This cottage-garden annual adds tropical flair to garden beds and containers.
Some garden balsam varieties offer single flowers with speckled centers.
Where to Plant Garden Balsam
Plant garden balsam in partial shade for the best blooms.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
It will tolerate full sun as long as it gets plenty of water or some shade in the afternoon.
Plant it in rich, well-draining soil.
It takes about 60 days from sowing the seed to the first blooms.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
These are tropical plants that won’t germinate in cold soil.
Sow the seeds on the soil surface but don’t cover them.
They need sunlight to germinate.
Credit: Denny Schrock
If the weather (or indoor temperature) is warm, they’ll germinate in a week.
After the seedlings have their first true leaves, thin them to 12 inches apart.
It thrives in full sun as long as it has some shade in the afternoon.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Part shade allows enough sun to promote good flowering and a dense habit.
In full shade, this plant still performs, but it develops sparse stems with fewer flowers.
Soil and Water
Easy-to-grow balsam prefers rich, organic,well-drained soilkept evenly moist at all times.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
It quickly bounces back from wilting but will succumb to leaf burn if it wilts too often.
If the soil dries out completely, the plant will die.
A layer of mulch will help prevent this.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Containers dry out quicker than garden beds, so water garden balsam in containers daily.
Temperature and Humidity
Garden balsam prefers a warm and humid environment with a temperature around 75F.
It won’t survive when the temperature drops into the 30s.
Fertilizer
Pruning
No pruning is necessary for garden balsam plants.
Both of these can be treated withneem oil.
When they are grown in soil that is overly wet, garden balsam candevelop powdery mildew.
Store them in a dry place until you are ready to plant.
Don’t cover the seeds.
Seeds also can be sown directly in the garden after the last spring frost.
When the seedlings are 4 to 6 inches tall, pinch off the tips to encourage branching.
Set out the seedlings after the last frost date.
No further care (other than supplemental watering as needed) is necessary.
‘Topknot’ Balsam
Impatiens balsamina’Topknot' is a different-looking garden balsam.
Its 2-inch, tightly-wound double blooms are held above the foliage at the top of the plant.
It grows 8-14 inches high.
The mottled colors often change in intensity depending on the amount of sunlight and heat.
These varieties are easy to growjust plant them in a shady but warm spot.
Give them enough water to keep the soil moist but not wet, and add a little fertilizer.
When frost threatens, pot them up and enjoy them as houseplants in a sunny window until spring.
Then plant them outdoors once again!
Impatiens
What would we do without impatiens?
It’sthe old reliable for shade gardenswhen you want eye-popping color all season long.
Its colorful foliage, in shades of chartreuse or purple, accents just about any other plant.
Grow a few together in a large pot, and they make a big impact all on their own.
Sweet potato vines do best during the warm days of summer and prefer moist, well-drained soil.
They thrive in sun or shade.
Leave the seed pods on the plant if you want it to reseed itself.
An heirloom plant has been around for a while.
