Will SunPatiens stand up (literally) to Texas Sun?
Comments (23)
User
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoFunny, I’m playing around with my landscaping app (it’s addictive, I tell ya!) and I used them in one of my scenarios.
But this little driveway bed gets full-on sun from 3 pm on, and I think being near the concrete would fry them.
I hope yours do good, Omar! I may try them in my morning sun bed.
My pretend pic (I added purple fountain grass, Sunpatiens, lantana, variegated liriope “Silver Dragon”) —
roselee z8b S.W. Texas thanked UserRelated Discussions
Stinkin neighbours literally !
Comments (17)Trowelgal, I truly feel for you!  darn, why could I not have a good neighbour such as yourself? I canÂt imagine how frustrating your situation is and what others have stated they also must endure. Here at least thereÂs some space between the neighbours and myself, though still too close for comfort. ItÂs sad when working so very hard to carve out oneÂs own little beautiful and peaceful piece of paradise, only to be faced with neighbours who donÂt show due respect OR worse  they, just might be the type that seeks to make your life a living hell  at least mine are not quite that bad  though, these people are loud, aggressive and sneaky. IÂm a diplomatic caring sorta guy and often way too patient for my own good, though will tactfully approach others to resolve problems  but, just donÂt cut me off in traffic, cause then I canÂt be held responsible for the insufficient time to censor my actions, lol NOW GET THIS  when we had first moved here, our dog had remained out during the nights  and yes, sheÂd wake us up from time to time with her loud sharp barking. Then one night the neighbours had called at 1:30 am to let us know  of course, I had felt really bad and so each and every night afterwards the dog was taken into the garage  except yes, one time I had forgotten and again had received a call, though this time an ungodly 4:30 am  thus, waking the entire household here including a small baby. I called back in the morning and again had apologized and said how I had been distracted and forgot to bring the pooch in. Though, I really should have told her, that with our homes being over 200 feet apart and separated by a swath of forest, why didnÂt she just close the window and maybe turn on a fan to drown out the noise???  she could of then called me in the morning  I would NEVER phone anyoneÂs household at such an hour, other than in an emergency! Later, when she had launched that verbal attack on me, I had asked WHY was it okay for them to allow their dogs to bark relentlessly at me, while I was doing my best to keep things peaceful on my side?  not surprisingly, she had not replied. IÂd really like to put up a tall fence, heck IÂd even cover the entire cost  though, with so many dead and dying trees, weÂd forever be repairing it  though, at least IÂd then feel free to venture out upon the large portion of my property between my lovely neighbours and myself. Terry...See MorePurple Rose that can stand up to Texas Heat
Comments (17)My favorites in heat (that I grow at least) - are Heirloom and Angel Face. The first is a larger bush, blooms are medium purple - darker than lavendar, but not deep purple. Fragrance is amazing. Blooms do not shrink in size in summer (like Blue Girl which for me does NOT do well in the heat - it just shuts down). My Heirloom does get a few hours of afternoon shade. Angel Face (which I sadly lost this year to gophers, and WILL replace), is lighter lavendar, floribunda, not that large, very prolific, and thrived in my heat and full sun. Wonderful fragrance. I really miss her. I have Blueberry Hill, and for me it naps in the heat (and since all the other purple/lavendars I have have fragrance, its lack of is disappointing). Neptune is on my wish list. Blooms are large and unbelievably fragrant. Twilight Zone started with a bang (but the gophers got to it, and it spent this summer growing back its foliage). Ebb Tide is new for me, but I have seen how smokey its blooms get in full sun....See MoreNew Order--You be the judge...literally!
