Impatiens
From a genus comprised of hundreds of species, the following easily grown shade lovers offer both foliar and floral interest. Impatiens omeiana is surprisingly hardy, while the other selections are quite tender; all look compelling in either a pot or a garden bed.
Hailing from the world’s deepest canyon in the remote Himalayan shadows of Mt. Namcha-Barwa, this wondrous 2003 discovery introduces perhaps the bluest flowering perennial Impatiens to date. Hallmarked by yellow-etched white throats and bright ultramarine or vivid blue-violet flared petals, whose colors vacillate with exposure, the extraordinary bountiful blooms appear nearly year round, conjuring images of exotic flying birds amid shiny serrated green leaves. Highly coveted, hard-to-find and perfect for containers, inside or out, Blue Diamond is a frost sensitive temptress that can be grown as a self-sowing annual in cold climates and as a perennial in milder areas, where it adores cool summers, even moisture and filtered light, and abhors hot sun and frosty nights.
Blooms April–October.
Size: 18" high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 10.
Each $10.75
On Mount Emei’s misty slopes amid firs and tree rhododendrons, this attractive perennial Impatiens was collected at 8000 ft. by noted ecologist Dr. Don Jacobs.
The fantastic whorls of long slender, dark green leaves with silver veins and red undersides undoubtedly caught his eye during his 1983 expedition to China’s Sichuan Province. Cheered by showy yellow Snapdragon-like flowers in late summer, cold-tolerant Impatiens omeiana knits a nonfussy deciduous ground cover, naturalizing over time from wide-spreading underground stolons. Its colorful foliage brings textural appeal to a shady woodland setting and is ideal for a moderately moist, well-drained location.
Blooms September–October.
Size: 15" high x 2' 0" – 3' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 7.
Impatiens sodenii ‘Flash’ (P-1523)
Each $10.75
Impatiens aficionado, Derick Pitman developed this new, easygoing enchantress. Brushed with pink painterly strokes radiating from each center, shapely, 3 in. snow-white blooms are poised above polished green leaves. A perennial in warm climates, an annual in cold areas and a made-in-heaven match for a container, self-sowing ‘Flash’ can be shown off in bright shade where its multibranched, semisucculent stems are quick to fill out.
Blooms May – October.
Size: 4' 0" – 5' 0" high x 3' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 10.
