Impatiens & SunPatiens tutorial. Updated SPRING 2022

[KingstonKoi]

It was wonderful having Steve and Monte visit today and give me feedback on the pond, it’s filtration and my fish. Having two koi experts in your backyard is real treat. I’m so grateful for this forum and especially, Nancy, to you for starting the thread on growing impatiens in water. It turned out to be a wonderful way to add color to the pond without a lot of work. Even my husband observed that it was hard to believe that these things started out as two inch seedlings. Each group of three tiny plants now provided an area 3 feet wide of continuous color. Easiest gardening I’ve ever done.

[gray cat]

I (conveniently ) forgot the selfie but wow, what a beautiful pond and setting! Huge rocks make up a long natural stream that the
is a perfect spot for the impatiens and they're growing like crazy!
The stream feeds the pond which is home to a host of koi. Monte (montwila) visited too since Sue promised to make us lunch.
Enjoy the pics and thanks for a great visit Sue!

It's hard to get a sense of the size and scale, but the statue is about 5' tall!

Thank you Steve for the great pics of Sue's beautiful pond. Good to see a pic of Sue & Monte too. Sounds like you all had a great visit.

[gray cat]

It was wonderful having Steve and Monte visit today and give me feedback on the pond, it’s filtration and my fish. Having two koi experts in your backyard is real treat. I’m so grateful for this forum and especially, Nancy, to you for starting the thread on growing impatiens in water. It turned out to be a wonderful way to add color to the pond without a lot of work. Even my husband observed that it was hard to believe that these things started out as two inch seedlings. Each group of three tiny plants now provided an area 3 feet wide of continuous color. Easiest gardening I’ve ever done.

Sue, I am happy you all had a wonderful visit. Your pond, landscaping and Impatiens are just beautiful. I am glad the Impatiens have worked well for you. You are right, they are the easiest gardening to be able to have all of the blooms & colors. Best thing is you never need to water them.

I just love your long natural stream. Lot's of room for the Impatiens too. Keep the updated pics coming. I will post more of mine in a few days for August.

[cindy]

My impatiens did well in the waterfall. Thanks Nancy for the idea. In the back you can see some of my pawpaw fruit hanging down. * sorry it’s sideways *

[KingstonKoi]

Cindy, They look beautiful and the combination of pinks is gorgeous.

[hp]

My sunpatient this year ��

[gray cat]

My impatiens did well in the waterfall. Thanks Nancy for the idea. In the back you can see some of my pawpaw fruit hanging down. * sorry it’s sideways *

Cindy your Impatiens look so full & healthy. Love the colors too. Thanks for sharing them with us.

[gray cat]

My sunpatient this year ��

WoW!!! What a beautiful pond and SunPatiens!!! Your landscaping is wonderful. I love your swing area and your outdoor furniture. I can tell you have put lots of love & work into your yard and it shows!

Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

[KingstonKoi]

They look so beautiful and vibrant. The colors seem more intense than the regular impatiens. Beautiful landscaping.

[KingstonKoi]

In the two weeks since Monte and Steve came to visit, my impatiens have doubled again. At this point they block a walkway across the pond, and at one point fell into the stream blocking the water flow. When cutting them back I was amazed at how long and strong the stems are. I’ve seen nothing like it growing them in soil.

Note to self: next year plant only a dozen instead of two dozen.

[gray cat]

Sue your Impatiens are growing so fast! I love their colors. I know what you are saying about the stems. They are much thicker & stronger than when grown in dirt. I am so glad you have enjoyed growing them in your stream. I plant a 6 pack of Impatiens in a large pot of dirt to use as cuttings if something would happen to one of the plants in my pond. All 6 plants are not as big as one of the plants in the stream. If you ever need to use cuttings, you can root them right in your stream. Thanks for the pic. I will try to post a pic of my stream and plants this weekend.

[KingstonKoi]

Steve (icu2) warned me to remove impatiens from the water stream before the first frost because they turn to mush and are a major messy headache to remove at that point.

Since mine are blocking the water stream, I thought I’d see how hard they are to remove. Man, those roots have anchored in among rocks and are a PIA to pull out. After removing any rocks in front of or entwined with the roots, it was necessary to grasp all of the stems for a group of plants at once and pull with all my might. Eventually it came free. Based on this I will definitely get them out before the first frost. Never expected them to be so hard to remove.

[gray cat]

Steve (icu2) warned me to remove impatiens from the water stream before the first frost because they turn to mush and are a major messy headache to remove at that point.

Since mine are blocking the water stream, I thought I’d see how hard they are to remove. Man, those roots have anchored in among rocks and are a PIA to pull out. After removing any rocks in front of or entwined with the roots, it was necessary to grasp all of the stems for a group of plants at once and pull with all my might. Eventually it came free. Based on this I will definitely get them out before the first frost. Never expected them to be so hard to remove.

Sue, I am so glad Steve thought to tell you to remove the Impatiens before your first frost. They do turn to mush and it is a real mess to get them out.
It is amazing how large they can get and how sturdy the stems are!

You reminded me to get a end of the Summer pic of my Impatiens. I will try to take one today.

Did you remove all of yours?

[KingstonKoi]

Only removed half so far as I can’t bear to take them out all at once. They add so much color. So I’m going to do one batch a week over the next 4 to 5 weeks. That way I can continue to enjoy them and hopefully won’t strain my back all at once. Thanks for asking.

[gray cat]

Only removed half so far as I can’t bear to take them out all at once. They add so much color. So I’m going to do one batch a week over the next 4 to 5 weeks. That way I can continue to enjoy them and hopefully won’t strain my back all at once. Thanks for asking.

I know what you mean. I try to judge our first frost by watching the weather report closely. I am always sad to see them go.

[trumpetdoug]

Had to take ours out of the stream here in Northern Illinois. They were finished.

Doug - out

[gray cat]

Had to take ours out of the stream here in Northern Illinois. They were finished.

Doug - out

Hope they did well for you this year. Your pond & fish are so beautiful. I know you must miss all of that color in the Winter.

[gray cat]

I took these pics this week. It is hard to judge the size of the Impatiens from pics. They are at least three foot wide. They grew across my stream a month or so ago. I have had no problems with them this year at all. Same goes from my other plants. My lilies bloomed from late Spring to now. They have slowed down now. My pond has stayed 2/3 thirds covered with lily pads, Water Hyacinth, Parrots Feather and Water Lettuce. This protects the fish from heron & the hot sun. The Water Hyacinth had beautiful purple blooms in the pond. My first frost is the first of November but could be earlier at the end of October.

Please continue to post some pics of your Impatiens or let us know how they did this year.

[cindy]

I am so glad you all said to pull before frost. It was a job getting the roots out. Thank you.

[gray cat]

I am hoping to enjoy my Impatiens for the next 2 to 3 weeks before I pull them out. They survived the tropical storm Ian. The wind & rain mashed them down, but they have started standing back up now.
When I pull them out, I will try to remember to take a pic of their roots.