[Magdalen] Impatient Impatiens.

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

Impatient to shrivel and die, that is.
 
I always have a fair number of impatiens, the colorful shade annual.
This year, starting about two weeks ago, ALL of them stopped
blooming, then dropped their leaves and went belly-up brown.   They
have the appearance of having been through a heavy frost, but in
reality, the coolest morning here so far into the pre-autumn season
has been about 50 F (10 C).  Daytime highs have been steady in
the 70-75 F range.
 
I can't detect any insect or arachnid pest on these plants.   Further,
NOTHING else is affected, including mixture plantings of coleus,
wax begonias, and petunias plus the impatiens.
 
Has anyone on list encountered anything like this?
 
I remember first encountering impatiens in about 1970 in the
Upper Midwest USA.  They were unknown to me before that,
and they have been a mainstay of my summer plantings
ever since.  I have had the feeling that they have bred them to
the point that they are not quite as dependable as they were
when first introduced.
 
 
David S.