Impatiens in an AG?

[Liz]

I have an empty SS6 since my herb garden is done and I want to plant it with flowers.  I went a little crazy at watersuntogether and so have quite a few seed packets but the ones that are really calling to me are the impatiens (flavours hybrid strawberry).  They're a rich, luscious red and I think they'd be beautiful in a winter living room.

I've grown impatiens in hanging pots outside before but does anyone know whether it could be done in an AG?  And if so, how many of the six pods should I plant?

[shane arthur]

 i would plant all six holes with them, you can pinch off the tops and it will cause the plant to bush out. Six of them will give you a nice full looking garden. You could always remove some if need be. I think they would make a beautiful garden for sure. They are a very friendly plant.

[Liz]

Thanks for the advice, Shane.  I'm definitely going to do it and of course, if I have any luck, I'll post pictures.

[Liz]

They're planted, or at least I hope they are.  Those seeds are really tiny so I hope I got them where I intended because they were hard to see against the peat inserts.

[Bobbie]

I don't know why it wouldn't work other than that impatiens tend to like shade (they're about the only flower that will grow in our heavily treed yard.)

[Liz]

I hadn't thought about the shade.  The main thing I remember from growing them outside several years ago was how thirsty they are which shouldn't be a problem in the AG.

If anything good happens, I'll post pictures.

[Sharon]

Liz, I'd also love to plant impatiens.
How are yours doing?

[Liz]

Liz, I'd also love to plant impatiens.
How are yours doing?

Well, Sharon, they never sprouted.    I don't know what the problem was but I had just recently bought the seeds so I doubt they were old.  I've been planning to replant that AG with something else but I haven't done it yet.

[Sharon]

Awwwww, shucks. 
I love impatiens (because they're as easy-to-grow as they are pretty) but we can only grow them outside here for 5 months out of the year.

Has anyone else had success with impatiens?

Good luck with whatever else you decide to grow, Liz!

[wwwqueenlee]

  So far, so good.  I did a lot of research before I planted my impatiens because I really want this particular (bizzy lizzy) variety for my front (bright shade) yard.  I found out that they are finicky about the starting temperature, so did all kinds of things to keep that temp right around 70-75 degrees.  They also seem to want to sprout in the dark, so I covered them with aluminum foil.  They sprouted within a couple of days, but got spindly really fast.  They are up about an inch.  I have them in an AG7 in the master gardener kit and about 60 of them out of the 66 possible appear to be getting along.  They only have 2 leaves so far, so the jury is still pondering.  Will add a picture if they actually survive to planting time in NJ.

[wwwqueenlee]

OK - it can be done in an AG with a little finagling.  I had an unusual variety that's expensive to purchase in the quantity I need because I mass them in my front yard.  I put my seeds in an AG6, covered the AG with a 5 gal clear plastic critter carrier with a small stick-on Terrarium heater. (I did this to keep a constant 70-75 degree temp for the seedlings).   I put some netting over the plastic carrier to filter out some of the light and my impatiens are doing great.  They are now at about 5-6 weeks and have their first true leaves.  I transplanted the overgrowth into an AG Pro200 and the transplants are thriving too.  I posted some pictures on the Introduction forum if you want to see them.

[wwwqueenlee]

One other note.  I used a garden starter tray (you can get them for the SS6, too) and kept aluminum foil over the tray until the seeds sprouted (just a few days).  Then added the cover with heater.  They really want a greenhouse atmosphere until they are well started, it seems.  Here's a shot of the AG6 and the overgrowth transplants to the AG Pro200.  All are thriving as you see.

[shane arthur]

excellent! Great job making this work!