start date for hybrid impatiens

20 years ago

Hi All,

I grew the Busy Lizzie impatiens last year on March 13th as my start date and all went well. This year, I have a hybrid called Accent Sunrise Mix that says to start Jan 25th-Mar 15th. I was wondering about the different start dates, since if Busy Lizzie would have grown out of her pots if I started in Jan.

I was going to try a start date of Feb 28th with the Accent impatiens. How does this sound? I am putting them out in a cold frame for a couple weeks, prior to planting them in the garden May 22nd. (A little early in my zone, but I cover them with sheets, etc to protect against any frost.)

Denise ,

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

MrImpatiens
20 years ago
Sounds like a good start date to me. You do get pretty cold up there. I have seedlings popping up everywhere right now. Sunrise mix is a very nice choice very pretty flowers.
shrubs_n_bulbs
20 years ago
I sow Impatiens in January since I find they need extra time both to germinate and grow to bedding size. Others plant as little as 8 weeks before last frost. I think warm growing conditions and better light (possibly more fertiliser) accounts for the difference in growing speed. Mine are grown in natural light and quite cool conditions.
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kdjoergensen
20 years ago
It depends on your indoors growing temperature.

If you have a fairly warm basement (basically do not fall below 60 deg F), 8 weeks prior to planting out for accent impatiens are more than enough time. When greenhouse sown where night temperatures can go into the 50's and even 40's then a longer period would be warranted.

In any event, unless you have really cool night temperatures, then I recommend waiting until maximum 10 weeks before planting out. If this date is june 1st in your area (or even june 15th ?) then starting by march 15th would create a monster of a plant unless you can transplant to 6" pots ??

I.e. if you grow your impatiens relatively warm (above 60 deg F night temperatures) no more than 8-10 weeks MAX. If you grow your impatiens cooler then a few more weeks, but do not start them in january. These dates given on the packages are general information to cover multiple zones...