New to impatiens

19 years ago

Hi my father just gave me a hanging basket of impatiens. Problem is I don't know how much sunlight to give it. It didn't come with a handy dandy growth instruction tag. Can anyone give me some tips? Thanks.

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Comments (11)

liana789plants
19 years ago
Impatiens like part-shade, part sun. I put mine where they receive a few hours of morning sun, and afternoon shade. What kind of impatiens is it? New Guinea Impatiens need more sunlight than the regular Impatien walleriana.

Good luck!
MrLars
19 years ago
The Hanging Baskets of Impatiens sold by many retailers tend to be packed with plants and tend to get root bound very easily. They will need to be kept well watered. Fertilize once a month with Miracle Gro or something else similar.
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New to New Guinea Impatiens
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It sounds like you plants are getting to much sun. These plant like bright like but not really lots of full sun. If you live in a cool summer climate than, yes they can. Living in a hot climate like mine they like shade and I think the same would be for you. To fertilize I would just use some pellets or you can do the liquid fertilizers.
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New Guinea Impatiens just won't survive!
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I live in New Zealand and have fought a real battle to grow these plants. We are equvalent to US zone 9, temperate climate. They are susceptible to sudden collapse and root rot, as well as botrytis. They flower like mad if kept slightly pot bound and exposed to lots of direct morning sun. Be careful though as too pot bound impedes drainage and very quickly causes stem rot in these plants. The key seems to be lots of water but with excellent drainage and drier when it is cool. Fallen leaves and flowers causes botrytis almost overnight, so keep the plant clean. A systemic fungicide solved my problems with the Guinea Impatiens and the wilt or sudden collapse problems. Our southern hemisphere midday+ sun is much to bright for them in summer, so they are kept partially shaded in afternoons. They won't flower in full shade, get leggy and eventually collapse. They love misty fine rain in our hot/dry summer and lots of water. I water mine with tepid-warm water like you do with African violets, so as not to shock the plant with sudden cold. Our winters can be rather cold and very wet, so I keep them indoors but fairly close to a window with sun/lots of light and reasonably dry, but never arid to the point where they wilt. I had two 3-year old plants in buckets which flowered beautifully and were fairy large, but they were hit by a rogue frost, albiet a light one and died virtually that day. Each colour of the Guinea Impatiens seems to have different hardiness. The purple colour is by far the strongest and easiest to grow in my opinion, while I find red and white more difficult. Pink is also easy to flower, big blooms but a much smaller plant. Odd eh. Even with failures, I keep buying these plants because they are just so lovely.
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New Guinea Impatiens - lower leaves yellowing
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Comments (1)
Lots of cultural influence can cause chlorotic lower leaves (light issues, soggy soil, nutritional issues, natural senescence, pH, but a N deficiency is a good guess. Too much P in the fertilizer can cause it, too. I probably wouldn't have added the Epsom salts unless you're sure your water is really high in Ca and low in Mg. Al
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How to grow new guinea impatiens from plugs?
Q
Comments (0)
I had a really tough time finding new guinea impatien plants in my area last year. I really like a couple of the divine variety colors and was able to buy plugs online this year. I've read that it takes approx 8 weeks from transplant to finish, but haven't been able to find specific instructions regarding how to transfer plugs once I receive them, size of pots, planting medium/soil, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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jesmello
Original Author
19 years ago
Now I have a new question. Can ants have a negative effect on my impatiens? I noticed today that several new buds had fallen off. I also noticed ants crawling around. Can I blame them for the buds? If so, is there anything I can do about them? Thanks for all the help.
shrubs_n_bulbs
19 years ago
Buds falling off can be transplant shock, or it can be overwatering. The ants are probably farming aphids on your plants and this could be hurting the plants.
MrImpatiens
19 years ago
Ants like to farm on Impatiens. Also Impatiens have small nectures that have sap that they like, sometimes you can see the stuff around the leaves. I get lots of ants on my scabrida and clarei but dont really see much aphids but they will farm on my glandulifera.
freshgardener
19 years ago
Another question: Will impatiens in hanging baskets come back, or are they pretty much done for when the summer is over?
shrubs_n_bulbs
19 years ago
Impatiens in hanging baskets (almost certainly I. walleriana) are frost-tender perennials. If you let them experience even a slight frost they will turn to mush. If you can overwinter them somewhere bright and frost-free then you can keep them. They make good houseplants and will flower continuously indoors without any direct sun.
petsitterbarb
19 years ago
Thanks, Shrubs N Bulbs...I had no idea that impatiens could be houseplants. I'm delighted!!!!
carlyg
19 years ago
How well will the new guinea impatiens do in zone 8, east TX?
MrImpatiens
19 years ago
New Guineas are not hardy for a zone 8 or even zone 9 they are always treated as annuals. But They are great other wise.
zeinab_81033_yahoo_com
12 years ago
Hi every body
I have one of this flower but new buds has fallen off. and only one of them has blossomed incompletely. Do you know what's the matter,please help me thanks

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New to impatiens

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liana789plants

MrLars

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jesmello
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New to impatiens

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jesmelloOriginal Author

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