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Balsaminaceae
Patience Plant
Impatiens walleriana
Patient endurance and gentle beauty in the shadows.
- Family
- Balsaminaceae
- Genus
- Impatiens
- Native to
- East Africa, Mozambique, Kenya
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer, Autumn
- Type
- tender perennial (grown as annual)
- Height
- 15–60 cm
- Sunlight
- part shade to full shade
- Soil
- rich, moist, well-drained
- Water
- moderate to high
- Hardiness
- 10–12 (annual elsewhere)
- Lifespan
- perennial in tropics; annual in temperate zones
Did you know
- The genus name Impatiens means 'impatient' — the ripe seed pods explode at the slightest touch, flinging seeds up to two meters.
- Ironically, the common name 'patience plant' contrasts the scientific name 'impatient', referring to its ease of care, not its seeds.
- It is one of the top-selling bedding plants in the world, with hundreds of millions sold annually.
- Impatiens downy mildew devastated North American plantings in 2012, crashing sales and driving gardeners to seek resistant alternatives.
- In its native East African habitat, it grows as an understory plant in moist forests, explaining its shade tolerance.
Color meanings
Pink
motherly love
Red
devoted passion
White
innocent patience