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Martinnicklin
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:06 pm Posts: 2675 Location: Telford UK
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Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Lizzie
My neighbour has just given me a cutting from her Congo Cockatoo impatiens and it got me nostalgic about one of the old type pink Busy Lizzies growing in the barber's I used to go to 40 years ago. It was a monster and always covered in flowers. Alas, like the plant itself (and many other house plants of the 60s and 70s) , he is no longer with us. Everyone used to grow it but it seems to have died out. Good ones reached about three feet and were covered in pink flowers. I would love to grow one again but can't find it for sale anywhere. If anyone has one lurking about and is prepared to send a cutting or two I would gladly pay postage and a little extra for the trouble. Cheers, Martin
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Fri Aug 04, 2017 11:41 pm |
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Paul Spracklin
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 3:55 pm Posts: 2564 Location: North Thames delta UK
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
I would have thought seed companies them still?
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Sat Aug 05, 2017 6:53 am |
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Chad
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:03 pm Posts: 2343 Location: Inland Cornwall UK
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
Alas, traditional Busy Lizzies are now almost impossible to grow.
become unexpectedly virulent in about 2008 and [depending on whom you believe] it either became fungicide resistant, or the fungicide that worked was withdrawn in 2011. Busy Lizzies have not been a commercial proposition since then. Seed is still available, but the plants succumb before becoming impressive.
The 'New Guinea Hybrids' based on Impatiens hawkeri just don't look the same.
Sakata in Japan have produced the 'artificial' hybrid which are as close to the traditional look but with mildew resistance as any I've seen yet.
They should be available at larger garden centres, but are not as cheap as the seed raised I.walleriana used to be.
Chad.
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Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:43 am |
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Martinnicklin
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:06 pm Posts: 2675 Location: Telford UK
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
Chad, I thought the mildew had only affected the bedding varieties. I seem to recall not seeing any of the original houseplant type long before (a couple of decades?) the issues with the bedders - unless it killed those off as well. I looked at the Sunpatiens a while ago but they didn't seem to have the same growth form. I guess it's silly nostalgia but I just have a hankering for an original. You never know, I may come across a survivor lurking in some 90+ year-old's place from which I can swipe a cutting!
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Sun Aug 06, 2017 10:43 am |
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Chad
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:03 pm Posts: 2343 Location: Inland Cornwall UK
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
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Sun Aug 06, 2017 4:52 pm |
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NateInLondon
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 10:44 pm Posts: 28 Location: NW London UK
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
I run a bedding plants department for a mid-sized garden centre chain. We've stocked regular Busy Lizzies in 6-packs for the last 3 seasons without any issues. We still advise our customers not to plant them in beds where they have previously had mildew, and to clean any containers and baskets with an outdoor disinfectant and so far I haven't had a single customer complain or report any issues. Apparently there has been a lot of breeding work done to select the least-susceptible varieties, but they're still not widely available as a lot of large-scale growers don't want to risk turning over their capacity to a potentially unreliable crop. It's a bit late in the season now but they are out there!
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Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:22 pm |
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Martinnicklin
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:06 pm Posts: 2675 Location: Telford UK
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
The type I am looking for would not be classed as the regular one. I have found an internet picture (poor quality) of the plant as I remember it from the 70s!
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Mon Aug 14, 2017 9:36 pm |
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Jimhardy
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
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Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:51 pm |
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NateInLondon
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 10:44 pm Posts: 28 Location: NW London UK
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
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Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:32 am |
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Martinnicklin
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:06 pm Posts: 2675 Location: Telford UK
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
"Not the regular one" means neither the bedding variety known as walleriana in all of its modern manifestations nor the New Guinea hybrids. As far as I am aware, neither the regular bedders of the last 30/40 years nor the New Guinea plants grow to 3+ feet tall on tall narrow shrub like plants rather than broad and spreading generally around 1 foot tall plants of today. I am guessing that the modern cultivars may have originated from the plant I refer to but the growth patterns are very different. I am guessing that only those of a certain age will recall the plant to which I refer as you need to have seen it to know that it was very different from what we know as the modern bedding Busy Lizzie. As I said, I haven't seen one since I was a kid in the 70s. I notice on another forum that others have tried the quest to get hold of this plant which seems to be either very elusive or no longer in existence.
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Wed Aug 30, 2017 10:10 pm |
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Jimhardy
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
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Fri Sep 01, 2017 2:01 pm |
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Martinnicklin
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:06 pm Posts: 2675 Location: Telford UK
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
Cheers Jim. This is indeed the plant. Very different in growth habit to the bedders. I fear that it would only be obtainable from someone who has managed to keep it propagated from cuttings over the last 50 or so years.
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Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:26 pm |
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Jimhardy
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
Yeah....why not check with some of the people on that thread? It appears there are some out your way good luck
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Sat Sep 02, 2017 3:19 am |
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christina
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:43 pm Posts: 18 Location: gwynedd north wales
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
Hi, Are the people that posted about the old fashioned type of busy lizzie still with us as I have just seen the pictures that were posted and they are the ones. Prepared to offer a good amount for a cutting also postage.
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Sat Aug 22, 2020 1:59 pm |
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Stan
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:52 pm Posts: 10687 Location: Hayward- S.F. Bay area Ca.
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Re: Long shot but does anyone grow the old-fashioned Busy Li
The bedding types are good for 2 years or so here in the bay area. Never seen the original Busy Lizzie. Maybe Annie's Annuals would carry them? The New Guinea look great..never survive even a frost free winter here...just die off from chill.
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Sat Aug 22, 2020 5:29 pm |
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