My son brought this plant home to me for mother's day 2 years ago when he was 7. They planted them in class. It was a tiny thing, but soon grew out of 2 planters. Looks delicate but let me tell ya this plant has a mission to live. My cat tore it to shreds once, the neighbors 2-yr old ripped it out by the roots, then my neighbor decides to spray it with raid to rid it from its knats last year (every leave fell off). Needless to say I am very fond of this plant, mostly because it was a gift from my son, but also because it may sound silly but I feel sort of a bond to it from nursing it back to health so many times. I did have it in my kitchen window which faces east and it seemed to do fine, but a couple of months ago I moved it into my sons bedroom window which faces east. I left it there because its a high ledge and the cat cant get to it. Anyway a month later I noticed this plant is absolutely flourishing. It is flowering more then ever before and has tons of new leaf growth all over. So now that I got her feeling better than ever, Im just curious as to what she is. My friends and neighhbors all want starts and Id love to be able to tell then what it is. Thank you to anyone who may be able to help.
You would know more than I, but Ive looked at impatiens and they just dont look like this plant. Thank you for the post maybe you could check around with others, but youre probably right. I have no idea whatsoever!
Definitely Impatiens, the species is anybodies guess as they've been extensively hybridized. Regards Chris
Oh really? Hybrids between which species? (That's an old trick in horticulture. If you don't know the identity of something, call it a hybrid.) The Impatiens commonly seen in the trade are cultivars bred from selections of Impatiens wallerana. The species is extremely variable in flower color in the wild. I. sultanii and I. holstii are now considered synonyms. (Grey-Wilson (1980) Impatiens of Africa)
http://mrimpatiens.com/hybrid_impatiens.htm http://www.impatiens.net/?catx=5 http://www.kartuz.com/c/7RFPI/Impatiens.html It would appear mostly New Guinea Impatiens have been hybridized the rest are line bred as you imply.
I've had various Impatiens I've kept in the house for 4 and 5 years. When they get leggy pinch them back. They'll continue to bloom and grow for a very long time. They're also very easy to propagate: Simply snap off a 'branch' and stick in soil and keep moist. I've also grown them from seed...those little pods that explode contain the seeds.
My impatiens that I started from seed a couple months ago just started to bloom. I was going to put them outside but now Im thinking I might keep some inside. Will they bloom all year if I keep pinching them back?
I let mine grow until they started to look a bit unsightly and not as thick and more leggy. They flower just because they can. I had them in a bright sunroom but out of direct sunlight. They tend to wilt a bit in heat but bounce back when it cools down come evening. My rule of thumb is when they stop blooming as well and get too much growth pinch them back...reshape them more or less. They'll put out tons of new shoots and flower up a storm in gratitude.
