PlantFiles: Balfour's Touch Me Not, Balfour's Impatien, Poor Man's Orchid
Impatiens balfourii

A neighbor gave me this plant originally. She called it 'wild orchid.' It fills in beautifully around other plants. It is easy to pull out if there are too many. It grows in full shade, part-shade and part-sun (with sufficient watering). It blooms from August to frost. I live in Evanston, Illinois.

A friend brought me one of these and every year after that I had more and more in my yard. I would simply pull out the ones that were in the way. Well I guess one year I pulled too many out, too soon and they were all gone. I am glad to say this coming spring I will be seeding these little gems back into my yard. I miss them.
They are simply a wonderful way to fill up the shade.

Last Year was the first time I had ever seen this plant face to face in full Bloom. What a lovely plant. Blooms straight into the first frost. It is here to stay for me..Although it is one of those annuals that prefers cold/moist treatment to germinate. All of mine actually germinated a 38 degrees.

I winter sowed Impatiens balfourii five or six years ago. It winter sowed beautifully, and when the time came, I planted out my six pack of plants. Those few little plants self-sowed, and ever since, I've had hundreds and hundreds of I. balfourii plants in my garden. (-I wouldn't call them invasive at all, though. They don't crowd out other plants and are easy to pull where you don't want them.) I think they are stunning and many people comment on them. My neighbor asked me if they were some type of orchid, which is funny, since poor man's orchid is one of their common names.

I picked this little plant up at a yard sale, where the woman had them coming up as an undergrowth. I love this little plant. It reseeds like crazy, and it's fun to collect the seeds with kids, due to the way the pods corkscrew. In Santa Cruz Ca, they do best in a bright shade. They will reluctantly tolerate SOME sun, but not too hot. And it's unusual enough that people ask what it is.

zone 4a hardy - same things as above - will reseed itself in the oddest place. True annual, seeds survive winter and then germinates. Sometimes I mistook their seedlings for certain weeds like member of the pokeweed family.

Our first few years of gardening down here we almost eradicated these little beauties as weeds.
It seems they don't grow in our former area 60 miles north.

Luckily a few made it thru to flower and the weeding stopped immediately.

They are very easy to grow and reseed quite prolifically.
But as our weeding testifies very easy to keep in check.

These are really wonderful if you want to fill a bed quickly on a budget because they spread like wild fire. I have 3 colors mixed (purple, pink, and red) and they are a lovely show when all in bloom! I'm in Alabama zone 7.

Reseeds prolifically, but seedlings are easily removed. A lovely filler in and among other tropicals with afternoon shade.

I got my first plant from a friend and continue the tradition by sharing plants and seeds. I have both red and pink, and thoroughly enjoy the plants in Ga. from June to first frost. Hummingbird and butterfly attractor. Easy to collect seeds from pods which open when pressed lightly.

We live in northern Alberta (Fort McMurray). We receive a lot of sun .Sunrise 4:32 am sunset 10:18 pm today June 16. I started with three plants, and planted them along a fence. The soil for six inches is good top soil but then turns to clay. I had trouble growing plants. Annuals were stunted and never a good show. The touch me nots did well the tallest growing 84inches and many blooms. They hid the fence and gave our patio a very private feeling. They self seed freely, and if the are growing were I don't want them they are easy to pull out. The flowers are exotic looking, the stalks are large and red, it is also fun to ask an unsuspecting person to touch the seed pods as they burst in their fingers. Kids love them.

This plant is a tender perennial that reseeds itself freely in damp shady areas. Seeds are tiny and collection is difficult.