About twenty years ago the only Busy Lizzie widely available was Impatienswalleriana. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing it. In homes, offices and church halls, the opaque, but often straggly, green stems and pink flowers of the Busy Lizzie were everywhere; windowsills and whatnots, desks and filing cabinets. And, of course, massed in borders in the garden they produced quite an effect. No doubt its popularity stemmed from its ease of propagation - break a bit off and stick it in water and, almost overnight, roots appeared. Is this why it is called Busy Lizzie? Or is it because it grows so quickly? Or is it because of the way the ripe seed pods pop when they are squeezed? And why do the Americans call it "Patient Lucy" in apparent contradiction to our own common name? (Answers, please, unsigned and on the back of a ten pound note in a plain envelope by the end of the month.)
These days, however, you don't have to limit yourself to this one type. Nowadays you can get varieties with variegated leaves like I.marianae, orange and yellow flowers, and with small rosebud like blooms, like Impatiens 'Confection series'. But not all together - at least, not yet. But who knows what the plant breeders will achieve in another ten years.
There are other types of Busy Lizzie. Impatiens repens (i.e. the creeping Impatiens) comes from the Indian sub-continent. This one has, believe it or not, a trailing habit, with reddish stems and round or oval leaves of dark green which show off the inch long bright yellow flowers. It likes a good bright light to keep its growth sturdy and not lanky, and to give it the strength to produce lots of flowers (but then, so do all Impatiens). And a Busy Lizzie from Africa, I.pseudoviola, has many-branching stems with neat leaves, and has (you've guessed it) violet flowers like a viola. It has a semi-hanging habit and tends to form a low mound over its pot which can look quite attractive when in full flower.
I used to have a fascinating Impatiens which, unfortunately, got neglected one year when I was on holiday and so I lost it. This one was I.niamniamensis, otherwise known under several similar names such as 'Congo Cockatoo' and 'Congolese Cockatiel'. It does grow taller than the usual species, being up to or even over two feet tall in a good season. Its crimson and yellow claw-shaped flowers are quite large for a plant of that size, and are quite distinctive. If anyone out there has got one and feels up to propagating it, save one for me.
But I suppose the biggest thing that has happened in the Busy Lizzie world in recent years is the introduction of the 'New Guinea hybrids'. During the seventies, three species were taken from New Guinea to America, and the plant breeders went to town on them, crossing and recrossing them to produce innumerable varieties. These complex crosses have produced some spectacular specimens growing up to two feet high with quite large blooms which vary in colour from shades of pink and purple to orange and yellow. The long leaves can be bicoloured, like "Fanfare" (green and yellow), or multicoloured, like 'Arabesque' (green, yellow and red), although there are a number of all-red and bronze-coloured types.
But how does one look after these beauties? As I mentioned before, bright light is essential, but direct strong sunlight can scorch the leaves. Ordinary room temperatures suit them fine, and it is always best to water them with water (what else) at room temperature. And avoid hot, dry air conditions, so don't stand them on a radiator and expect wonderful results. If you can, keep them with a group of other plants, as this tends to make a damp micro-climate. If not, stand them on a tray of moist pebbles or mist the leaves, but not the flowers. Water on the flowers can make them go brown. And do make sure that the compost is always moist but not saturated. But then, this is true for any indoor plant during its growing season (except, maybe, for African Violets), so you shouldn't need reminding. And don't forget to feed it. A high potash feed once every two or three weeks in summer and once every two months in winter is just about right.
And what of all the creepies and crawlies that can cause trouble. Normally, the only ones you have to worry about are aphids, (which infest the shoot tips and flower buds in summer,) white fly, (which sometimes suck the sap from the underside of the leaves), and red spider mite, (which make the leaves look mottled or scorched around the edges and which require a magnifying glass to see). But if the shoot tips and flower buds become distorted then dispose of the plant completely, compost and all. The problem is most likely to be the tarsonemid mite, for which there seems to be no known cure. Fortunately, these mites are a bit short in supply, so you will probably never come across one.
Happy Gardening.
Garden Gossip written by Bill Hutchings
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page last updated 8 JUNE 1997