I planted one in full sun 4 weeks ago. So far, so good. Of course, we are not dealing with the real Texan sun yet... I’ll report when we get to that point.

Omar

Funny, I’m playing around with my landscaping app (it’s addictive, I tell ya!) and I used them in one of my scenarios.

But this little driveway bed gets full-on sun from 3 pm on, and I think being near the concrete would fry them.

I hope yours do good, Omar! I may try them in my morning sun bed.

My pretend pic (I added purple fountain grass, Sunpatiens, lantana, variegated liriope “Silver Dragon”) —

Miz G, I certainly like your plant arrangement!

Thank you! I’ve got about 6 different scenarios I’m trying out. Our nurseries here are sorely lacking in plants right now, so I’m just waiting to get stuff!

I really want to use some elephant ears, but I think they’d get too big for this spot. What do you think? (Sorry to hijack!)

Ears, salvia, lantana, gomphrena globosa/bachelor’s buttons —

Miz G, the reddish stem upright EEs don't get as big as some of the others. They might work the best there if you can find them.

Thanks, you two! Now if our nurseries will stock some dang plants.

But back to topic, I do plan to put some Sunpatiens somewhere, will report back. :)

Yes, I tried them last year for the first time. I didn't see/notice them in stores until early June. The company's webpage shows numerous colors they've developed. However on the plant label there's no indication what color each plant will be. Half the time they were already in bloom, so that made it easy. The small trays of 6 cost about $9. I read they may need lots of water while getting established in the ground. I did not get profuse flowering, maybe because of the late start & minimal feeding. (being a neophyte, I was content with keeping 75% of them alive!)

It is a pleasant surprise that they survived the winter, thanks to (or despite) my obsessive pampering to preserve the various tender perennials. The one in a pot was moved into the garage for a total of maybe 7 days over the winter, and kept its leaves the entire time. 3 of them planted in the ground got completely covered with inverted buckets for 1-3 days a couple times, filled loosely at the bottom with old plastic mulch bags etc, to further reduce cold influx and wind chill effects. When uncovered after it got above 32, there were surface water droplets squeezed out of the thick crunchy/spongy leaves, but very little rotting or severe desiccation resulted. "We'll see" how year 2 goes with the survivors.

I'm trying them because I wanted some color, and they're reported to do better than Impatiens in the heat and sun. At the height of summer, these were getting full sun until 5 pm.

And here’s an old thread on Dave’s Garden ... I can’t wait to get some of these beauties this weekend!

https://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1170419/#b

I have grown these for several years, thanks to my small independent nursery that carries them, and the owner turned me on to them a number of years ago. They have done well for me in "full" sun (the places where I planted them get at least 6 to 8 hours of sun each day). They do like to stay moist though, and if that would be a problem, I would not try them.

Sorry to butt in but what app is that? It looks really helpful.

Weenerdogg, it’s iScape, I downloaded it to my iPad. Very basic and easy to use. Also very addictive! :)

Ok, SunPatiens in the ground! I found a big pot at HD with 4 different plants in it, $20.

If they start toasting here, I’ll just switch them with Pentas I have in my shadier bed.

That area is well designed and stunningly beautiful!

Wow --- that gorgeous birdbath just sets everything off to a T.

I know you'll keep us posted on how the SunPatiens do in that location. Seems to me they should do fine from what posters have said and the information I've read.

Thanks, Roselee! I set them back more than I wanted, hopefully to give them a bit of respite from the concrete/sun later on. HD was the only place I found any (and was the last place I looked, ha). I’m very disappointed in my go-to nurseries this year, they’re focusing more on trees and shrubs than bedding plants, it seems.

I’m not usually this regimented in my placing, I like a more wild/natural look, but I think it’ll work better for these tiny front beds (and future renters).

The pot they came in, happy I got 4 plants out of it. :)

And what I started with!

I first encountered and bought some SunPatiens a year ago in June 2017. It's reportedly a heat & sun tolerant variation on Impatiens (at first I suspected some would consider it the "Hostess Twinkie" of fine gardening). They didn't bloom profusely for me. But 4 of 6 plants survived the winter and got a head start in 2018. They get full sun from 12-5 or so. This year they started flowering in late April, then in July started pooping out. One of the survivors with more shelter from sun and wind kept blooming, although not abundantly. I'm patiently waiting to see any response to last week's big rains, milder temps and cloudy skies - nothing yet. This year's full blast summer started 2 months early (in May) so everything endured a double dose of mid-summer extremes.

Forgive unsightly visual distractions in frame, some were temporary wind deflectors, and it was too late in year to prune live oak tree, etc.

Below: Late April, just starting

2 weeks later, 8:30 am (below)

2 weeks later (end of May) in the shade 8:45 am (below)

mid july, 11 am, the southernmost plant on right stopped producing as many flowers (below); the one on the left with more shade also gradually reduced # of new blooms, there were even less in August

They're supposed to be annuals but I pampered them obsessively during San Antonio's several extended freezes.

Below: last December, 2 weeks after our 1st freeze (zinnia remnants on right)

Below: January 4, at the tail end of an extended freeze. They were covered well, double pots over each and wrapped at the bottom to reduce air influx, protect from drafts & wind chill damage. The limited air exchange surely goes against conventional wisdom...yet most of the 6 plants survived.

Feb 8 (below)

Feb 26 (below) rebounding nicely

Rich color (yet somewhat dilute pigment) and dark green leaves

There was a 4th survivor in a 1 gallon pot that got brought inside during the winter freezes. It had a less interesting color, and when our local drought watering restrictions kicked in I decided to let it go.

Below: As it got hotter at the end of May this is what they looked like, getting watered every other day. Soon after this I started giving them both about a gallon every day, usually kitchen rinse water (with no detergent).

Temporary clutter & clueless color coordination, intended to show that the dilute colors can look nice and rich when in diffuse light conditions, espec to older eyes, practically no shadows here and less contrast to take in. (below)

Sun getting low, early evening. (there *are* other colors in the front yard, somewhere out of frame.)

Mine died even with daily watering.

Omar

I forgot about this thread! I have an update:

I lost the ones in the bed I posted above, along with the Euphorbias ... but because of root rot, not too much sun.

These have done great in another front bed. They’ve survived full afternoon sun (1pm on) and weeks of 100+ temps, with automatic sprinklers in this bed watering them twice a week, for fifteen minutes.

It is amazing to me that the SunPatiens stands up to the heat and sun! I wasn't able to try them this year, but will plant them next summer. Thank you all for the photos and detailed reports!

Omar, sorry yours didn't live. In light of Miz G's info about root rot do you think perhaps daily watering was too much?

Earlier this year I planted a Rainbow Gardens give away impatiens in with some wax begonias in a small planter where it got a couple of hours of afternoon sun and am very surprised it made it through the summer. It's the bright pink one in the center ...

my sunpatiens & my regular impatiens survive full Tx sun as long as regularly watered.

Ragna, no, I don't think their roots were rotten. I think their sun tolerance is limited. Mine were under the Texan sun all day long. No shade.

Omar