Wow.. such a historic plant for an Impatiens. :). I never even consider to keep them more than a year. I don't even bother to make a cutting, since new seedling appear easily as they explode their seed out. Give it a big pot, do prune a bit, and grow those cuttings. It will thank you and blossom even more.

Impatiens walleriana to be precise. The old fashioned pre-hybridisation form. If you change it to a larger pot and give it more light you could have a 3 foot tall, bushy plant smothered in bloom. Although yours has survived a long time it could be a lot bigger and healthier. These grow very easily from cuttings. BTW there is absolutely no other plant this could be. Nothing else looks remotely like it.

Thank you guys :) In honestly so surprised that it has survived thud far. Do you know what soil it should have? Is regular potting soil okay? Thanks!

Regular soil will just fine I guess. (at least for me, they are tough).. a BIG pot so your daughter have some more decorating-fun time. Do keep it more than a decade please... I just love to hear that. Then, do give us updates in the future.

:) Thanks.

Do you know what soil it should have?

==>>> in a pot.. you use potting media .... some call it potting soil ... but that doesnt really differentiate word use ...

one thing for sure.. do not use mother earth .... aka soil ... in a pot media is a water management system ... allowing water to move thru the pot.. in a predictable manner ... dirt in a pot.. doesnt quite do this ... its the predictability part ..

any good commercial media should work ... but we have had a lot of complaints.. over the years with miracle grow... i dont recall why ...

and try to avoid media with fert already in it .... you can fert later.. if and when it needs it ...

anyway ... get a new pot... premoisten some new media .... and repot the thing ...

i bet you can get lots of info on repotting houseplants.. in the houseplant forum ....

finally.. since i would be out buying stuff.. and have more media then i needed ..... i would buy a couple smaller pots.. and try propagating a few new babes.. just in case the big one dies ... and then for gifts to share ....

good luck

ken

Thanks Ken. Well, I always have potting soil and a few extra pots on hand, so it's been repotted for now! :) I'd give a photo right now, but it's way too dark.

Best of luck to you. I suspect that transplanting this plant into a larger pot at this time of year may cause problems. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

If that plant were mine, the procedure would have waited until spring, at which time I would lift it from that container, scrub the pot, root prune and top prune the plant, and replace it into the same pot with a good, porous potting mix. You could even propagate the stem cuttings that you prune away and create more plants.

HERE are some images of what Impatiens looks like in the garden center and outdoors in the garden....I'll bet that you've seen it plenty of times. I've never considered it a houseplant.

This particular one is the species from which all those colourful garden hybrids arose. It is much larger and taller growing than them. They are tender perennials and used to be a fixture in many homes when I was a kid. My mother had one almost as tall as I was. They root very easily in water. And hence were very common pass along plants. There was a long discussion of them on this forum a while ago. Old fashioned Impatiens

Thanks guys! I'll keep you all updated. Rhizo_1, it turns out, they're great houseplants in my book :) even with such a wimpy one as mine :) And yes, I agree the growing season would've been a safer bet, but I'm sure the plant would've exploded if kept in that little pot much longer XD. Floral_UK, that's a tall plant and thanks for the link :)