There are many of us who have favorite annuals we like to plant every year.  They work in the light we have available and the array of colors is always tempting.  Now there is nothing wrong with this plan and it can make the spring planting season a little easier.  We don’t have to wade through all the choices and stress our brains with wondering if we made the right decisions.

However, planting the same annuals every year can bring on some disease problems.  Specifically the impatiens we all love for our shady areas can become mildewed.  This issue started in the Midwest and has now moved east.  You may only have a slight problem one year and then the next year it becomes even worse and then it’s to the point where you can’t plant the impatiens in the same spot again for a while until the mildew goes away. 

If you have noticed your impatiens becoming yellow or stunted or dropping leaves then you may be experiencing this problem. Of course it becomes much worse if a lot of moisture is present and that is absolutely the case this summer.  In many places there has been no dry period for the plants to completely dry out and that just lets this mildew problem continue to build.

To resolve the issue you need to remove your plants and try some new shade varieties.  Here at Nature’s Friends Landscaping we can help you with the removal now and recommend some new still colorful additions to your shade garden.  There are a number of them, including begonias, caladium, fuchsia, lobelia, torenia and many others.  We would be happy to take a look at your landscape and make some changes for you.

Also, keep in mind that there are also some perennials which do great in the shade if you want to avoid having to plant something there every year!