As one of the oldest and most consistently popular indoor plants, Impatiens is considered easy to grow for a reason. If popular opinion is to be believed, Impatiens indoors is unpretentious and hardy enough to suffer only from severe care failures. Even children can grow it easily. It would be a mistake to see it as a simpleton. Impatiens have basic care requirements from which it is best not to deviate. Serious failures in watering, fertilizing and pruning will prove disastrous for the plant. You will learn 5 Mistakes of Growing Impatiens Indoors in the ThumbGarden article.

A member of the Balzamin family, Impatiens (Touch-me-not) is a small perennial herb that tends to deteriorate rapidly. For this reason, it is usually grown as an annual. Impatiens develop rapidly, grow sprawling, shed their lower leaves, and grow easily to about 20 inches (50 cm) unchecked.
Impatiens’ abundant flowers are its main trump card. Busy Impatiens blooms from mid-spring to late fall and, with proper care, all year long. The choice of varieties – simple or massive, dappled or bright foliage, white, pink, or red flowers – makes it possible for anyone to find their favorite.

Vanka wet, Spark, or Nedotroga (Impatiens) is a houseplant. And very simple, but with surprises. It is a true tropical animal and its requirements for feeding conditions clearly reveal its origins. After all, you must recreate in your Impatiens room the subtropical and tropical regions of Asia and Africa. It grows fast and loses its shape quickly, requiring some attention and control. Because of its speed of development, Impatiens-like drugs can recover perfectly, but not after all the problems and only if you respond very quickly to the signals.

Impatiens do not have many requirements, the specific requirements are as follows.

1. Good lighting.
2. A warm room from spring to autumn, cool in winter.
3. A narrow pan.
4. a loose, breathable soil mixture.
5. a layer of good drainage.

Let’s take a look at the most common mistakes in caring for Impatiens and how to correct them.

LACK OF PROTECTION FOR IMPATIENS EXPOSED TO DIRECT SUNLIGHT

Impatiens bloom only in bright light, and some varieties are adapted to semi-light, but more often Impatiens are kept on the windowsill. However, while Impatiens do well on the brightest windowsills in spring and autumn, this lighting must be corrected from mid-May to September.
The hot summer sun can be dangerous for Impatiens. Foliage and flowers are affected by direct light. And, unless care includes installing screens or other preventive methods (moving behind a bay window, away from windows, moving to a new place, taller plant neighbors), the problem cannot be avoided.

UNDERESTIMATION OR OVERESTIMATION OF IMPATIENS’ MOISTURE-LOVING NATURE

Sensitive to drought and lack of soil moisture, Impatiens reacts quickly even if the substrate is slightly dry. It wilts before your eyes, turns yellow, and sheds its leaves and flowers. The bush will come back to life in the morning, but the drought will not affect the leaves. The main purpose of watering this plant was, and still is, to keep it fresh all the time. However, overwatering is one of the worst mistakes in the quest for consistently high soil moisture.

Being a water-loving plant does not mean that Impatiens can tolerate humidity, although it gets rid of excess water by producing droplets on the edges of its leaves and stems. Moist herbs do have an increased need for watering. However, they cannot interfere with the permeability of the soil, causing it to become waterlogged or stagnant. This will inevitably lead to rot and the spread of disease. Make sure that excess water is drained from the tray 5 minutes after watering.

But this alone is not enough to water Impatiens properly.

1. Water Impatiens frequently to control the dryness of the soil. In summer, it should be allowed to dry only slightly at the top, and in winter, the top 1 inches (2.5 cm) should be dried out.
2. The most even and high-quality watering without extremes can be achieved by watering in small amounts, splitting the watering into 2-3 times.

IMPATIENS’ WATERING PROBLEM

Maintaining a steady and sufficiently high soil moisture level is usually considered the only thing this plant needs. However, substrate moisture does not in any way reduce the Impatiens tree’s love of moist air. Of course, there is no need to install a special humidifier for indoor Impatiens. But they respond so positively to sprays that it’s not worth excluding them from care.
If the plant is flowering, spray it with warm water only, and only on the leaves. Make sure the water does not drip onto the buds and petals. Impatiens will also appreciate the occasional warm stream, especially during the active growth phase before flowering, or during the heat of the day.

INADEQUATE VENTILATION OF IMPATIENS INDOORS

Ideally, even indoor Impatiens should ideally be placed outside in the warmer months. Shrubs placed on balconies or in gardens have an abundance of flowers and green beauty unmatched by their indoor counterparts. However, outdoors, Impatiens is considered a shade-loving plant.
If there is no other place to put Impatiens in the summer, place them in a window that is permanently or frequently opened so they can enjoy fresh air continuously.

When placed purely indoors, Impatiens will not grow properly if there is no ventilation, no matter what time of year. This should be done regularly, even in cooler times, to protect the shrubs from the wind. Impatiens should grow with access to fresh air. The more stagnant the air in the room, the more bare the Impatiens will be, and the more they will lose their leaves and age.
It is also worth pointing out that air circulation around bushes is just as important for Impatiens trees as it is for roses. Instead of placing these breadcrumbs close to other plants, allow air to flow freely on all sides.

REFUSE TO PRUNE IMPATIENS PLANTS

Impatiens’ delicate shoots do not need any complicated pruning techniques to show you how best to keep their shape. Simple pruning – is an often-overlooked measure, pruning only the tops of seedlings and young plants.
To ensure that Impatiens plants remain compact and lush, and therefore also bloom tirelessly for a long time, every new shoot on the plant, even the side shoots, should be pruned. By pruning, the central shoots are restricted in their growth. Shape them throughout the active growing season.

If an Impatiens deforms or begins to flower sparsely and you do not have suitable overwintering conditions, it is best to propagate the bush and grow a replacement from cuttings. Impatiens are surprisingly easy to propagate. Cuttings can simply be rooted in water. With this simplicity, any neglected Impatiens can be replaced with new Impatiens in small groups over the course of the year.