A friend has gone off to New Zealand until mid-March leaving me in
charge of house and greenhouse. Before she went she bought and
pricked out some tiny seedlings of Impatiens. (4 trays!) They look
decidedly sad and some have already died.
There is a fan heater in the greenhouse and a max / min thermometer.
When I saw the minimum temp was 3 degrees last week I turned up the
thermostat a bit. Min is now 8.
What does it need to be to keep the remaining busy lizzies alive or is
it not worth the cost?
Cheers
Pam

Bristol

'Pam',

No wonder they look a bit sick at + 3°. They need about 10° to stand
much of a chance but the damage has probably already been done.

I would be tempted to move the four trays into the warmest part of the
house during the night, but that may not be very practical.

As to whether it is worth the cost; definitely not just for the
Impatiens alone. In any case you can only do your best and you are
certainly giving some thought to the problem.

Your friend has probably got used to the mild winters we have had and
not planned for these extremely cold spells.

Good luck.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.





"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
A friend has gone off to New Zealand until mid-March leaving me in
charge of house and greenhouse. Before she went she bought and
pricked out some tiny seedlings of Impatiens. (4 trays!) They look
decidedly sad and some have already died.
There is a fan heater in the greenhouse and a max / min thermometer.
When I saw the minimum temp was 3 degrees last week I turned up the
thermostat a bit. Min is now 8.
What does it need to be to keep the remaining busy lizzies alive or is
it not worth the cost?
Cheers
Pam

Bristol

On Sat, 15 Feb 2003 12:07:59 -0000, " Emrys Davies"
wrote:

'Pam',

No wonder they look a bit sick at + 3°. They need about 10° to stand
much of a chance but the damage has probably already been done.

Thanks Emrys
I have moved all the remainder of the impatiens into the house itself
as it is so very cold, but most of them are dead. I appreciate your
advice.
BTW Mice have also eaten all the sprouting broad beans in trays in the
greenhouse!
Cheers
Pam

Bristol