Growth Retardent?!

Last year we purchased 2 flats of impatients; planted them along our driveway, and waited. And waited. They did not grow the entire summer; by fall they were the same size they were when we planted them. I made sure we watered them more and fertilized them again; willing them to grow. Of course, we were extremely disappointed; we have planted them every year and they usually are very nice.

Because the tag identified them as "Elfin", we refused to purchase Elfin this year, thinking they must be a dwarf variety. We had a seller at the farmers market yesterday tell us that the problem must have been the growth retardent that nurseries put on them to keep them small in the pots instead of going leggy before they are sold. He said the growth retardent can last for a week or for an entire season, depending on how much was applied.

I find this almost impossible to believe! We, the public, buy plants to GROW and the nurseries are putting a retardent on them? Does the average gardener know this and I am the only one in the dark? How can a customer know if their plants are going to grow or just sit there? I feel like I have been made a fool, thinking my plants are just waiting for TLC to expand and maybe instead they have been stunted. On purpose!

They do sometimes use growth retardants to keep things nice & compact while they're at the nursery--but if used properly the effects should wear off after a bit and it shouldn't prevent the plants from growing. So maybe they applied too much. But because of the name "elfin", I do suspect that it would not grow as large as typical Impatiens, so you might check out some pictures in Plant Files and look at the size before you buy again and are disappointed. If the ones you see here are the size you would have expected yours to be, then it could have been a one-time accidental over-application of the growth retardant. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=impatiens&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=elfin&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&searcher%5Bgrex%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search (the over-application of growth retardant is not something that would happen all the time--chances are you won't have trouble with it very often if that is what was going on here)

I start many of my annual flowers from seed but every once in a while if there's a good sale or something, I might buy some annuals. I have never been able to get the store bought annuals to the same size and flower the same as the ones I start in my basement especially petunias, marigold, and salvia. I think many of them are over-stressed at the nursery to make them "show" for sale; I wouldn't be surprised to hear of any chemicals they put in plants.

I bought a "Husky Cherry Red" tomato plant (Bonnie plant) from the supermarket. Compared with the plants I grew from seeds, this has a very thick stem and leaves. It is also extremely compact, to the point that you can hardly see the fruits unless you move the leaves aside. I understand that store-bought tomato plants are treated with growth-retardant to make them easier to handle and stronger-looking on store shelves. Questions: how much growth-retardant do growers use? are there any controls as to the quantities used? are there possible side-effects when you eat the tomatoes?