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More green than flowers?

22 years ago

I had planted some impatiens in May that were getting too much sun. So I transplanted them to shade about 5 weeks ago. They are THRIVING now and looking beautiful. The only thing I've noticed is that the green on them is so healthy and overabundant that it looks like there is quite a bit more green than flowers. They are planted under a tree and I only water them once in a while (we've had a lot of rain). I do fertilize them about once a month.

Is this somewhat normal for impatiens? This is my first year planting them.

Thanks,

Jane

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Comments (3)

kdjoergensen
22 years ago
Too much nitrogen fertilizer can do this, especially if it is high in ammonium nitrate (which most fertilizers will be, since they are all based on urea).

I recommend looking into a bottle of 0-10-10 (available at homeharvest.com for example). Use it instead of fertilizer for the moment. It adds no nitrogen but phosphorus / potassium.

another option is just to hold back on fertilizing now.

Too much water, nitrogen and shade will make impatiens flower poorly.

Impatiens are really light feeders.
LaurelLily
22 years ago
Yes. When I stopped fertilizing mine, they got a lot more flowers and a lot less foliage. Now IF I fertilize, I use a bloom-encouraging formula so they don't get too much nitrogen.
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JHarlow
22 years ago
I have found the same.....too much fertilizer...will produce lots of green but fewer blooms.

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