A detailed guide to growing Impatiens - beginners can learn it too

Propagation and cultivation Impatiens is propagated by seed. Sow from 3—9, with sowing in April being the most suitable, so that flowers will appear in early to mid-June and the flowering period can last more than two months.

1. Site selection and land preparation: A sunny site with moist, fertile, loose and well-drained soil is suitable. Apply base fertilizer and prepare the land into beds; make raised beds in the south and level beds in the north, with a bed width of 1.2m.

2. Sowing method: The seeds are tiny and have a long viability; stored at room temperature for 3 years, their germination rate still reaches 79.7%. Sow directly, in March in the south and April in the north. With a row spacing of 35 cm, open a shallow furrow 1 cm deep, scatter the seeds evenly into the furrow, cover with soil, press down lightly, then water. After sowing, keep the soil moist; at a temperature of about 25°C, seedlings begin to emerge in about 5 days. Use 500g of seed per 667 sq m.

3. Thinning: When the seedlings are 5-10 cm tall, thin them, removing the small, weak and overly crowded seedlings, and set the plants at a spacing of 20 cm. Reasonable close planting can give high quality and high yield.

4. Raising seedlings: Scatter the seeds on potting soil and cover lightly with about 0.3 cm of soil; they germinate after 5-6 days, and when they have 3-4 true leaves they can be planted out into flower pots or flower beds at a spacing of 30 cm.

5. Flowering time control: If you want to delay the flowering period, sow in early July. You can also use the pinching method, while removing the early-opening flowers and buds, so that the plant keeps growing larger, with a topdressing every 15-20 days. After September, more flower buds form, so that they bloom at National Day.

6. Cultivation and weeding: After emergence, to prevent weeds from competing for water, loosen the soil and weed in good time. Water promptly in dry weather. Cultivate and weed 2-3 times a year.

7. Topdressing: When the seedlings are 30-40 cm tall, the old leaves on the lower part of the stem can be removed and the growing tip pinched off to encourage more branching. At this time, apply 40 kg of cake fertilizer per 667 sq m; open a furrow along the rows, scatter the fertilizer into the furrow, cover with soil and water. Pay attention to drainage in hot, rainy seasons.

How to grow Impatiens

Impatiens, also known as Xiaotaohong and Jixingzi, is an annual herbaceous flower of the Balsaminaceae family. So let us take a look below at the Impatiens cultivation techniques we have carefully recommended for you, hoping they can be of help to you.

Cultivation techniques for Impatiens

Impatiens, also known as Xiaotaohong and Jixingzi, is an annual herbaceous flower of the Balsaminaceae family. The plant is 30 cm to 80 cm tall, with a fleshy, smooth stem, and single, lanceolate leaves with serrated edges. The flowers are large, shaped like a lively phoenix with head, feet, tail and wings all turned upward, which is how Impatiens got its name. But in the United States, Impatiens has a very amusing English name, “Touchmenot”. It means “Don't touch me!” Indeed, the ripe Impatiens fruit is like a miniature bomb; if touched lightly, the fruit immediately “explodes” and ejects the seeds. Impatiens is a widely cultivated herbaceous flower with a great variety of colors, including purple, red, pink, rose red and white, and some flowers are bicolored with several colors on one bloom; the petals are single or double, and the flowering period is long, from June all the way into late autumn. Although its flowers are not rich and luxurious, they are elegant and poised, natural and unconstrained.

Impatiens is native to China and India. It is robust and highly adaptable and can be grown in all kinds of soil. Generally, seeds are sown in spring, seedlings are raised and transplanted, and after planting out, when the plant is 10 cm to 20 cm tall, pinching can encourage more branches and more flowers; during the growing period, apply liquid fertilizer 1 to 2 times as appropriate.

In Chinese folk tradition, Impatiens petals have been used since ancient times to dye fingernails, hence the name “Nail Flower”. For example, Li Yuying, a singing girl of the Tang Dynasty, was good at playing the pipa, and she liked to use Impatiens petals to dye her long nails bright red. When playing, she held the pipa half hiding her face, gently plucking the strings with her bright red long nails, and the pipa produced melodies as beautiful as a mountain stream, amazing countless princes and nobles. Her playing was called “falling flowers and flowing water”.

