I’ve got a disease!
At least I think I have. And I’m inappropriately excited about it.
A couple of weeks ago I bought a Busy Lizzie. I thought it was looking a bit unhappy when I planted it and have since found out what everyone else already knew, that all the Busy Lizzies in the world are currently being attacked by a fungal disease called Downy Mildew.
Now as it turns out mine is a New Guinea Impatiens which is meant to be immune but, I don’t think it is. As you can see from below the leaves are yellowing and falling out. And there is a tiny amount of said ‘downy mildew’ on the back of the dead leaves.
So why am I happy about it? Well partly because it’s my first diseased plant and it makes me feel like a proper gardener. But mostly because I loved the foliage but as soon as the flowers came out on this, I realised I didn’t like it at all! Now I have a reason to dig it up… although I feel a bit like an executioner.
