How To Grow Impatiens Plants

A simple guide for how to grow Impatiens plants. Bright and cheerful annuals that are easy to grow in a shady part of the yard.

While growing Impatiens is rather easy, here are a few tips and techniques for growing this lovely annual.

For years, Impatiens have been my go-to popular annual flower for the shade gardens. They thrive in shady areas in a seemingly countless wide variety of colors. Easy to grow, Impatiens are a favorite flower to plant in container gardens, window boxes, and hanging baskets.

Simple guide for How to Plant and Grow Impatiens Plants
Why You Will Love Growing Impatiens
- No Deadheading Required
- Perfect Shade Annual
Types of Impatiens flowers
Variety of Impatiens I Grow
- Super Elfin White Impatiens
When to Plant Impatiens
Where to Plant Impatiens
How to Plant, Care For and Grow Impatiens
Impatiens Dieseas
- Downy Mildew Diseases
How to Propagate Impatiens
My Favorite Gardening Essentials
Frequently Asked Questions
More Flower Gardening Posts You May Enjoy

Simple guide for How to Plant and Grow Impatiens Plants

Old-fashioned Impatiens have been ideal popular bedding plants for the home gardener for many years in the United States.

Planted in mass plantings or mixed with other shade-loving plants, they are an excellent addition to any shady area.

I often grow Impatiens in old buckets, wooden barrels, window boxes, and galvanized troughs in my rustic flower garden designs.

With their quick growth habit and abundant flowers, they intensify the shaded perennial plants in areas of my garden beds.

As with all flowers that I grow, you can probably guess that I grow the Impatiens with white flowers.

While there are many beautiful colors, the showy white flowers perfectly contrast my dark gray potting shed and various container planters.

Why You Will Love Growing Impatiens

No Deadheading Required

While many annuals require deadheading, like Zinnias, to keep blooming, Impatiens are easy-care annuals that are self-cleaning, so removal of spent flowers is not required.

Perfect Shade Annual

Easy-to-grow with non-stop flowering in shady conditions, there is no comparable flower for the ideal growing shade annual.

Impatiens can be planted in shady borders, along walkways, in woodland gardens, or as ground cover. They are also the perfect shade annual to plant in DIY window boxes and pots.

Types of Impatiens flowers

Impatiens Walleriana

Also known as Busy Lizzie, this variety is a traditional impatiens species and one of the most popular annual bedding plants. Available in various flower colors – from white to pinks, purples, and reds, they are easily found each year in garden centers.

Impatiens walleriana usually grow 1-2 feet and have five-petaled flowers covering the plant with beautiful blooms from early spring to first frosts in the fall.

New Guinea Impatiens

Probably the second most common type of impatiens, new guineas are a bit different. New Guinea impatiens flowers tolerate up to half a day of sun in most parts of North America.

However, their drought tolerance is very low. They need to be watered daily, especially if they are planted in containers.

Sunpatiens

SunPatiens are resistant to downy mildew and thrive in full sun. They are vigorous growers and need no extra care. So, if you have a sunny area, Sunpatiens are the way to go!

Variety of Impatiens I Grow

Super Elfin White Impatiens

These white impatiens have large flowers and small pointy green leaves. From early spring to the first fall frost, I can count on these healthy plants to produce high-quality blooms and add charm to all the shaded areas of my flower gardens.

When to Plant Impatiens

Impatiens are highly susceptible to cold temperatures and should only be planted in late spring after all danger of frost has passed. If growing Impatiens in the ground, wait until the soil temperatures have warmed up.

I had planted Impatiens in recent years when the daytime temperatures were warm, but the nights were still too cool. In doing this, I have lost plants to cold weather and had to purchase new plants.

Where to Plant Impatiens

Impatiens should be planted in a shady location protected from the wind. To maintain their beautiful green leaves and color, Impatiens must have protection from the hot afternoon direct sun.

Impatiens are a favorite annual for planting in pots and galvanized containers. I have found that they grow best in fertile, well-draining soil enriched with organic matter. Impatiens grown in containers will need more frequent watering.

