| Author | Content |
TheHebe
Jewett, OH
August 6, 2008
2:36 AM Post #5375553
| This is growing up out of my scrap wood pile. Would seem ashame to simply whack it down!
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
TheHebe
Jewett, OH
August 6, 2008
2:37 AM Post #5375554
| Another photo of same plant 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
suse
Bretten
(Germany)
August 6, 2008
4:26 AM Post #5375647
| Wow, Impatiens capensis.
Please save the seeds for the seed trade. It's such a wonderful much sought annual plant. Needs cold to germinate, best sown in autumn. |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
August 6, 2008
9:41 AM Post #5376297
| A lot of people swear by it for treating poison ivy, so definitely something worth holding on to! |
RosemaryA
Toronto
(Canada)
August 6, 2008
12:00 PM Post #5376972
| I agree. Some common names are Jewelweed and touch-me-not, so named because when you touch the seedpods, they explode!
Here's the PlantFiles page: [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] |
NHVineLover
Manchester, NH
August 16, 2008
2:19 PM Post #5422993
| One man's junk is another man's treasure. Here in NH it's treated like an invasive weed, overgrowing bogs and stagnant waterways. They're fun to watch go pop, but are never included in the landscape plantings because with every "POP" there are more weeds to deal with!
It's a cool plant, though. |
Windy
Belleville, IL
(Zone 6a)
August 16, 2008
3:09 PM Post #5423133
| I would check out the Plantfiles posts to see what negative or positive things are said about it.
It grows at the edge of the creek near my home and from the popping noises it makes when wind blows I think it probably would get out of hand in a general garden setting. I leave it for the wild.
Balsamina impatiens is a variety that takes sun and is ok for the garden as it reseeds it can be easily plucked out. Hummers like the balsamina flowers which come in a variety of colors. |
suse
Bretten
(Germany)
August 16, 2008
6:09 PM Post #5423721
| Here in Germany it seems to grow very seldom in culture, only in Botanic Gardens. Never heard to be found in the wild...
I don't know why seeds germinate very few only. Only when cold stratified there is some success. |
Metrosideros
Keaau, HI
August 16, 2008
6:35 PM Post #5423810
| I guess an old name for this plant is Impatiens biflora. That is what Britton & Brown, "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada" describes it as. |
LEO88
Big Rapids, MI
(Zone 4b)
August 16, 2008
7:10 PM Post #5423948
| "Biflora" references the fact that the plant produces both cleistogamous (self-fertilized), and chasmogamous (cross-fertilized) flowers. If you look closely near the bottom of the plant in late season...you will find the small, self-fertilized flowers. |
threegardeners
North Augusta, ON
(Zone 5a)
August 16, 2008
7:24 PM Post #5424014
| I've got the stuff growing everywhere!! Mine are more orange though... 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
suse
Bretten
(Germany)
August 16, 2008
7:28 PM Post #5424044
| I would like to look very much if I ever would have it... |
Badseed
Lynchburg, OH
(Zone 6a)
August 17, 2008
10:09 AM Post #5426025
| I first saw these plants at the woods edge when I was at a soccer game several years ago. I had to post it for ID. I could not get the seeds to germinate. We bought a small farm in 2005 and there are tons of these growing between the barn and the chicken coop. I still think they are lovely plants and enjoy them where nature put them, rather than my gardens. :) |
imzadi
Jackson, SC
(Zone 8a)
August 17, 2008
10:41 AM Post #5426150
| i have been looking for these to grow in the back of my property for the ivy. also my hubby loves this plant but cant find it anywhere here. even the nurseries dont sell seeds or the plant. |
gardenpom
Melbourne, FL
(Zone 9b)
August 17, 2008
11:33 AM Post #5426393
| I just saw some for sale on Ebay. |
Eggs_Zachtly
Washington, MO
(Zone 5b)
August 19, 2008
7:50 PM Post #5438591
| It's rampant here. And, yes, the seeds need a cold period (they also don't store well). Also yes, rubbing the sap from a cut stem on poison ivy-infected skin helps (if you apply it soon after exposure).
Good luck capturing the seed, too. =) |
teachnkids
Valencia, PA
(Zone 5b)
August 20, 2008
5:11 PM Post #5443124
| We have these all over our property too. I was going to post a picture for ID, but now I don't have to. They do have an interesting, but very pretty little flower.
Question: The ones on our property are rather tall and leggy. I grew up in Guatemala and regular impatients got tall and leggy there. The solution was to pinch them back when they got to be the desired height. This created more compact bushy plants. Can I do the same here? |
Metrosideros
Keaau, HI
August 20, 2008
5:35 PM Post #5443208
| All Impatiens tend to bush-out when you pinch off the apical stem. |
teachnkids
Valencia, PA
(Zone 5b)
August 20, 2008
5:39 PM Post #5443213
| Thank you very much. I'll be looking forward to bushy little impatients next year. |
