New Guinea Impatiens in Hanging
Baskets
Impatiens in general do very well in hanging baskets and planters –
they add great color and are so easy care. Impatiens are free flowering
but they can get a little messy when the spent flowers fall and go brown
on other flowers.
Impatiens are ideal for side planting as they have an upright growth
habit. Sideplanting allows you to create ball of color.
For more on side-planting and how to create a hanging basket of
impatiens click here. There are different types of impatiens available
from New Guinea to Trailing Impatiens.
New Guinea Impatiens
New Guinea Impatiens have become increasingly popular since their
introduction to the U.S. in the early 1970s. Grown in hanging baskets or
as container plants for planters or window boxes they are ideal. New
Guinea impatiens are actually from New Guinea.
They have green, bronze, or variegated leaves larger than the more
common impatiens. They also have larger flowers up to 3 inches in
diameter. They come in a great range of colors from white and pale pink
to bright pink, red, violet, orange and even purple.
How to make a hanging basket of impatiens New Guinea Impatiens
need free draining soil, so they just love being grown in hanging
baskets.
The secret to having them thrive is all about where you position your
baskets.
Hanging Baskets of New Guinea impatiens will perform best in a sheltered
position, one that receives plenty of morning sun and lots of afternoon
shade. They will not do well in windy spots or in hot afternoon sun.
Plants that receive too much sun will not bloom well, and if your
basket dries out for too long between watering they will stress, and
flowering will be delayed. They like it warm but not too hot or too
cold so their ideal temperatures are between 68F to 75F. They really do
not like it colder than 60F or hotter than 80F. Cold and wet soil will
cause then to stress and even too rot – so we suggest watering your
baskets first thing in the morning if your temperatures are still on the
cool side – between 60-68F.
Ensure you add a good slow-release fertilizer into your soil prior to
planting.
Plants will wilt badly if your basket gets too dry. Wilted plants will
recover quickly when watered, but the stress of not having enough water
can often result in flower buds falling off and thus fewer flowers till
the plants recover. Stress due to lack of watering can also cause
browning of leaf margins and even the leaves too drop.
New Guinea impatiens in hanging baskets or planters should be
fertilized approximately every 2 weeks with a water soluble fertilizer.
Trailing Impatiens
An excting development in Impatiens is that trailing impatiens are
now available.
The Simply Beautiful Fanfare Impatiens series is one of these. These
impatiens actually trail so look incredible in hanging baskets and
containers. They also have one major added bonus – they handle heat
better than common Impatiens. For more on trailing impatiens click
here.
http://gardening.about.com/od/plantprofiles/a/SB_Impatiens_2.htm
|
