Impatiens
Impatiens walleriana
📖 About this plant
The undisputed champion of shade gardens, impatiens produce clouds of flat, five-petaled flowers in pink, red, white, salmon, orange, and purple from spring until the first frost. Their self-cleaning blooms drop naturally, requiring no deadheading. Fast-growing and incredibly floriferous, a single plant can produce hundreds of flowers throughout the season, transforming shaded areas into vibrant displays of color.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Partial shade (3-5 hrs)
Every 2-3 days
Moderate to high (50-70%)
18-26°C
Rich, moisture-retentive but well-draining potting mix with peat, compost, and perlite; must not dry out
Balanced liquid fertilizer (10-10-10) every 2 weeks during the growing season for continuous blooming
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Eastern Africa — Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya; tropical forest understory
- 📏 Max height
- 20-45 cm
- 📐 Spread
- 20-45 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Spring - Fall
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Pink, Red, White, Purple
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Annual
- 📈 Growth rate
- Fast
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Non-toxic to cats, dogs, and humans; considered one of the safest annual flowering plants
- 🌱 Propagation
- Stem cuttings root easily in water or moist medium within 2-3 weeks, or seed sowing indoors 8-10 weeks before last frost
🛡️ Health & Safety
Non-toxic to cats, dogs, and humans; considered one of the safest annual flowering plants
Common issues
- Downy mildew, Root rot from overwatering, Spider mites in hot dry conditions
💡 Care tips
- One of the best flowering plants for shade gardens,Blooms nonstop from spring until first frost,Wilt dramatically when dry but recover quickly after watering,Available in nearly every color except true blue