Impatiens, also known as Xiaotaohong and Jixingzi, is an annual herbaceous flower of the Balsaminaceae family. The plant is 30 cm to 80 cm tall, with a fleshy, smooth stem, and single, lanceolate leaves with serrated edges. The flowers are large, shaped like a lively phoenix with head, feet, tail and wings all turned upward, which is how Impatiens got its name. But in the United States, Impatiens has a very amusing English name, “Touchmenot”. It means “Don't touch me!” Indeed, the ripe Impatiens fruit is like a miniature bomb; if touched lightly, the fruit immediately “explodes” and ejects the seeds. Impatiens is a widely cultivated herbaceous flower with a great variety of colors, including purple, red, pink, rose red and white, and some flowers are bicolored with several colors on one bloom; the petals are single or double, and the flowering period is long, from June all the way into late autumn. Although its flowers are not rich and luxurious, they are elegant and poised, natural and unconstrained.

Plant morphology of Impatiens

Impatiens

Annual upright herb, about 60 cm tall. Stem thick and fleshy. Leaves alternate; lanceolate, about 10 cm long, apex long-acuminate, margin deeply serrate, base cuneate; petiole with glands. Flowers bisexual, axillary, pink, red, purple, white or variegated, single or double; sepals 3, 2 lateral with green tips, 1 lower, large and petal-like, spurred; petals 5, the upper 1 (standard petal) round, apex concave with a small sharp point, the two pairs of lateral petals (wings) each fused on one side to form 2 pieces; stamens 5, fused and surrounding the ovary; ovary superior, 5-locular, stigma 5-lobed. Capsule pubescent, dehiscing elastically when ripe into 5 spirally curling valves. Seeds flat ovate-round, about 2 mm in diameter, brown. Flowering period June-August. Fruit ripening period September.

Distributed in most areas of the country. Mostly planted in courtyards for ornamental use.

The roots (Impatiens root), flowers (Impatiens flower) and seeds (Jixingzi) of this plant are also used medicinally; see the respective specialized entries for details. The dried stem is one of the medicinal materials of Tougucao; see the "Tougucao" entry for details.

Biological characteristics of Impatiens

Balsaminaceae annual, biennial or perennial flowers, stems smooth, brittle and juicy, nodes often swollen, no stipules, generally alternate, opposite, upper leaves often whorled, glands between the petioles, flowers bisexual, zygomorphic, solitary in leaf axils or slightly clustered, sepals 3, rarely 5, the two lateral ones small and green, the lower one large, petal-like, saccate, extending downward into a spur; petals 5, or fused from 2 pairs into 3 unequal pieces. Capsule, splitting into 5 valves when ripe, the valves spirally twisting and ejecting the seeds. Impatiens hawkeri: subshrub, plant height ranging from 20 cm to 1 m, branches with red stripes, leaves alternate, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, petiole long, leaf margin crenate, with a bristle between the teeth. Flowers solitary or 2 clustered in leaf axils, sepals 3, lateral sepals small and scale-like, petals 5, wings 2 deeply cleft, spur slender and curved, about 3.5 cm long.

Propagation and cultivation of Impatiens

Both sowing and cutting propagation are possible. Sowing can be done in all four seasons, either by broadcasting or by dibbling; for dibbling use a 128-cell plug tray, the suitable sowing temperature is about 20°C, and seedlings emerge in about 1 week. Cuttings can also be taken year-round; select robust growing shoots, cut off about 8 cm as cuttings, keep the temperature at 20°C, and they root in about 20 days; water cuttings in summer also root easily. When sown seedlings are 5 cm tall, carry out the first transplanting into 8 cm nutrient pots, and when about 12 cm tall, plant them out into 15 cm pots; the soil is a mix of peat soil 2, vermiculite or river sand 1, and furnace slag 1, with an appropriate amount of sheep manure etc. added as base fertilizer. For the few species and varieties with poor branching, such as Impatiens hawkeri, the tips should be pinched appropriately during the seedling stage. High temperature and dryness will make Impatiens leaves thicker and not spread out, with shortened internodes, affecting the plant shape and even stopping growth in severe cases; therefore, keep the environment cool during the summer and provide appropriate shade, as overly strong sunlight will scorch the leaves, while overly weak light will make the plant leggy, with thinner leaves and light green leaf color. To have flowers for “National Day”, besides choosing more heat-tolerant varieties, you can also sow in June, and in July and August place the young seedlings on a mountain at about 800 m altitude to spend the summer. In winter and spring, Impatiens needs sufficient light, so no shading is needed. During the growing period, ensure a supply of water; especially in summer, water in good time and sufficiently, keeping the potting soil moist but not waterlogged; when the potting soil dries out, the plant easily wilts, and watering only after it shows wilting easily causes rot. Waterlogging easily causes root rot. Throughout the growing season, maintain a certain air humidity; in summer, you can spray water on the leaves and the ground to increase air humidity. Apply a light fertilizer once every 10 days; to control plant height and shape, besides applying more nitrogen fertilizer in the early stage, control the application of nitrogen fertilizer before and after flowering.

