They are supposed to bloom in sun or shade. This will be my first year to try them, so I can't speak from experience.

Yes, and keep them in the shade even though they are supposed to be sun tolerant. I bought six large plants and put them in a bed that gets about four hours of direct sun each day and they wilt terribly each day even with morning and evening watering. Today I am digging them up and moving them to a full shade bed. If I leave them in the sun they will surely die. I hope they survive the move but if not I'm out nearly $40 for "sun tolerant" plants that clearly are not "sun tolerant" at all. They have performed so poorly that I'm tempted to return them.

If you over fertilize plants wilt easily and require frequent watering. I am not saying this is what you did but it can cause the symptoms you described.

I purchased some Sunpatiens and they did terribly in full sun (even for only a couple of hours). Maybe a tiny bit of morning sun (wouldn't do more than an hour--flowers and leaves can easily burn, depending on how hot it is), but that's it. Bright shade is the best for them, based on my experience. Also, if the flowers or foliage get wet from the rain and the direct sun hits them on a very hot day, mine have just burned.

They're such a gorgeous flower. Good luck!

(Pic of mine in bright shade)

christy51274 said bright shade is best for Sunpatiens, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried growing them in deep shade. Any growth? Any blooms?

I have a couple white sunpatiens plants in shade (well some dappled sun from early morning, then a tiny bit of dappled sun in the afternoon for maybe 30min). They are in plastic planters each with two large coleus which seem to block the little sun they get. I thought they would get bigger but so far they don't seem to have grown at all in the month or so that I've had them. But they still bloom occasionally, just not nearly as much as the ones that get a couple hours of full AM sun. Then again, their planters are also quite crowded. Other than not growing and sparse blooms, they seem healthy; no bugs or any more than an occasional yellow leaf.

I have some growing in a mostly shaded area. They do bloom, but not quite stars of the show. There will be a few flowers. They last until the plant gets stressed and then drop. In even shadier areas they may go periods of time without blooms at all.

Overall I'm not impressed. Then again the few 3-5 hours of sun mine do get is the harsh afternoon sun when no other buildings are casting shadows over the area.

I purchased Sunpatiens the last two years and they receive early morning sun as the sun shines beneath our big shade trees and for the rest of the day, they receive all shade once the sun moves around to the southwest and they thrive. I think the key to getting blooms is providing them with enough sun in the mornings when it's not so harsh but protecting them in the afternoon.

This is gorgeous!! I'm saving this photo for inspiration!!

This year when I was purchasing my sunpatiens they only had lilac at that time I think that is what they are called. I hope they look good since the color is so light. I couldn't help myself and bought one orange

from another place. I am attaching a picture of some of my orange ones from last year.

I know this is an old question, but I want to reply. I tried them in deep shade and they did not bloom at all. I had some in morning sun, 4 hours and these did fair. The ones that did the best for me had about 5 to 6 hours of sun. I was so hoping they would get really big but each one at the end of summer was maybe 10 to 12" around and tall. Not bad, but for the price I was hoping for a bigger show. I did amend my soil with compost and had them in the ground. I tried some that were supposed to spread wider and some that were supposed to get huge, all were the same size. I live in Nebraska, zone 5 am a master gardener and love trying out newer annuals. I should try them again as they may have improved in the last 2 years.

I used Red Sunpatiens for a client last summer. They were in sun from 10 in the morning until sunset. They did amazingly well. This is the Pacific Northwest, but the sun is very hot on their deck until it sets. Here's a picture attached.

https://elbadrproperty.com/property/%d9%83%d9%85%d8%a8%d9%88%d9%86%d8%af-%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%ac%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d9%8a%d8%ae-%d8%b2%d8%a7%d9%8a%d8%af/