My impatiens don't look very good either, but I know the reason is the weather has not warmed enough yet. If your compost is vegetative and not manure I don't think it can be blamed for burning you plants. Al

It's been too cold here in MA for the impatiens anyway. They're probably just hunkered down until the weather warms up. One other thing to consider is that compost can be kinda heavy and compact more when wet. What I've done in the past when the plants seem unhappy after a long period of rainfall is to take either a bamboo BBQ stick or chopstick and just poke a bunch of holes in the dirt, way down, around the plant, so that the roots get a chance for some air. Doesn't hurt them even if you're wrong, but it's always helped mine.

in my z5.. i wouldnt plant them for another 2 weeks due to frost considerations.. so i agree with cold nights ....

so you are way ahead of the curve..

check out the link for posting pix

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Impatiens likes rich soil and blooms best with lots of fertilizer. They don't like soggy soil and the roots will rot if the soil is too wet. And I agree with the others. It is very early for impatiens here in MA zone 5, especially with this cold wet spring. Yours should get going with warm weather so don't give up yet.

ya know, my nursery had them out sooo i bought them

they're still alive and i'm hoping that come the warmer weather they'll perk up

Every year it seems the vendors get their bedding plants out earlier and earlier. There were hanging baskets and tender bedding plants out on display locally the third week of April. Our last frost date (which mother nature sometimes ignores anyway) is May 15th. The only person who is out is the buyer. You shouldn't have to buy early and plant, or just as bad buy early and store in your garage until it's safe to plant. Responsible nurseries put out plant material at the appropriate time.

key to gardening number 777 ...

JUST CUZ YOU BUY IT ... doenst mean its the proper time to plant it ...

i used to have hundreds of plants sitting in the garage in spring... waiting for frost/freeze to pass ...

some upwards of a month ....

whats this.. i bought it.. so i had to bodyslam it into the ground ....

suggesting that its someone elses fault.. the sellers.. sounds good to me.. [as i am never really at fault] ....

but we all should know better .. lol

the tricky part is learning the preceding 776 rules to follow ....

ken

You know Ken......you are right. If people would stop purchasing flowers a month before it is safe to plant them, vendors would stop offering them then. But, as far as fault, it takes two to Tango. I ask people why on earth they'd want to buy impatiens in zones five or six in April, and they tell me they're afraid if they don't buy them then, that when it is really time to plant the varieties they want will be sold out. And this is where it comes back to the growers and vendors.

I've been growing plants for more than a quarter century now to sell and I simply do not open my business to retail until after Mother's Day and tell them to come back when it's safe to put flowers in. Do I lose money? I had hoped, in the long run, that after those same customers lost enough flowers they'd learn to go with a grower who would be honest and fair with them. Some did but many went elsewhere and bought their stashes and stored them in garages. I am obliged to sell early on my wholesale accounts, because they have to have their own philosophies as far as being fair to a customer and many of them have keeping facilities where the plants won't be harmed by frosts and it gives them time to set up their displays.

But this trend started when the big boxes and chains came to town. There are some boxes who don't even pay for their plant material unless is crosses a register, so there is not a lot of concern if they freeze in the sales lot and like I said........every year the plants seem go come out earlier and the public is becoming conditioned to consider when it's out in a store, it's time and that by Mid May when they should just start planting, they are looking for mark downs and clearances, and sadly finding them. That puts independents who really consider the weather at a marked disadvantage and they must decide to compete on early sales or not. I think I am in the minority. So it's not just the vendor, and it's not just the public. But the public can put a stop to it but I don't see it happening.

I went to the nursery the other day. They had lovely Dahlia. When I went back the majority of colors were gone. I asked the nursery man whether he thought he'd get more in more and he said that he didn't know. Yes, I'm at the mercy of the retailers. The same nursery also said that they were preparing for a layoff. Most of the hard work was done. Yikes!

What to do? What to do?

I was a little down on myself because I haven't gotten any annuals planted yet - neither the ones I grew from seed nor the ones I purchased - because I've been overwhelmed with work and speciality training, which takes precedence over playing around in the garden. Well, after the torrential rains this afternoon on top of the very wet and mostly cool May we've had in my area, frankly I'm glad I haven't gotten around to it - my bet is if they were planted I'd soon be making a second planting due to rot...

I think a successful business adapts with the public rather than trying to change the public, because you really cannot do the latter. Why would you turn away business? As long as you tell them to plant after frost or at least have it on a marker tag, who cares if the plants are temporarily in a protected area? A local merchant has the advantage over the big guys of actually knowing the zone and last frost date.

I went a little crazy this spring and started shopping early for plants. For whatever reason, for the first time in years, I never got my seeds started this winter. I got hit hard by gardening fever and kept checking in with my favorite garden center. I wasn't looking for annuals that early, but I wanted perennials. They weren't ready. I checked in and checked in, and nothing was available. They had just potted up some babies that I wanted, but they weren't ready for sale. As a gardener, I don't need someone else telling me what I can handle. Finally, I went to Home Depot to get started. We eventually were able to buy some plants at the Garden Center, but HD and Walmart got the bulk of my business this season. That's when I started buying impatiens. Topic? They're planted a bit early (just my gut feeling), and they're flowering. They're not growing yet (though a few are), but that's fine since it's still been cool. I was just happy as anything to be able to plant new shrubs and perennials during that rainy, drizzly spell. It's clear and sunny now with no rain predicted for a while. Glad I didn't wait.

I've been in business for 22 years for myself and as a grower for large independent before that and I've watched the trends for many years and I can say, at least in our area, that you can change the public, because the boxes did that when they moved into our area. June used to be a busy month and memorial day a madhouse. It's deader than a doornail now. In fact, I am seeing annuals being sold for half price and stuff on clearance and it's only ELEVEN days past the last frost date. That's how stores can change public perception.

There are all levels of gardeners out there and some are not as savy as others. They should be told when it's appropriate to plant if they don't know and chains who stick things out when there is danger of frost ........do you think they warn the public? It's only the right thing to do, whether gardeners resent it or not and it's been part of my business philosophy since day one because I was in it for the long run and not the quick profit. If I don't think something is appropriate and won't work for a situation I'll sell it to them if they insist but I'd give them the name of a competitior who has what they need before I'd keep my mouth shut and take their money and let it fail.

Since I'm primarily a wholesaler, it's another reason I don't sell retail before the rush, I have enough priniciples not to compete against my wholesale customers. Believe it or not, my loyal retail customers for the most part trust me enough by now to come back and purchase from me anyway. If I know what they want, I will even set stock aside on the bench and babysit it until it's time to plant so that it's prime and available instead of making them hold it in a garage. Try that a chain lot. I'll be retiring very soon and yes......I know not too many people do business like I did and that's probably why I survived so many years since the average longevity of an independent g'house is about two. LOL. And I have a lot of good memories of novice gardeners turning into capable ones because of the extra effort. It's becoming a thing of the past, and that's sort of sad.

Calliope, the world should be full of more people like you.