Tips for Growing Impatiens

Though impatiens are most valued for their ability to grow in complete shade, they do better with some sun--what many call dappled or “bright” shade. In these shady or semi-shady spots, impatiens can be planted at any time, even now.

But if you are going to plant them where they will get more than an hour or two of direct sun, don’t do so in the heat of summer. Wait for cooler weather, so they’ll have time to acclimate.

Impatiens thrive in the sometimes artificial environment of a typical garden, with its sprinklers and amended soil. They like lots of water so they do well under automatic irrigation, and will wilt when they are not getting enough. Keep them moist.

The plants prefer a “fluffy” soil, as Ron Vanderhoff at Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach put it, so amend the soil with bagged organic products. They don’t like cold, soggy soils but can be quite happy growing in a completely artificial medium if watered often enough. Few plants respond as well when fertilized, but overdo it and they will quickly become leggy.

Impatiens make great container plants. You will need to water them less often if you add a water-storing polymer (such as Broadleaf P-4) to the potting mix.

For flowers that look their best in the ground or in pots, “tip them back each year, by cutting off the top half of the plant in mid-spring after they wake up,” Vanderhoff said. “And again in September, so they have time to regrow a bit before winter. That will keep them from getting scraggly.”

Even so, impatiens are not forever and beds should be replanted every other or every few years.