Last year virtually every Canadian who grew impatience flowers was devastated by the air-born disease Downy Mildew. Perhaps your impatiens flowered up till mid summer, but then (for the most part) they collapsed.
If you find yourself wondering what annual flowers make suitable substitutes for impatiens, I am here to help. This is, quite frankly, the most asked garden question on my website.
For sun:
- Petunias - Not the same old petunias that my Dad grew, which needed to be cut back come mid summer to encourage further flowering -the new varieties are much like the popular 'Wave' petunias that have been available for over 10 years now. You may buy them in flower and they will keep going on and on all summer long providing you continue to feed them with 20-20-20 water soluble plant fertilize or the 'Feed and Forget' products that you apply only once. Petunias are heavy feeders!
- Vinca - not the ground cover 'periwinkle' type, but the large flowering vincas that perform so well in the sun. they take a period of dryness quite well also, so they could be termed 'low maintenance'.
- Fibrous begonias - Suitable for sun OR shade. They flower all summer long, create a mounded 10 to 12 inch [25 to 30 cm] plant and they look great right up until the hard frost of late fall.
- Hanging geraniums and zonal geraniumns - Tough, flower all season and you can afford to ignore them while you go to the cottage over the weekend as they generally don't mind drying out between watering.
Shade:
- Top of my list for shade is coleus - This is another family of plants that has been improved upon in recent years. For 'best value for money' try the Kong series which grows to a monstrous meter high and wide when planted in rich loose soil. Another heavy feeder (like petunias)
- Fuschia - This is a plant that demands high humidity and does not like either wind or direct sunlight. However, when it performs well there is nothing like it. A great attractant to hummingbirds also.
- Tuberous begonias - The 'Rose of the Shade' - Large, rose-like blossoms that are unstoppable in part shade. Enjoy the most vibrant colours imagainable
Who knows, after you try some of these substitutes you may be very pleased with the change from impatience!
