Bizzy Lizzies

[Barum]

I have a lot of leggy plants....can you cut off the stem down to a lower set of leaves to give them more shape ?

Thankyou

[Mycosimian]

This depends a lot on the type of plant. I would guess most woody perennials could handle a little trim, but you might want to post a bit more detail.

[Val]

Yes, and you can put those cuttings in a glass of water and they will root. I generally start out with one plant in the spring and end up with several dozen tucked all over the place by doing just that.

Val

[David E. Ross]

Also known as impatiens, these are generally treated as annuals. Yes, you may cut them back, especially if you leave foliage below the cut. This will make them more bushy.

However, leggy impatiens generally occurs if they get too much fertilizer or not enough light. In my area, impatiens cannot take full-day sun in the summer; it gets too hot. But they do appreciate strong indirect light and even early morning or late afternoon sun (but not both).

[Val]

Bizzy Lizzy is the old fashioned name for Impatiens. I'm going to assume that was what was asked about.

Val

[Bill]

That is how we over winter our double impatiens. However we do this in late fall before frost . They look bit funky but in 3 weeks they may be happy again. They live by our kitchen sink Sept.- May 15 ish.

Bill

[Mycosimian]

Wow, my mind was somewhere totally different. Never heard that one.