Wikimedia Commons
Balsaminaceae
New Guinea Impatiens
Impatiens hawkeri
Motherly love.
- Family
- Balsaminaceae
- Genus
- Impatiens
- Native to
- Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer, Fall
- Type
- perennial grown as annual
- Height
- 12-24 inches
- Sunlight
- partial shade to full sun
- Soil
- rich, moist, well-drained
- Water
- moderate to high
- Hardiness
- 10-12
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- New Guinea impatiens were collected by a USDA plant expedition to Papua New Guinea in 1970 and quickly became popular worldwide.
- Unlike common impatiens, New Guinea varieties can tolerate more sun and have larger, showier flowers.
- The name 'impatiens' means 'impatient' in Latin, referring to how the seed pods burst open explosively when ripe.
- They are resistant to the devastating impatiens downy mildew that wiped out common impatiens across North America.
- The variegated and bronze-colored foliage of many cultivars is almost as ornamental as the flowers themselves.
Color meanings
0
motherly love
1
impatience
2
desire for touch