Impatiens namchabarwensis
carlobal@netzero.com (Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:43:50 PDT)

David,

I suspect it's the difference in night temperatures that is the problem. As Lee noted, the Bay area (my daughter lives in San Francisco) is more "temperate" than New York in this respect: the nights here can stay quite warm and humid. I think that the plants don't get a chance to recover from their days exertions. Moreover the soil pathogens are encouraged by the moist heat and do their dastardly best to bring the plant down.

Carlo

Carlo A. Balistrieri
The Gardens at Turtle Point
Tuxedo Park, NY 10987
Zone 6 (845.351.2049)
Visit: http://www.botanicalgardening.com/ and its BGBlog