Pests and diseases of Impatiens and their control

① Damping-off

It mainly harms young stems. At first, water-soaked spots appear at the base of the young stem, then the lesions become light brown to brown and sunken and constricted. The diseased part quickly spreads to encircle the young stem, causing the seedling to lodge and die from the stem base while the leaves are still emerald green. Finally it rots or dries up. The disease is mainly caused by Pythium aphanidermatum, and also by Rhizoctonia solani. The pathogen overwinters in the soil or on diseased residues, and spreads by water droplets splashing and by seeds. Control: disinfect the soil before sowing; do not sow too densely; control watering after emergence and keep the soil slightly dry; strengthen the ventilation of the environment; avoid continuous cropping. After the disease occurs, use chemicals in good time; 75% chlorothalonil at 600 times, 50% carbendazim at 500 times, and 40% phosethyl-Al at 200-400 times all have good effects; spray once a week, and when spraying, besides the stems and leaves of the potted plants, also spray the surrounding ground.

② Powdery mildew

It mainly harms the leaves. In the early stage of the disease, small white powdery patches appear on the leaf surface, then the leaf surface is covered with a white powdery layer; by early autumn, yellow small round spots appear in the white powdery layer, and finally the small round spots turn dark brown and the diseased leaves wither and yellow. In severe cases it can spread to the stems, flower buds and capsules, which also develop a white powdery layer, and finally the flower buds and capsules stop growing and wither. The pathogen of this disease is the powdery mildew fungus Sphaerotheca xanthii, a fungus; the pathogen overwinters on diseased residues and in seeds, and spreads by wind and water. Strengthen cultivation management, keep the environment well ventilated, apply less nitrogen fertilizer, apply more potassium fertilizer and calcium, remove diseased leaves in good time, and once the disease occurs, use chemicals in good time; you can spray 15% triadimefon at 1000 times or 70% thiophanate-methyl at 1000 times.

③ Phytophthora blight

It mainly occurs on plants after the seedlings are planted out, harming the stems and roots. First, water-soaked dark green to light yellow patches appear on the tender stems or stem base, then they develop into dark brown rot; the lesions encircle the stem, causing the plant to break and fall over at the diseased part, and sometimes white silky matter, which is the mycelium of the pathogen, can be seen on the diseased part. The disease is caused by infection by Phytophthora infestans; the pathogen often overwinters in the soil with diseased residues, and spreads through soil and water splashing as well as wind. Control: give priority to prevention, first soil disinfection, and second improving the cultivation environment. Chemical control must be timely; available chemicals include 80% phosethyl-Al at 500 times, 25% metalaxyl at 500-800 times, 1% Bordeaux mixture, and 0.1%-0.2% copper sulfate solution.

④ Mosaic disease

It mainly harms the leaves. After the leaves are infected there are two kinds of symptoms: one is that the leaves become smaller, wrinkled, with distorted leaf margins, and the leaf surface has spots alternating dark green and yellow-white, while old leaves turn yellow, the flowers are small and shrunken, and the petals are variegated; in severe cases the plant is stunted. The second is that the veins turn chlorotic, grayish-white and semi-transparent, then become mottled and clustered, with the leaf margins slightly curling upward. The pathogens of this disease are mainly turnip mosaic virus and cauliflower mosaic virus. It spreads through sap and various aphids. Control: strengthen cultivation management, keep the environment clean, remove diseased plants in good time, and reduce human transmission during operations. To control virus-transmitting insects, insecticides etc. can be used.

⑤ Southern blight

It is caused by the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii; for symptoms and control see the orchid section. Impatiens blooms in all four seasons, with abundant flowers and brilliant colors, and a suitable plant height; it can be arranged in homes and meeting venues etc., and can also be placed outdoors to make large flower beds.

Name explanations: Jixingzi, Zaozhenzhu, Jinfenghua, Xiaotaohong, Jiazhutao, Hai, Ran Zhijia Cao, Jubi.

Odor: (seed) slightly bitter, warm, slightly toxic.

(flower) sweet, slippery, warm, non-toxic.

(root, leaf) bitter, sweet, pungent, slightly toxic.