Gardening: Plants dying after completion.

So I planted a rather mixed garden with everything from basic plants to "2-stars" trying some intercrosses with what scraps I had left. Harvest ETAs were 5, 6, and 7 days in the same patch, but I tend to leave the garden until everything has grown so I don't mess up a harvest and miss seeds due to unknown intercross mechanics.

Today I had the misfortune of finding out that even once plants are finished, sparkling and unable to be watered, they can still die... Considering the time difference between the basic and 2-star seeds is 48 hours, and it takes 48ish(?) hours for plants to die without water, this leads to a very frustrating issue.

1. Make "Completed" plants unable to die.
2. Allow "Completed" plants to be tended so they won't die.
3. Confirm that plants can be harvested at any time with no harm to intercross chances

This is incredibly frustrating because lost over a week of time in that garden, now I have to restart the rotation from scratch...

I (and many others) can confirm for you that intercross chances stay if you only harvest part of the plot.

Don't wait to harvest them, do it as soon as possible. 3 has already been confirmed.