New Guinea Ghost
Tika Land
2 years ago
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popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
2 years agoTika Land
2 years agoRelated Discussions
collecting seeds from new guinea
Comments (8)My wife was given a New Guinea plant in a hanging basket for Mothers Day 2007. That thing is about as pretty a plant that I have ever seen.. It is huge and is one flowering bugger!! Ok, my question. Those little footballs, when do you pick them off?? Do they dry up and shrink? I have never watched them long enough to see what happenes to them. I thought that they were the beginning of a new flower.. Do I pick them off, let them dry or pick them and directly put them into soil or in a paper towel and baggie to let them sprout? I took some shoots off the bottom edge around the main plant last night and poked them in a 6 inch pot and put a plastic baggie over them to see if they will start. They still looked good this AM.. I have read other places where sun, water, fert., and all sorts of special things to keep these flowers blooming. MY pot, (yes I am claiming it from my wife) is on an old picnic table under a shade tree. It sees sun about 2 hrs in the morning, the rest of the time it is in the shade.. We are located in SW Mo., zone 6 and spend winters in deep south Texas, zone 9 Will these things keep blooming all winter in south Texas? Everything else down there blooms all winter.. Thanks, hope to hear from someone.. Bill...See MoreNew Guinea Impatiens just won't survive!
Comments (35)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....See MoreFlorific & Divine New Guinea-bottom line on sun!?
Comments (0)I have read about 50 opinions and watched countless youtube videos and it seems that everyone has a different opinion. I grew these two varieties from seed and they are spectacular and waiting to be planted. I would like to use them in 8 hanging baskets which are in a row facing east. They get filtered morning sun for about 5 hrs. In the past I have used tuberous begonias in this area as bedding plants and they did ok. I've read that if they don't get enough sun they won't flower well. In the past I have used them in pots on a sunny patio and they would wilt at the height of the day. I have tons of shade and would love to use them but after 3 months of TLC don't want to blow it....See MoreNew Guinea Implosion @ the Big Box Stores
Comments (0)NG for me used to be the only thing available at the nursery. Compact and Grande Sunpatiens and Bounce Impatiens as well are still only available at the nurseries. Unless it's just my observation, but when did the Big Box Stores started carrying ~more stuff~. It's my understanding though, at least for my location, the HD garden center does not control their inventory, but the growers *do* . Similar to the tool dept (on certain manuf), and HD just get's their commish.. Anyhow, just a interesting observation as I think from last year and this, some of their offerings were only things I would see at the nursery. Quart sizes of Sunpatiens. Not alot of color variety of compact/grande series though. However, they seem to have boatload of New Guineas in every shape and form. Qt containers, hanging planters, round pre-mixed ready to go planters, 8" pots, etc, etc. ----Any of course, racks after racks of IW, even though most reputable nurseries do not sell them, due to DM---...See More
stupidlazydog CT zone 5b/6a
2 years agoTika Land
2 years agopopmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
2 years ago
Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agostupidlazydog CT zone 5b/6a
2 years ago
Bill M.
2 years agopopmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
2 years ago
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