PlantFiles: Impatiens
Impatiens flanaganae

Tuckahoe, NY 10707
I've grown Impatiens flanaganii since the early 90's when I brought back live material from South Africa. It is easy to grow, but not so easy to flower well. It grows readily in pots, making red colored tubers like small potatoes which multiply well in a single season. Can be grown in the ground also, just harvest the tubers in the fall. The plant dies back in fall, and the pot can be stored w/ tubers in soil, or tubers taken out, cleaned and dried and placed in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator (DO NOT FREEZE!) until spring. Naked tubers stored dry at room temp will dessicate and die.
In a good year when it decides to flower, buds appear on the top of the stem in mid to late summer. Hot spells will cause them to abort, but if they do open they are quite pretty. Never had it set seed.
Native to a limited area of South Africa in forest near the coast.