person as cuttings. The flowers were usually pink, sometimes white, almost always single. I myself was given one by a new neighbour when I moved into my new home after I married, back in the 1970s. A correspondent in the UK very kindly sent me one a few years back after I advertised in European Plant Exchange here on Garden Web. I lost mine, and subsequently so did he. If anyone knows where one could be found for him, I would be very grateful indeed. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Mon, Jul 2, 12 at 15:48
| I hope you don't mean this kind. |
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- Posted by alavoneluvhoya none (My Page) on Mon, Jul 2, 12 at 16:56
| @ purple meee neither we sell these outside in our shop and they need 100% shade or the look crazy! |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Mon, Jul 2, 12 at 17:34
| No, purpleinopp, not the bedding plants grown from seed. They are Impatiens walleriana, but not those hybrids that branch early and have a spreading habit. The closest I have found are what are called over here Safari F2 hybrids. I've been growing them in the hope that one appears like the old-fashioned type. They were somehow rougher looking, the stems were almost transparent, and looked as if they were full of water. They grew quite tall and the branches could be quite thick. Maybe they weren't grown much in the US, but in an old American book I found them described as Patient Lucy. Our busy lizzies are so far fine, despite the very wet weather we've been having. A gardener on national radio advised a milk and water solution if the mildew did appear. I don't know if anyone here has heard of that remedy. |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Mon, Jul 2, 12 at 18:57
| Ok good. There's also New Guinea Impatiens and Impatiens balsamina. |
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| Impatiens work as house plants? |
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| marguerite - I know exactly the plant you mean. They had those lurid pink fluorescent flowers with a sort of unnatural sheen and stems that looked like greeny beige glass. Everyone's Mum had one passed on from a friend and rooted in a jam jar on the windowsill. We had one for several years about three foot tall like a little tree. I'd not really thought about it but it's true, I haven't seen one for years! It's intriguing what has happened to them when they were once so common. I will definitely keep my eyes open and come back to you if I see one. Are you the same person who has been asking about them on other websites? |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Tue, Jul 3, 12 at 10:50
| Hi flora, thank goodness someone knows the plant I mean! That is it! I have been looking for it privately, I'm not sure if I looked for it on other websites, but it could be my friend from the UK for whom I am searching for this everywhere. I had a post on European Garden Exchange years ago and he responded with a plant...I really would like to get one for him now. He was using them to grow seedlings and hopefully produce other colours. purpleinopp, I know of course the New Guinea impatiens, they are a different breed, and Impatiens balsamina is a separate species too. amccour, the bedding impatiens make terrific house plants, I always have one or two in the house, they are non-stop bloomers. |
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| marguerite, what about New Guinea impatiens indoors? Those have attractive stem morphology and coloration! Also whatever variety you're talking about sounds lovely. Godspeed in finding it, and make sure to report it back here so that we may start demanding stores carry it again :) |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Fri, Jul 6, 12 at 10:41
| Hi amccour, yes, I know the New Guinea hybrids, they are lovely and I have grown them indoors, they don't seem to flower quite as long as the old type I'm looking for, but they are also a different species. The old type was usually passed on as cuttings, and you would never find it in a conventional store, sometimes in a garden sale or at a country market, any I asked never have it now and couldn't help. Flora, I emailed you, I hope it arrived, because there seemed to be a glitch and it took a few minutes to get a message saying it had gone successfully. |
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| Marguerite - I have emailed around work to see if anyone has one. My email on here is non-functioning so leave a message in the thread if you need to. Have you asked the RHS? Or schools? There always seemed to be jars of them rooting in science labs. Flora. |
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- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Fri, Jul 6, 12 at 12:57
| Amccour. Some Impatiens do better than other. I. Morsei
Pic above taken Nov 2011 Morsei was purchased spring of that year. Marguerite, a US seller on Ebay sells Busy Lizzie, but don't know if he ships out of state...Toni |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Fri, Jul 6, 12 at 14:45
| Thanks, Flora, will do. Hi Toni, what a lovely plant. Are you saying it's the busy lizzie we are looking for that the seller you mentioned has? Do you call all impatiens 'busy lizzie' over there? |
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- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Fri, Jul 6, 12 at 15:07
| Hi Marguerite, Many, outdoor gardeners still call 'ALL' Impatiens, Busy Lizzies, lol I just checked Ebay, but the seller either isn't carrying or run out of Impatiens listed as Busy Lizzie. He usually has other Impatiens varieties too, but he's out of all Impatiens at the time. His store name is Funny Farm Herbs. Toni |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Fri, Jul 6, 12 at 17:07
| Thanks indeed, Toni. I just wanted to take a look, I'm sure I couldn't get them from the US. Never mind, patience is a virtue etc.. |
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| Hi again Marguerite - I am still looking. This is so intriguing. What has happened to them all? I have found an interesting tit-bit on the attached blog. 4th paragraph. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Busy Lizzies
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Sat, Jul 7, 12 at 9:46
| Does the mildew disease only affect I. walleriana or all of them? |
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- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Sat, Jul 7, 12 at 11:16
| Marguerite. Why not? lol. I've purchased plants from China, Malaysia and Thailand...Got seeds from Australia. Where there's a will there's a way..:) |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Sat, Jul 7, 12 at 15:26
