Any tricks for planting impatiens as a marginal?

[Mmathis]

I've read that they do very well, even in full sun. I bought some, but when I went to plant them found that I didn't have any good spots where they would either stay put [anchored], or would be low enough to have constant access to the water [with out drowning them....]. So I just sorta stuck them where ever I could and said a prayer. Some are doing well for now, and can't wait to see the color all summer!

But, what's the BEST way to get them started as a pond marginal? Are they OK with the crowns submerged; are they OK if the roots only have intermittent water contact; do they like the roots always in the water?

 

[MoonShadows]

I don't think they like their roots to be in water.

The regular impatients usually don't do well in full sun.

New Guinea Impatients do well in full sun.

 

[MoonShadows]

They don't like to have wet roots even though they need a lot of water.

Regular Impatients usually do not do well in full sun. The recommendation is shade to part sun.

New Guinea Impatients do much better then the regular ones in part to full sun.

The flowers look basically the same. The leaves are different.

 

[Lisak1]

Gotta disagree with you @MoonShadows - I had one plant that floated away from where I planted it last year - it grew directly in the water. They LOVE having their roots wet. And when you plant them where they have constant access to water, they do great in full sun.

The top photo is my pondless waterfall and the bottom is from our pond waterfall - both get direct sun from 10AM to 6 or 7 PM.These are all growing with their roots right in the water. They go in almost bare root (I buy the flat that has like 24 or 36 plants, so they are small and have very little soil). I anchor them any old way I can or just stuff them between the rocks. I've never planted one that didn't grow. They are so easy! And you can't get a better color display:

 

[Lisak1]

I should have added @Mmathis - roots in the water, crown above. You'll find that they attract dirt and silt to themselves from the water so they create their own root ball as the season goes on.

I wish I had a picture of the stalks on these things - they are bigger around than my index finger by the time we've had a first frost in the fall.

 

[cas]

So how many plants did you start with in the pond waterfall @Lisak1 ?

 

[addy1]

I shook the dirt off, stuck them in water and they did great, I was not worried about the crown.

 

[Lisak1]

So how many plants did you start with in the pond waterfall @Lisak1 ?

That's probably three or four plants in that bottom photo. They get huge! Every year my husband says "let's do something different... " then I show him a picture. I don't know of much that would give you the same amount of color all summer long.

I actually did do marigolds one year - it was the year of the downy mildew or whatever it was and impatiens were impossible to buy - and they did great, too. I just have lots of marigolds in other parts of my garden - they are so forgiving and grow great no matter what. But I wouldn't bother with impatiens anywhere else because they need to be watered two - OR MORE - times per day. Too much work!

 

[brokensword]

I too one year just stuck some in my bog; feet in the water. They did fine even growing beneath the taller bog plants.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Gotta disagree with you @MoonShadows -

Depends on Latitude. Here in the South common Impatiens will grow in water as long as the crowns stay dry, but they still require some shade preferably afternoon.

 

[MoonShadows]

Gotta disagree with you @MoonShadows - I had one plant that floated away from where I planted it last year - it grew directly in the water. They LOVE having their roots wet. And when you plant them where they have constant access to water, they do great in full sun.

This is an eye opener for me. I always thought while they would grow in water, they wouldn't thrive, but I guess I am not taking into account nutrient rich pond water. I wonder if the nursery I buy them from carries another variety. Whenever I have tried to cheat and plant them in the sun, the leaves yellow and the flowers always look wilted.

 

[bagsmom]

I tried some sunpatiens around my waterfall. I used small planting bags and carefully funnelled some soil into them -- planted the small plants and rocked around. They are doing well, but I have had to pinch off some leaves that look like they are getting a bit of fungal disease due to the constant splashing.

One fun bit of info for all: Before planting, I pinched off the tops down to a lower two-leaf set. This made the plant easier to maneuver while planting and will also encourage more full, bushy growth. I felt bad just tossing the pinched-off tops, since they had buds, so I stuck in some vases of water.

They have TONS of root growth!!!!!! So my little 9 pack of sunpatiens will end up to be 15!!!!! They are super easy to propagate, apparently!

 

[Linus_Cello]

For those who grow impatients, no problems with Impatiens Downy Mildew (IDM)?

 

[bagsmom]

I think the sunpatiens are less susceptible to mildew -- but as I said, I have been grooming mine and see a few leaves that look funky.

 

[Mmathis]

This is an eye opener for me. I always thought while they would grow in water, they wouldn't thrive, but I guess I am not taking into account nutrient rich pond water. I wonder if the nursery I buy them from carries another variety. Whenever I have tried to cheat and plant them in the sun, the leaves yellow and the flowers always look wilted.

I thought the same thing, but a couple of years ago [on a different forum] they were talking about growing them in the pond and how well they thrived.

So far these have been planted as marginals for maybe a week and a half and most [the pink ones] seem to be tolerating the sun [full, southern sun]. I planted some white ones, but I'm not seeing them. They might be the ones I put too deep in the water. I stuck a few in my turtle bog. They are doing OK, but the ones in the pond seem to be doing better. Since the pond supplies water to the bog, the only differences in the 2 settings is that the ones in the bog are anchored in pea gravel while the ones in the pond are just.....there, wherever I could find a spot. I'll try to get some pics.