Comments (43)You can only hijack a thread if the person that originally posted feels like they are being hijacked and I don't, so, no worries! This is the point of a discussion, you talk about one thing, which, hopefully leads to deeper, more interesting discussions. The topic will still come up in a search, search engines don't just search the title, but all of the words in a thread. I will use this time to respond to the original idea, though and say that, thank you, Jo, for going along with the spirit of the original post so well! Exactly what I was going for! I do have to say, though, that I did try and keep my original post neutral, but most everyone thought that I was disappointed, which is interesting b/c I actually was. I agree wholeheartedly with bkay and bernd on this one, those hostas were tiny. I am used to field-grown and in, fact, will only buy those in the future b/c I have no patience for a hosta that will take 5 years or more to have more than 10 leaves! Naylor Creek and LOTG has completely spoiled me. In fact, the Naylor Creek auctions sent plants that were 3 to 4 times that size for the exact same price and that was just a couple of weeks ago, so the off-season idea that Ken presented has little to do with it. I don't even care if they have leaves, which most posts focused on, it is the size of the root ball, the little, tiny stems and the fact that they have like one or two stems in total. Ridiculous. Just like bkay said in her thread about this, when you list a hosta at regular price and then sale it as an end of season plant, then it should be have some growth on it, like a regular plant should. It should not, however, be newly grown! They lead you to believe they are clearing out their stock, and then you get little babies that look like they just been unswaddled. That is not what I am used to, so I'm going back to the tried and true, Naylor, LOTG, Made In the Shade and Plant Delights for me. They were absolutely fabulous this year! They have the newest in stock, so if it ain't there, then I don't need it! Thanks to everyone for contributing to this, feel free to continue either discussion, it is very enjoyable!...See MoreTally Ho! Literally....
Comments (15)Cool. Or cooler, anyway. (smile) Take advantage of the opportunity to travel in Europe while you are there. Highly recommend Holland, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden. France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Czech Republic also good. Much to see, while the opportunity presents itself. Drive times by auto: Kaiserslautern, Germany to Amsterdam.....about six hours. Frankfort, Germany to Paris.....about 4 hours. Paris to Orleans.....1 1/2 hrs. Paris to Salzburg, Austria......about 9 hours. You can cover a lot of ground by car, in a relatively short time. If you travel by train (European trains are very efficient), only take carry on luggage. Checked baggage can get delayed in customs for days, between countries. See as much as your time and budget will allow. You never know if you will ever get there again....See Moreroselee z8b S.W. Texas
6 years agoUser
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoThank you! I’ve got about 6 different scenarios I’m trying out. Our nurseries here are sorely lacking in plants right now, so I’m just waiting to get stuff!
I really want to use some elephant ears, but I think they’d get too big for this spot. What do you think? (Sorry to hijack!)
Ears, salvia, lantana, gomphrena globosa/bachelor’s buttons —
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoDan H z8b SA, TX
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoYes, I tried them last year for the first time. I didn't see/notice them in stores until early June. The company's webpage shows numerous colors they've developed. However on the plant label there's no indication what color each plant will be. Half the time they were already in bloom, so that made it easy. The small trays of 6 cost about $9. I read they may need lots of water while getting established in the ground. I did not get profuse flowering, maybe because of the late start & minimal feeding. (being a neophyte, I was content with keeping 75% of them alive!)
It is a pleasant surprise that they survived the winter, thanks to (or despite) my obsessive pampering to preserve the various tender perennials. The one in a pot was moved into the garage for a total of maybe 7 days over the winter, and kept its leaves the entire time. 3 of them planted in the ground got completely covered with inverted buckets for 1-3 days a couple times, filled loosely at the bottom with old plastic mulch bags etc, to further reduce cold influx and wind chill effects. When uncovered after it got above 32, there were surface water droplets squeezed out of the thick crunchy/spongy leaves, but very little rotting or severe desiccation resulted. "We'll see" how year 2 goes with the survivors.
I'm trying them because I wanted some color, and they're reported to do better than Impatiens in the heat and sun. At the height of summer, these were getting full sun until 5 pm.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas thanked Dan H z8b SA, TX
weenerdogg
6 years agoUser
6 years agoUser
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoOk, SunPatiens in the ground! I found a big pot at HD with 4 different plants in it, $20.
