A Hardy Impatiens For Shade Gardens

Jun 30, 2018 | Gardens, Love This!

Imagine: A perennial for shade that isn’t a hosta or a fern! Can you imagine? After growing this hardy impatiens, we can say that it isn’t necessary to be big and bold, and we’re in love…

Name: Impatiens omeiana aka hardy impatiens

Type of Plant: A perennial in zone 6 that slowly spreads to form a nice, attractive group of foliage.

Why I Love this plant: Yes, it flowers with yellow blooms in late summer into fall, but the foliage alone is worth planting this Impatiens for. A bright spot for shady gardens.

A Word to the Wise: Grow this plant in well drained but fertile soil in part to full shade.

This perennial slowly spreads to form a sizable clump. Although it’s not quite weed-smothering, it does grow fairly robustly where it’s happy.

The combination of a bit of red in the stem, and the creamy white of the veins and ribs, make these leaves look lovely.

If you have a shade garden in zone 6 and above, you need Impatiens omeiana. Good “socks and shoes” for those large hostas…

3 Comments

  1. Deborah

    Hi C.L., Where could I find this hardy impatiens?

    Reply
    • CL Fornari

      I see that Digging Dog Nursery online has it right now. I bought mine from AvantGardensne.com, but I don’t see it listed there right now.

      Reply
  2. Don

    We are at in Zone 5, in Augusta, Maine and have had this plant for 3 years. No soecil treatment, it is the in our Hosta garden and it gets no Winter protection.

    Reply

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