Question

plant   QUESTION: Hi Ms Melissa,

 May I know what's the ID of this Impatien hybrid?(see att.image) And what is the care required?

Regards

ANSWER: Dear Alfredo, I believe (99.5%) sure, that this is a New Guinea impatiens.  I love these plants they get pretty good sized for impatiens.  They still grow in the shade as do the other impatiens, but the really great part about this plant is the flower.  The blooms are unbelievably bright.  They can be bright red, fuchsia, orange (my favorite), white, or lavender and they are large, very bright, and bloom for a very long time.  Be sure to feed well, especially with high middle number fertilizer, don't leave is standing water but always keep it moist, and you will be very pleased with this one.  I just bought my neighbor an orange one about a month ago and it has bloomed a lot every day since then.  Good luck, Melissa

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QUESTION: Hi Ms Melissa,

   Thanks for great advice=] Actually I'm quite apphrensive on keeping this plant healthy since its natural habitat is at the highlands while my balcony is in a tropical region, Singapore.

ANSWER: Dear Alfredo, I don't think you have anything to worry about.  It is barely above sea level here, and can get very hot in the summer (up to around 105-110 and HUMID) and I have seen it planted in commercial landscapes.  Besides being beautiful, the New Guinea impatiens is also very easy to grow.  Just let me know if you have any problems, but I doubt that you will.  These are very rewarding because they bloom so much and very little affects them.  Melissa

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QUESTION: Hi Ms Melissa,

  Really appreciate your great advice and expertise=] I believe you have seen my balcony, so I guess the light level is suitable for the New Guinea Impatien? Also, is the plant perennial? I'm always at loss when I see signs of plants dying back, for eg. Gloxinia and Chilli plant.

Answer
Dear Alfredo, Your balcony will be absolutely perfect.  It will have a gorgeous show of color for you.  From my understanding of impatiens, they will survive for very long periods of time so long as they don't freeze.  In this respect they are much like begonias.  In this area, bronze leaf begonias are planted as annuals in commercial and home landscaping because they are beautiful and do well in the hot weather.  They freeze in the winter, and then the landscapers plant pansies.  But if you buy a begonia for a houseplant, you can keep it alive indefinitely because you keep it from freezing.  I have grown many impatiens in the garden, and some of them will even survive the winter, and the New Guinea impatiens is just an exotic type of impatiens.  So it will survive as long as it doesn't freeze.  At times, it may become leggy and slow down blooming and you just prune it back and give it fertilizer at that time and when it starts blooming, or every two weeks give it a feeding.  Chillis are frustrating because the plants will eventually play out, and gloxinias have to have a rest period and they don't always come out of it well, but even if your New Guinea impatiens starts really falling apart which doesn't happen often, you can make cuttings which root VERY quickly, and start your plant back up.  Good luck and let me know how it goes and what color it is.  Melissa