Impatiens

Common Name: impatiens
Type: Annual
Family: Balsaminaceae
Zone: 10 to 11
Height: 1.25 to 1.75 feet
Spread: 1.25 to 1.75 feet
Bloom Time: May to October
Bloom Description: White, Red, Pink
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Annual
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Rabbit

Traditional New Guinea impatiens are easily grown in evenly moist, organically rich, well-drained soils in part shade. Morning sun with afternoon shade is best. Tolerates full shade. Needs protection from full sun, particularly in climates with hot and humid summers. Plants perform well in raised beds where soil is well aerated. Pinch back stems of young plants to encourage branching and/or compact growth. Trim back plants in mid-summer that become leggy. Plants are winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-12. Unless a particularly special or unique plant is involved, most gardeners north of Zone 10 simply purchase cell packs in spring, enjoy the long flowering season, allow the plants to succumb to frost in fall, and then purchase new plants the following spring. If a prized impatiens is to be overwintered indoors, it should be sheared back, brought indoors before temperatures dip into the 40°F range, placed in a full sun area (sunny windowsill is similar in light intensity to sun-dappled shade outdoors), and regularly watered.

For more information visit: Missouri Botanical Garden