How to Grow Impatiens
Impatiens At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Flower
Sun Exposure
Full Shade
Frost Tolerance
Frost Tender
Cold Hardiness
Survives to 5°C
Plant Family
Balsaminaceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Buy trays of young plants in late spring, and plant them out about 2 weeks after your last frost, once nights stay warm. Space them 25 cm apart in shade and moist soil, and choose types sold as resistant to downy mildew, or New Guinea impatiens.
Impatiens are the go-to flower for shade, blooming nonstop all summer where most flowers will not. They are self-cleaning, which means the old flowers drop off on their own, and they root so easily from cuttings that one plant can become many.
When To Start
Impatiens needs warmth. Wait until your last frost has passed and the soil has warmed before sowing.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Impatiens?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Impatiens Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Impatiens Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Plant impatiens out in shade once nights stay warm
2 weeks after your last frost· every year
Root impatiens cuttings in water to make more plants
60 days after your last frost· every year· optional
Water your new impatiens plants well while they settle in. Deep and slow is best.
About 1 days after you plant it
Hello! Impatiens wilt fast when dry, so keep the soil evenly moist in their shady spot.
About 30 days after you plant it
Looking great! Pinch back long stems to keep your impatiens full and bushy.
About 90 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Impatiens's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
25 cm
Plant Spacing
30 cm
Row Spacing
Vertical Growing
No.
Succession Planting
No.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Give impatiens part to full shade, since strong afternoon sun scorches them, though New Guinea types take more sun.
- 2Plant them in soil with plenty of compost, which holds moisture.
- 3Water whenever the top of the soil feels dry, and look at pots every day in hot weather, since the plants collapse fast when dry.
- 4Feed plants in pots with compost tea every 2 weeks to keep the flowers coming.
- 5Pinch the tips of young plants once to make them bushier.
- 6Water the soil, not the leaves, and leave space between plants for air to flow, which helps keep downy mildew (a white fuzz under yellowing leaves) away.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
30 cm
Mature Height
30 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
When to Pick
Blooms all summer in shade; self-cleaning, so no deadheading needed
How to Harvest
- 1Impatiens need no deadheading, since the plants drop their own spent flowers.
- 2If plants get tall and leggy in late summer, cut them back by about a third and they bush out again.
- 3Pull out any plant with white fuzz under its leaves and put it in the garbage, not the compost, so the disease does not spread.
- 4Before the first fall frost, take a few cuttings to grow indoors on a bright windowsill over winter.
- 5Pull the plants once frost blackens them and add them to the compost.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
Seed Production
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