Camelliag, How is your plant doing? I also love the doubles, just like mini roses but easier to take care of! I "inherited" a pink double last fall. My paternal grandmother who passed away in 1984 had given my mother a cutting. My mother kept the plant going all these years (not the original plant, of course) but she is now 82 and decided last fall when it was time to bring the plant in that it was time for me to become the caretaker. She is tired of the responsibility but could not bear to let it die for sentimental reasons. I brought home a pot and let it overwinter in the guest bathtub under a grow light where it bloomed all winter. I also took a couple of cuttings just in case the potted one didn't make it. When it started getting leggy, I just pinched back the stems and it sprouted out healthy new growth. It has now transitioned back out to the porch for another season. From reading your post I noticed you said you watered yours when they "look thirsty". By the time they look thirsty they are already stressed, you might try more frequent watering. Also, you said they are in shade all day. Is it deep shade? Where I live I have had good luck with early morning sun as long as there is plenty of moisture. Mechele

I've started impatients inside for quite a number of years, including fancifuls. I've had good luck with them. I'm sure I don't have *the* answer, but I can give you what works for me. I have one of those old fashioned rooms in the upstairs of an old house; south side; 3 exposed walls with large double hung windows; aluminum storms on all. What I do is put about 2-2 1/2 inches of soil mix (2 parts peat, 1 part each of perlite & course sand/gravel) into 8X4 inch 4 inches deep self-watering pots. I water it well so that it's nice and wet without being a swamp. Pat it down gently. Then I sprinkle the impatiens seed on top and cover with *very* thin covering of sand pile sand. Finally I put a covering of plastic food wrap over the top of the pot. The soil level should be well down inside the pot so that there's plenty of head room. I then put the pot/s back from the west windows about 12-18 inches. They get sun, but not super intense. It warms the pots during the day. The wrap and distance from the windows seems to keep them from cooling too much at night to keep them from sprouting. I don't remove the plastic wrap until the seedlings are threatening to push it off. Until then I just keep an eye on them to make sure they're not drying out. Here I tend to only need to water about every two weeks if they're still small, and *maybe* once a week if they're larger and still covered with wrap. When I water I make sure the plastic is tight again over the top of the pots. I didn't wait long enough this last spring to remove the wrap, and they really suffered. I lost a lot of the small plants and the larger ones really slowed down in growth. So the humidity and/or the temperature regulation that it provides must be important. I normally start them some time in March, usually after the middle. The room isn't heated above 60 degrees at night. This is just what I do. I'll offer it for anyone who wants to try next spring.

Usually yellow leaves mean overwatering or underwatering or lack of fertilizer. If you have been watering often let them dry out completely. Then again it may be the location you chose. Planting under any tree is not a good idea. A perennial may survive but an annual doesn't have the roots to compete with tree roots for moisture and nutrients

Probably Downey Mildew. Major problem throughout US. Almost wiped out impatiens crop. Huge losses. Impatiens were #1 selling annual in US. You may not want to plant anything else in that spot next year.