Busy Lizzies back in business

Nine years ago a fungal disease decimated stocks of busy Lizzies, but this year a new range of disease-resistance plants will be back on the shelves, as Martyn Cox explains

- Martyn Cox

BUSY Lizzies were once the most popular bedding plant in the UK, loved by gardeners for their ability to provide sheets of colour for months on end, whether in sun or full shade. More than 50 million of them used to be snapped up annually for beds, pots, hanging baskets and traditional bedding schemes.

Few could have predicted their dramatic fall from hero to zero, when a virulent fungal disease swept across the country in the summer of 2011. Known as impatiens downy mildew, the disease hit the country’s displays of busy Lizzies hard, causing yellowing of leaves, leaf loss, stunted growth and death of plants.

Unfortunately, there was no cure for the disease, as the strain had become resistant to the fungicide used to treat it. In order to contain the problem, most growers took the decision to stop selling this one-time favourite half-hardy annual the following spring. As a result, other bedding plants were offered as replacements.

For almost a decade petunias, begonias, marigolds and a host of other bedding plants prospered as they jostled to fill the void left by busy Lizzies. Some of these pretenders offered the range of bright colours gardeners took for granted with busy Lizzies, but they were largely considered poor substitutes for the real thing.

Cause for celebration