| Hi purpleinopp, yes, the mildew only affects Impatiens walleriana, apparently. The New Guinea hybrids, for example, are immune. Toni, the seller would have to provide a phytosanitary certificate and not many of them want the bother of that. Seeds might not turn out to be the required type. |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Sat, Jul 7, 12 at 15:30
| Flora, thanks so much for that link. It is terrible to think how much we took the busy lizzie for granted and now we may lose them. I suppose we should extend that thought to other common plants and appreciate them more. I agree it is very strange, where are all that old type gone? |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Mon, Jul 9, 12 at 14:26
| Well I am extremely intrigued by this thread. I think I've followed all of the entries but still don't know what plant this discussion is about. What did I miss? |
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| Hi again, Marguerite. The good news is ...... my colleague has brought me a bunch of cuttings. She says she's had the plant for around 30 years and got it from her sister so I think it's the right one. The bad news is .... I forgot them and they are still under my desk at work. Watch this space. |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Wed, Jul 11, 12 at 17:41
| Flora, You are one good hunter. That is wonderful news. I am going to contact my friend immediately. Thank you so much for the effort. I suppose the cuttings are going to be really glad of a drink in the morning! purpleinopp, I have been looking without success for a photo of this particular busy lizzie. I'll keep on trying. |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Thu, Jul 12, 12 at 10:04
| Ok. I just wanted to know the botanical name, sorry for butting in. This is interesting! |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Thu, Jul 12, 12 at 11:46
| purpleinopp, No way are you butting in, I hope I didn't make you feel you were somehow. As far as I know the botanical name is Impatiens walleriana, the same as the F1 and F2 hybrids that you buy in garden shops. I'm not sure if it was the original species or some kind of hybrid itself, because it was always grown from cuttings. I have grown some F2 hybrids this year from seed, and one turned out quite variegated, while one I have in the house has a very faint paler green around the borders of all leaves. I'll have to take a pic of this and post it here, it would be a shame if the bug got it. But one thing Flora mentioned, and I think I did too, is the transparency of the old plant stems. They have a really watery appearance, more, I would say, than the seedlings have. I've been searching through all my old houseplant books to find a picture for you to show what I mean. |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 18:32
| At last we have a picture of the old-fashioned busy lizzie. It's from an Australian nursery, found by my gardening friend who is hunting for it everywhere: http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au The plant is quite tall, so this is obviously a view from the top.
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 18:33
| At last we have a picture of the old-fashioned busy lizzie. It's from an Australian nursery, found by my gardening friend who is hunting for it everywhere: http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au The plant is quite tall, so this is obviously a view from the top.
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 18:34
| Oh, lordie, I don't know how I posted twice! Sorry about that. |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 19:31
| Now here is my busy lizzie grown from Safari F2 hybrid seed, on the kitchen window sill. The flowers are much larger than the old-fashioned type, but some of the seedlings had quite small flowers. |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 19:39
| Here is another picture of the same plant, the one grown from Safari F2 hybrid seed. |
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| Marguerite - I though I had posted again but it seems not. I have the cuttings at home now in water. What do you want me to do with them?? |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Mon, Jul 16, 12 at 9:23
| Thanks so much for the post, Flora. Would it be possible for me to put you in touch with my garden friend in UK who is looking for the plant? |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Mon, Jul 16, 12 at 10:57
| Hi again, Flora. If you would be kind enough to write to me, I can put you in touch with my friend who is looking for the busy lizzie. Perhaps you could also let me know if you are looking for anything in particular, and I will see if I have it or will find it for you. Many thanks. |
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| Marguerite - I have emailed you. |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 12 at 15:30
| Thank you, Flora. Both Mark and I have emailed back to you but they were both returned undeliverable. Would your inbox be full, by any chance? |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Wed, Jul 18, 12 at 10:14
| Many thanks, Flora, for all the help. |
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| If anyone was following this thread three rooted cuttings of the old-fashioned Impatiens in question obtained from a work colleague of mine have been posted to Marguerite's original contact. Rather a round about method of locating them via a US based website but they are actually going to a spot a mile across the water from where I grew up. Flora. |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Thu, Aug 9, 12 at 12:02
| I love a happy ending! |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Thu, Aug 9, 12 at 15:31
| And I love the generosity and helpfulness of GW members, and in particular at this moment, Flora. Many thanks for all your thoughtfulness, Flora. |
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| Happy ending. The Busy Lizzies have arrived safely and are now growing happily in their new home. (I do like a puzzle, Marguerite - it was fun.) |
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- Posted by marguerite Ireland (My Page) on Mon, Aug 13, 12 at 13:05
| Flora, you are the best! |
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- Posted by greenlarry UK 8/9 (My Page) on Sun, Oct 21, 12 at 10:18
| I had one years ago, marguerite posted a pic of it above. Glassy green watery stems, single pink stems, dead easy to grow. |
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