Last summer I was tickled with a new series of impatiens from Park Seed. The Sunny Lady series handles sun better than typical impatiens. I mentioned them in a post in mid-July when they were thriving during our first blast of heat and humidity. Little did I know that the heat would intensify and last for many more weeks.
The Sunny Lady impatiens were amazing. Mine were planted in an area that gets morning sun, some dappled shade between 11 and 2 and then full sun for several hours during the hottest part of the afternoon.
The plants were true champs. They never wilted like so many impatiens do when they are exposed to direct sun on a hot day. And they stayed in a nice mounded clump all summer long and never got leggy. When I try a new annual I usually plant just a few of the plants in case they don’t perform well. This is only 4 ‘Sunny Lady Salmon Shimmer’ plants:
As my flowerbeds have been overtaken by more and more shade, they are kind of in limbo. The spot is still too sunny and hot in the late afternoon for begonias and traditional impatiens, but plants like zinnias and cosmos don’t get enough sun and tend to look scraggly. The Sunny Lady impatiens could be the perfect solution to my problem.
This year, in addition to ‘Sunny Lady Salmon Shimmer’ I’m going to try other shades in the series including cranberry, deep pink, lilac and red.