How to Plant, Care For and Grow Impatiens

Planting Impatiens

To plant your impatiens flowers, gently squeeze the sides of the container to loosen the soil. Tip the container on its side, and the plant should slide out.

Plant the impatiens in a hole that is as deep and wide as the rootball. The plant should sit at the same level in the ground as it was in the pot. Gently fill in around the hole with soil and water the impatiens thoroughly.

Growing impatiens about six inches apart will encourage them to grow upright, resulting in taller plants. Planting impatiens further apart – 10 to 12 inches will encourage the plants to spread and fill in the gaps.

Watering

Impatiens need watering regularly to keep the soil moist. During hot, dry weather, plants may need to watering daily.

It is best to water the plants at the base to avoid getting the leaves wet, which helps prevent disease.

Impatiens planted in window boxes, containers, and hanging baskets need daily watering, so the container must have sufficient drainage.

If a long, hot, dry spell occurs, the plants may look wilted, but the good news is that they will quickly perk back up with some water.

Pruning

Pruning Impatiens is not a necessary task. However, if the plants begin to grow tall and leggy, they can be pinched back.

To pinch the plants back, use garden scissors to trim the plants back to 1/2 or 1/3 of the plants’ size.

Pinching back the plant will encourage bushier growth with new blooms.

Fertilizer

Healthy, flourishing impatiens will generate hundreds of blooms per plant.

To keep plants growing and flowering all season beautifully long from spring through fall, use a slow-release variety of fertilizer.

Impatiens Dieseas

Downy Mildew Diseases

An incurable fungal disease that can plague Impatiens is called downy mildew. Symptoms include wilting yellow leaves and the underside of leaves looking fuzzy and white.

To prevent powdery mildew, keep the leaves dry when watering and ensure the plants have sufficient air circulation.

How to Propagate Impatiens

It is easy to propagate impatiens from cuttings by rooting them in water. To do this, take 6-inch long stem cuttings.

Remove any lower leaves and place the cutting in water. Place it on a windowsill with a bright location but not in direct sunlight.

When the water becomes cloudy after a few days, replace the water. Eventually, roots will develop, and the cutting can be planted in potting soil.

Continue to grow the plant in a bright area without direct sunlight and keep the soil moist.

My Favorite Gardening Essentials

This post contains affiliate links; this means that I make a tiny commission off any purchase that you may make. This small commission helps keep Rocky Hedge Farm going at no additional cost to you. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

You can find my favorite kitchen essentials can be located in my Amazon storefront. While I often try to link to the exact products you see in my photos and videos, my pieces are usually vintage and thrifted. However, I try to find and link replicas as much as possible, made in the USA or by other small shops, as I believe in supporting hardworking American families.

Garden Tool | Scissors: perfect size garden scissors for trimming back small stems or deadheading flowers.
Hanging Solar Light Lantern: solar powered and weather resistant, I use these to add charm and character on the borders of my flower beds.
Slate Plant Labels: weatherproof hanging labels to mark what has been planted.
Gardening Gloves: lightweight, protects hands from skin wounds, cuts and dirt.
Osmocote Smart-Release Plant Food: the only plant food I use to feed my flowers throughout the season.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Impatiens Need Full Sun or Shade?

There are no Impatiens that will thrive in direct sun. Most traditional Impatiens thrive in medium shade. However, New Guinea and SunPatiens will endure more sun than Impatiens walleriana.

Are Impatiens Annuals or Perennials?

Impatiens are tender perennials in Zones 10-11 but otherwise are grown as annuals.

How Often Should You Water Impatiens?

Impatiens like moist soil but not soggy. They need at least 2 inches every week. They will need to be watered daily in hot, dry spells, especially planted in containers.

What Happens if Impatiens Get too Much Sun?

Most impatiens can also tolerate early morning sunlight as long as they are well shaded from the hot afternoon sun. The plants will wither, wilt and die if they are exposed to too much heat and sunlight.