If they start toasting here, I’ll just switch them with Pentas I have in my shadier bed.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoUser
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoThanks, Roselee! I set them back more than I wanted, hopefully to give them a bit of respite from the concrete/sun later on. HD was the only place I found any (and was the last place I looked, ha). I’m very disappointed in my go-to nurseries this year, they’re focusing more on trees and shrubs than bedding plants, it seems.
I’m not usually this regimented in my placing, I like a more wild/natural look, but I think it’ll work better for these tiny front beds (and future renters).
The pot they came in, happy I got 4 plants out of it. :)
And what I started with!
Dan H z8b SA, TX
5 years agoI first encountered and bought some SunPatiens a year ago in June 2017. It's reportedly a heat & sun tolerant variation on Impatiens (at first I suspected some would consider it the "Hostess Twinkie" of fine gardening). They didn't bloom profusely for me. But 4 of 6 plants survived the winter and got a head start in 2018. They get full sun from 12-5 or so. This year they started flowering in late April, then in July started pooping out. One of the survivors with more shelter from sun and wind kept blooming, although not abundantly. I'm patiently waiting to see any response to last week's big rains, milder temps and cloudy skies - nothing yet. This year's full blast summer started 2 months early (in May) so everything endured a double dose of mid-summer extremes.
Forgive unsightly visual distractions in frame, some were temporary wind deflectors, and it was too late in year to prune live oak tree, etc.
Below: Late April, just starting
2 weeks later, 8:30 am (below)
2 weeks later (end of May) in the shade 8:45 am (below)
mid july, 11 am, the southernmost plant on right stopped producing as many flowers (below); the one on the left with more shade also gradually reduced # of new blooms, there were even less in August
Dan H z8b SA, TX
5 years agoThey're supposed to be annuals but I pampered them obsessively during San Antonio's several extended freezes.
Below: last December, 2 weeks after our 1st freeze (zinnia remnants on right)
Below: January 4, at the tail end of an extended freeze. They were covered well, double pots over each and wrapped at the bottom to reduce air influx, protect from drafts & wind chill damage. The limited air exchange surely goes against conventional wisdom...yet most of the 6 plants survived.
Feb 8 (below)
Feb 26 (below) rebounding nicely
roselee z8b S.W. Texas thanked Dan H z8b SA, TXDan H z8b SA, TX
5 years agoRich color (yet somewhat dilute pigment) and dark green leaves
There was a 4th survivor in a 1 gallon pot that got brought inside during the winter freezes. It had a less interesting color, and when our local drought watering restrictions kicked in I decided to let it go.
Below: As it got hotter at the end of May this is what they looked like, getting watered every other day. Soon after this I started giving them both about a gallon every day, usually kitchen rinse water (with no detergent).
Temporary clutter & clueless color coordination, intended to show that the dilute colors can look nice and rich when in diffuse light conditions, espec to older eyes, practically no shadows here and less contrast to take in. (below)
Sun getting low, early evening. (there *are* other colors in the front yard, somewhere out of frame.)
roselee z8b S.W. Texas thanked Dan H z8b SA, TX
Vulture61
5 years agoUser
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoI forgot about this thread! I have an update:
I lost the ones in the bed I posted above, along with the Euphorbias ... but because of root rot, not too much sun.
These have done great in another front bed. They’ve survived full afternoon sun (1pm on) and weeks of 100+ temps, with automatic sprinklers in this bed watering them twice a week, for fifteen minutes.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas thanked Userroselee z8b S.W. Texas
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoIt is amazing to me that the SunPatiens stands up to the heat and sun! I wasn't able to try them this year, but will plant them next summer. Thank you all for the photos and detailed reports!
Omar, sorry yours didn't live. In light of Miz G's info about root rot do you think perhaps daily watering was too much?
Earlier this year I planted a Rainbow Gardens give away impatiens in with some wax begonias in a small planter where it got a couple of hours of afternoon sun and am very surprised it made it through the summer. It's the bright pink one in the center ...
Vulture61