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Impatiens hawkeri
New Guinea impatiens is a flowering plant from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, mostly grown from bred hybrids sold as bedding and houseplants. Keep it warm, evenly moist and out of harsh sun for the best flowers.
Impatiens hawkeri, the New Guinea impatiens, is a species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae. It is native to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It has been bred and hybridized in cultivation to produce a line of garden plants.
It was first collected in the Territory of Papua in 1884 and soon became popular as a greenhouse plant. After its discovery, fifteen other similar New Guinea taxa were collected, all of which were later determined to be forms of I. hawkeri.
Plants with a great variety of flower and leaf colours are sold in nurseries. The species has been crossed with Impatiens aurantiaca and I. platypetala to improve characteristics such as drought resistance.
Impatiens arguta · Spotted snapweed · Jewelweed · Impatiens denisonii · Himalayan Balsam · Touch-me-not Balsam · Hardy Impatiens · Pale touch-me-not · Impatiens pseudoviola · Ceylon Balsam · Impatiens stenantha · Impatiens tinctoria
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Impatiens hawkeri by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
