Colorful impatiens!
Planting, Growing, and Caring for Impatiens
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Impatiens are one of the rare annual plants that will provide colorful blooms in shady gardens—so they’re also perfect for hanging baskets or containers on porches. Learn how to plant, grow, and care for impatiens.
About Impatiens
Impatiens are very popular as both a bedding and hanging plant. Also called “Busy Lizzies,” these beauties are low-maintenance and don’t even need pinching! The genus name, Impatiens, is a Latin word describing how its seeds shoot out of its pods when ripe (the slightest touch can make a ripe impatiens seed pod burst open and scatter its contents).
Ornamental impatiens are primarily from two groups, Impatiens walleriana and New Guinea impatiens, Impatiens hawkeri. The two look different, but growing them is pretty much the same. I. wallerina cultivars are less tolerant of sunshine than the New Guinea hybrids, and the latter has larger foliage.
Of short to medium height, most impatiens varieties grow 8 to 15 inches tall, although some types reach 30 inches. They are perennials in frost-free areas but are grown as annuals or houseplants everywhere else.
Use impatiens for a splash of all-season color in any area that receives partial shade. Because of their shallow root system and low height, impatiens are ideally suited to containers like hanging baskets, window boxes, or deck railing planters. They also work well in the “filler” role in larger containers.
Growing
Impatiens are not fussy and, if planted in the correct location, will thrive with little effort–one of the reasons they are popular.
- The most important thing to remember about impatiens is to water them regularly. Keep the soil moist but not too wet. If the plants dry out, they will lose their leaves. If you over-water the plants, it encourages fungal diseases.
- Container-grown impatiens will benefit from fertilizer applied every two weeks when watering.
- Deadheading, while not strictly necessary, will improve their appearance and encourage more blooms.
Overwintering Impatiens
Impatiens are hardy in zones 10-12, but even a light frost will kill them. If you have a favorite color you’d like to overwinter, either take cuttings or dig up the plant and bring it inside. Depending on your available sunlight and day length, a grow light may be necessary.
Propagating Impatiens
Impatiens can be easily propagated from stem cuttings–a great way to get more of a favorite color or gift it to a friend. At the end of the growing season, taking cuttings and growing them over the winter may be easier than digging up entire plants and trying to keep them alive in the house.
- Inspect your plant to make sure it is pest-free.
- Sanitize your shears with alcohol.
- Choose several strong stems and snip them 4-6 inches below the bloom.
- Remove the flower and all but the upper one or two pairs of leaves.
- Place the cuttings in a clear glass container filled with clean water. If your water is treated by your municipality, let the water sit on the counter for 24 hours first to allow most of the chemicals to dissipate.
- In a week or two, when fine white roots appear, transition the cuttings to the soil in one of two ways:
- Plant them in individual pots filled with moist potting mix.
- Add a bit of potting mix to your glass container daily until it is completely filled with soil after a week. After filling the jar with soil, remove the plants and repot.
- Lollipop series (I. walleriana) ‘Fruit Punch Rose’ is a compact, well-branched variety with superbly vivid colors.
- Tom Thumb Series (I. balsamina) is a dwarf variety with large, double, brightly colored flowers.
- Beacon® impatiens are highly resistant to downy mildew and will keep blooming reliably until frost.
- Swirl Series (I. walleriana) has pretty pink and orange flowers with petals in red.
Andy Wilcox
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I have bought impatiens on 1st January n it is blossoming great but now suddenly what happened i didn't understand from last three days it is dieing i couldn't find the reason n tell me how it will again start blossoming
I got an inpatient plant for mother's day, it has been blooming all summer. Now that it is get cold (I live in Mich) I brought it in the house. It has grown 3 inch. and looks like a bunch of stark. Can I trim them down without hurting it.
Hi. Last year about mid summer, a friend of mine gave me an Impatient flower in a pot. It was bloosoming and I could see it growing well. But I noticed recently it's not growing at all. I couldn't see any plant in it. I am not exactly sure when it started dying I don't know what's the problem with it. Can I still resurrect it? Please help. Thank you.
After blooming one time, my plant has no pink flowers. What can I do? Is it dead?
My impatiens plant is no longer blooming yet the leaves are nice and green. Why does it have no buds or flowers? What can I do?
In most of the US, impatiens can only be grown outdoors as annuals, meaning they won’t come back after one season. The impatiens that your friend gave you was probably an annual variety. There is a perennial species, Impatiens walleriana, which may survive outdoors in Hardiness Zones 10 and 11.
Over the years I have always grown in patients with great success! However periodically I will have a few plants that tend to start shooting out dwarf leaves and less bloom at the tips of each stalk?
Does anyone know what causes this and what you can do to fix it? Thank you!
Which end is up on a flower's seeds? Mine have two ends, one tapering to a long, hair-like filament, the other comparatively blunt in shape; is the long filament a proto-root?
Hi Bruce,
The tapering pointed end of the seed goes down, the blunt side goes up. If you just drop the seed in, the plant can sense gravity and will send roots down and shoots up no matter what!
I have New Guniea Impatients that are in pots in morning sun for 5-6 hours/day that are not blooming anymore. What's wrong?
Thank you for your assistance!
