Take Care Of Impatiens Flowers In Winter For A More Colorful Spring

As tender perennials, impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) are typically grown as annuals in many regions. These beautiful blooms are only winter hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 and 11, and many people in colder locations will often leave them outside to die and replace them with new plants in the spring. However, these outdoor plants can be moved inside for the winter. This allows you to take care of them during the colder months, ensuring they are strong, healthy, and ready to bloom again for the new season. Furthermore, as frost tends to kill the blooms of this plant, bringing them indoors may allow you to enjoy their flowers for slightly longer.

To take care of your impatiens over winter, you need to move them indoors gradually to avoid shock and stress. As you want them to be inside before the first frost, this may take some planning. It is good to place them in a sheltered location, like a porch, for a week before moving them indoors. Then, check them over for insects or diseases. Place them in a location that has bright, but not direct sunlight. Normal home temperatures are suitable for impatiens, but placing them on a pebble tray can help increase humidity for the plant when indoors. This can help them stay happy and healthy over the drier winter months. 

By finding the perfect place for your impatiens with the right light, temperature, and humidity, you are already halfway there when it comes to winter care. However, you will need to tend to it during the season to ensure they survive. If they are continuing to grow, give them some food every few weeks. You should also stay on top of watering, giving them water when the soil dries out. Your impatiens may slow down growth during the winter, which means you should reduce watering. You may also notice leaves dropping, but this doesn't always mean they are dying. Rather, your plant might just be a bit stressed from being moved.

If you have the time and space, it may be fun to create new impatiens from your current flower. This will heighten your chances of having spring blooms, as the baby plants may survive even if the mother plant does not. Impatiens is an easy plant to propagate from cuttings and can be grown in either water or soil. Select healthy stems of 4 to 6 inches, ensuring that there are several nodes on the cuttings. Then, place them in room temperature water or a potting medium. 

By taking good care of your impatiens over the winter months and providing it with enough light, water, and warmth, you can ensure that your spring garden is full of color and life. And, if you do decide to propagate your impatiens, you will get double the blooms and a backup if the main plant doesn't make it to spring.