I tried a new impatiens this year. Some of my flowerbeds are losing the light battle to a huge oak tree, and I’m having more difficulty growing robust annuals in those areas. The beds receive several hours of sunlight in the morning and again in the late afternoon so I don’t want to switch to astilbes and hostas quite yet.
There’s a series of impatiens from Park Seed that are more sun-tolerant. I sprouted a couple of the colors from the Sunny Lady series this spring. This is ‘Sunny Lady Salmon Shimmer’:
I was suspicious at first, but my plants were put to the test right away. The oaks leafed out very late this year so my impatiens got full sun for their first several weeks in the garden. Not one of the plants ever flagged or looked distressed. Even in 90-degree temperatures they handled the scorching sun effortlessly.
Sunny Lady impatiens grow 8 to 10 inches high. The flowers are very large and the petals are diamond-dusted. Like other impatiens they are self-cleaning so their only demand is to be watered occasionally.