How to sow and grow Impatiens? A detailed guide to the latest methods
Impatiens (Impatiens balsamina) is an annual herbaceous plant of the genus Impatiens native to China, with a long history of cultivation in our country; its varieties are diverse and its colors brilliant, with pink, white and red being the most common. Besides being commonly called "nail flower" in childhood, it also has several other names such as "golden phoenix flower" and "bamboo cup flower". Depending on the variety, the mature plant height of Impatiens ranges from 40 to 100 cm, and it blooms in June each year, continuing until early autumn in September; it is easy to plant and has strong self-propagation ability.
The growing habits of Impatiens
Impatiens likes a warm growing environment with plenty of light and has poor cold tolerance, but it is highly adaptable, tolerant of transplanting, rarely troubled by pests and diseases, and tolerant of poor soil. However, it dislikes care environments that are too humid or lack sufficient light, and will develop problems such as leggy growth, weakness, lodging and few flowers due to lack of light and waterlogging. After this basic introduction to Impatiens, the editor will now explain its planting and care methods:
Sowing and planting methods for Impatiens
1. Sowing time
Impatiens mainly reproduces by seed, sown from March to September each year. If flower lovers in the south want to grow it, they can start preparing next month, while flower lovers in the north should sow in April; generally it blooms about 3 months after sowing.
2. Preparing the soil
Impatiens does not like overly moist soil, so when growing it in pots, drainage of the potting soil must be given extra consideration. It is recommended to use a loose, well-draining, slightly acidic, fertile soil, such as leaf mold, garden soil, vermiculite and decomposed chicken manure fertilizer mixed evenly in a 3:2:1:1 ratio; or leaf mold, peat, river sand and decomposed sheep manure fertilizer mixed in the same ratio as above.
If you have insecticide, it is best to sprinkle some into the soil when mixing it. When the editor first started growing flowers years ago, the soil was not treated, which led to many insects crawling around the home in summer; just thinking about it is frightening. If you do not have insecticide, you can roast the soil, as high temperature can kill insect eggs.
3. Seed treatment
Impatiens seeds are brown, round spherical granules. Before sowing, you can soak the seeds in warm water at 40 degrees for 6 hours, or simply soak them in cold water for a day, then remove them and drain off the water. Soaking the seeds can increase the germination rate and make sprouting more uniform.
4. Sowing method
Before potting up Impatiens, we need to first lay a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot; you can use clay pebbles, or break a broken earthenware pot into small pieces and use those. Then fill the prepared soil substrate into the pot to about the 8/10 full level, and gently shake it a few times; at this point the soil will sink slightly. Then water the soil in the pot thoroughly. If you did not roast the soil, it is best to add some fungicide to the water to disinfect the soil.
Then place the seeds on the surface of the potting soil; generally, 4 seeds in a 1-gallon pot is enough, as too many is not good for growth, and if the seedlings grow too close together they are also prone to disease and mold. After the seeds are placed, gently sprinkle a thin layer of fine dry soil over the surface. Use a spray bottle to moisten the surface soil, preferably choosing a spray bottle with fine holes and a gentle mist.
After sowing, if the ambient temperature does not reach 20 degrees, you can cover the mouth of the pot with transparent film, only poking many holes in the film for ventilation, to prevent excessive moisture and mold on the seeds and seedlings. After poking the holes, you can move it to a cool, well-ventilated place to wait for germination. If the temperature at sowing time can reach around 20 degrees, then there is no need to cover with film; during this period keep the soil moist, and when you see the covering soil dry out, spray a little water. It will germinate in 7-10 days.
5. Transplanting and potting up
After flower lovers see the seeds sprout, they should move them to a place with diffused light for care, noting that the light must not be too strong, to prevent drying out the seedlings. When the seedlings grow 4 true leaves, you can dig out the seedlings together with the soil using a seedling lifter, and transplant them into new pots.
The soil mix and potting-up steps for the new pot are the same as when sowing, except that it is best to plant only one seedling per pot. Impatiens is very tolerant of transplanting and can easily survive no matter when it is done, but it is best to keep some of the original soil with it when transplanting. After transplanting is complete, let the pot recover in a cool, ventilated place for 3 days, then move it to a place with plenty of light to give it more sun and speed up the growth of branches and leaves.
When the fruit of Impatiens matures, it easily bursts and shoots out the seeds, so if flower lovers want to keep seeds for sowing the next year, they need to collect the seeds before the flower seeds are fully mature; the timing for collection is generally when the seed shell turns slightly yellow. Impatiens seeds store very well and their germination rate will not decrease even after being stored for 1 or 2 years, so after flower lovers have collected seeds once, the seedlings sown the next year do not need to have seeds saved.