Plant Finder

Moana Nursery High Desert Plant Finder & Guide

Other Names:  New Guinea Impatiens, Busy Lizzie, Busy Lizzy

Group/Class:  Petticoat® Series

Description:

A lovely upright mounded series featuring medium to large, colorful blooms over dark green foliage; ideal for garden beds, borders or containers; low maintenance and easy to grow; shade tolerant

Ornamental Features

Petticoat® Fire New Guinea Impatiens features bold orange round flowers at the ends of the stems from mid spring to early fall. Its pointy leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Petticoat® Fire New Guinea Impatiens is a dense herbaceous annual with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Petticoat® Fire New Guinea Impatiens is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Petticoat® Fire New Guinea Impatiens will grow to be about 8 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 8 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. This fast-growing annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year.

This plant does best in partial shade to full shade. Keep it well away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Petticoat® Fire New Guinea Impatiens is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.