It's not what you're asking but I'm going to jump in with a word for the wild impatiens. I assume it too is a tender but reseeding perennial. It's about 3 feet tall by midsummer and has a lovely small but striking orange flower. Deer adore it and will nip every blossom however.

Just for clarity's sake, I assume kitasei is talking about OUR native, impatiens capensis, the orange jewelweed?

Yes, dbarron, that is correct.

What I noticed was, impatiens all over middle Tennessee seems to do just fine and grow to decent height, maybe a foot-foot and half. In east Tennessee grow to monsters, three feet?!! They must love it cooler and wetter up in the mountains? Wonder if that's right? It's like the difference between azaleas here in Tennessee when compared to places far south of here, e.g. Master's golf club. We may see them get to be three feet tall. Maybe. There, five feet+!?

Yes, that's the ideal climate for most impatiens, cool, moist, and humid.

SW PA zone 6 impatiens are one of my favorite also. They preform well in my pots and baskets, blooming all summer. I buy my impatiens by the flat from my local nursery in the spring. I don't know the variety, but the nurseries all carry the same kind.

Just short of Sunpatiens, Bounce or NG, the old school planting of IW has long been of yesteryears , with Downey Mildew

off topic or on. Due to Downey Mildew, I'm sorta glad as it has opened up my ~eyes~ to do more homework on other annual offerings. I like Vinca's alot, and SunPatiens are really expensive for the mass density of my annual beds. Maybe one day the SP patent pricing will come down in price

Wow! Kristine, I love the picture of your garden! I really like how you repeated annuals as companion plantings for you roses. Do your impatiens get full sun?

Kristine, your photograph shows Catharanthus roseus which, although a bit similar looking, isn't actually an Impatiens at all.

Lol I'm so dull those are vinca which are my actual favorites more than impatiens. The impatience I like best are the little rosettes looking ones but I have much better luck with vinca and they are in full Sun.

I

They're not really Vinca either;-) although that is a commonly used name for them. Vinca is actually the name of a different species. They're Catharanthus roseus. In the U.K. their common name is Madagascar Periwinkle, rather than Vinca. But they don't do too well here as they need a lot of sun.

I'm so glad you asked about impatiens. I've never grown them and would like to maybe grow them from seed. Has anyone done that and if so, any advice? I'd like to plant them in our semi-shade area. Also, I remember last year seeing a beautiful display of the New Guinea impatiens. Anyone grow these?

bella rosa, I grow at least 6 doz impatiens plants from seed every year. My tips are to surface sow the seed on a good-quality potting mix (don't cover with soil or anything), then enclose your pot/flat in a clear plastic bag and place it where it will be warm and have some light. It doesn't need to be bright light. They usually sprout in a few days for me, but I save my own seed so it's always very fresh. Once they sprout you can remove the plastic bag and grow on as normal. I grow the seedlings in flats under a bank of 4' fluorescent shop lights. I plant my impatiens seed in early March and they're ready to plant out near the middle to end of May.

Party_music, great advice! I will try that. What variety do you grow? Also, what garden zone are you in?

Hello everyone,

I notice that a1an has already mentioned the Downy Mildew problem for Impatiens. I want to expand on that. If you are considering growing Impatiens, you should at least be aware of the problem. Downy mildew looks like a fungus disease, but instead it is a "water mold", which means that fungicides don't work against it. In fact, apparently nothing does, which is why some garden experts recommend that you grow some other plant, instead of Impatiens. For example, see this link, Impatiens downy mildew: a curse and an opportunity for your garden

For more information, see this link, Impatiens Downy Mildew

I believe that situation awareness is always a good thing.

ZM

There are new varieties of Impatiens walleriana on the market that are highly resistant to IDM. As are all New Guinea impatiens. Most places that currently grow and sell these plants are growing the new resistant strains. It is not anywhere near the problem it was even 2-3 years ago.

Thanks, ZM!

Thankfully I haven't really had problems with mildew in the past (I think my lilac got powdery mildew once years ago but that's the only time I remember). Our summers are nice and hot here, so the plants dry out very fast. Fungi has no time to develop on the leaves. I think as long as your plants dry out quickly after watering you won't have many issues with mildew (be it powdery or downy).

Hi gardengal,

" There are new varieties of Impatiens walleriana on the market that are highly resistant to IDM. "

I don't know of any such new variety of Impatiens walleriana that is highly resistant to Downy Mildew. Pan American hopes to introduce such a variety in 2020, but that is still in the future. And it will not be "immune", but just "highly resistant". For more info on that, see this link, Bringing Back Impatiens

ZM

Sorry, the resistant varieties currently on the market are the Bounce series. And you are correct - while they look and perform exactly like I. walleriana, they are interspecific hybrids. I have been growing these for several years and they are wonderful plants. But then IDM was never a huge presence here on the west coast anyway and sales of impatiens was barely interrupted.

Hi Gardengal,

" And you are correct - while they look and perform exactly like I. walleriana, they are interspecific hybrids. "

They don't perform exactly like I. walleriana. Wallerianas grow inexpensively from seeds, so that you can afford to plant masses of them in the landscape, while the interspecifics like Bounce are only available as plants, and rather expensive ones at that. Using the resistant interspecifics, the average person could not afford to create the masses of Impatiens that were possible from seeds.

ZM

Well, I think you are splitting hairs :-) I don't grow from seed and I don't grow "masses" of impatiens. I don't care for masses of any kind of annual or half hardy perennial!! And where I am these are no more expensive (or only slightly so) than regular bizzy lizzies. And as they look and behave (do you like that word better??) just like I. walleriana, they are a reasonable subsititute for these where IDM is a concern.

I cannot recall but bounce are like $7.99/8.99 each, New guineas in the middle, and the SunPatiens are just outright highway robbery at my local nursery. Unlike Home Depot, etc that sells IW by the flat packs for dirt cheap every Memorial day sale, my local nursery is trying to the ~responsible~ thing and won't sell IW due to DM.

I have grown NG and SP. Does Bounce have the thicker stems like SP/NG. Different look than IW

.....and SunPatiens are really expensive for the mass density of my annual beds...

When Downy Mildew was at its peak a few years ago I experimented with SunPatiens. Since that first season I have continued to plant SunPatiens....I really like these plants and I would have thought by now their cost would have decreased.

I use a lot on impatiens as annual bedding plants as well. My wife is particularly fond of them and they do give a long lasting color in the garden.

Regarding the native jewelweed, it can grow over 5 foot tall up here, and I'm pretty sure it's a true annual. Big areas of it in any moist area and turns to a slobbery mush at the first cold night. Kids love the exploding seed pods which also gives it the common name 'Touch me Not'.

But it's a great antidote to poison ivy!

The deer clipped my I. capensis and I wallerana!

bella rosa, I'm in z5. I've never had powdery mildew on my impatiens (I. walleriana)