Soprano impatiens made their debut this year and I can truthfully say I wish every flower I planted was this easy to grow. They arrived in 2022 with four colors: Orange, Bright Red, Violet Shades and White. In 2023, Salmon and Rose will be added to the Soprano series.
If you have read any of my previous columns, you understand The Garden Guy is sun-challenged. It makes for great butterfly, hummingbird and pollinator photography, as I am always shooting to a backdrop of shade. The Soprano series has become a superstar to me, giving dazzling partnerships with hydrangeas, camellias, azaleas, hostas and ferns.
I suspect a generation of gardeners out there hasn’t tried the shadier impatiens. Proven Winners has elected to reference the Sopranos as bedding impatiens. That certainly is appropriate, as according to the famed Missouri Botanical Garden, they are the most popular bedding plant today. In past generations the name "Busy Lizzy" was commonly associated with the flowers.
The Soprano impatiens, according to the tag, reach 10 to 15 inches tall with a spread of 12 to 14. I have several beds, and most of mine are pushing 24 inches. This is absolutely wonderful, as they have almost an uncountable number of flowers. The Sopranos have definitely put the fun back into growing impatiens.
In my area of West Georgia, hydrangeas are most often a shade of blue and look their best if given protection from hot afternoon sun. I absolutely love Soprano impatiens grown in partnership with the big mop head hydrangeas and especially in areas where I have also incorporated hostas. The Salmon and Orange Sopranos are like, "holy wow," with the blue hydrangea blossoms.
In another area I alternated Salmon, Deep Red and Orange to create a Southwest or Santa Fe mix. This mix is in a bed up against a brick wall and also repeated nearby as a border in front of camellia sasanqua and fine fern leaf textured mahonia.
The Garden Guy has fallen head over heels with Crested Surf, a variety of Crested Japanese Painted Fern. I created an informal drift or sweep of the fern, then repeated the same shape with Soprano Rose in on one side and Soprano white on the other. I feel that one of the most exquisite ferns we can grow needs a beautiful partner too, and the Soprano impatiens are perfect.
I don’t think I have ever read that impatiens attract pollinators, but over the past two years I have photographed eastern tiger swallowtail, spicebush swallowtail and cloudless sulphur butterflies.
When you consider that the impatiens blooms from the time you plant it in the spring until the first hard frost, you are talking about an extremely good value for your landscape dollar. In my area of West Georgia, that is normally 210 days. What other plant can you name that will bloom for that long?
Soprano impatiens do best in part shade or full shade in a soil that is organic rich, fertile and well drained. Not everyone has such wonderful soil, so incorporate 3 to 4 inches of compost or humus to loosen the soil to provide a good home for your new plants. In most of my beds I have a good soil that was actually combined with pea gravel and surprisingly, the Soprano impatiens are loving it.
While working the soil, incorporate a slow-release fertilizer like a 12-6-6 blend with minor nutrients at a rate of two pounds per 100 square feet of planting area. Space them 8 to 12 inches apart, planting at the same depth they are growing in the container. Keep them watered and fed with light applications of fertilizer every four to six weeks and by fall you will have a look that just may rival the spring azalea bloom.
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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)
(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)
