Super Elfin Impatiens
Impatiens walleriana 'Super Elfin'
flowerSuper Elfin is the classic bedding impatiens, for decades the most popular shade annual in North America for one simple reason: it blooms nonstop, all season, in the shady spots where little else will flower. It makes a low, dense, mounding plant covered in flat, five-petaled flowers in jewel tones of red, pink, salmon, violet, white, and bicolors, glowing in a dim corner from spring until frost with almost no care. It is a tender plant grown as an annual everywhere. Its one real drawback is susceptibility to impatiens downy mildew, a disease that can wipe out a planting; where that has been a problem, the newer disease-resistant series are a safer choice.
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Sun
partial shade
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Water
Every 4 days
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Bloom
~70 days
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Difficulty
easy
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Lifecycle
tender perennial
Perennial in warm zones; grown as an annual where winters freeze
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Spacing
8-12 in. apart
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Planting Depth
Set the root ball level with the soil surface, after the last frost
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Soil pH
6.0-6.5
Growing Details
Soil Type
Rich, moist, well-draining
Hardiness Zones
Zones 3 – 11
When to Fertilize
Every few weeks through the growing season
Fertilizer
Balanced bloom fertilizer
🌱 Growing Guide
Grow impatiens in part to full shade in rich, moist, well-drained soil - it is one of the few annuals that flowers heavily in real shade, and it scorches and wilts in hot afternoon sun. Keep the soil consistently moist (it wilts dramatically when dry but usually recovers) and feed every few weeks for nonstop bloom. Set plants out only after the last frost, since it is very frost-tender, spacing them eight to twelve inches apart; they fill in fast. Modern impatiens are self-cleaning and need no deadheading. The big caution is downy mildew: if plants suddenly yellow, drop leaves, and collapse with white fuzz on the leaf undersides, remove and bag them, do not compost, and switch that bed to begonias or a resistant impatiens series.
🌼 Have a different variety?Cultivars of the same species usually share the same basic care — they differ mainly in flower color, height, and bloom form, not in how you grow them. So this guide still applies even if your exact variety isn't the one shown.
Planting Calendar
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Start seeds indoors
Feb 18
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Transplant outdoors
Apr 29
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Projected first bloom
Jul 8
JJan
FFeb
MMar
AApr
MMay
JJun
JJul
AAug
SSep
OOct
NNov
DDec
✅ Plant alongside
Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests
- Patriot Hosta — Bold hosta foliage and bright impatiens flowers are the classic shade-bed pairing in the same moist soil
- Cocktail Vodka Begonia — A downy-mildew-proof shade partner to interplant as insurance, with contrasting bronze leaves
- Palace Purple Coral Bells — Deep purple foliage that anchors the bed while the impatiens supply nonstop color
🛡️ Pest & disease prevention
Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide
The serious impatiens disease - it yellows leaves, drops them, and collapses plants with white growth on leaf undersides; there is no home cure, so remove and bag infected plants, do not replant impatiens in that soil, and choose resistant series or begonias instead
Stipple leaves in hot dry spots - rinse foliage and keep plants moist
Cluster on tender growth - rinse off with water and encourage beneficial insects
🌸 Blooms & cutting
Impatiens are grown for nonstop bedding and container color rather than for cutting. They are self-cleaning, so no deadheading is needed - the plants simply bloom on their own from planting until the first frost. If plants stretch and get leggy by midsummer, shear them back by a third and they rebound bushier and fuller within a couple of weeks. Keep them watered and they reward you with color in the shadiest beds.
🥗 Nutrition & benefits
A purely ornamental shade annual grown for nonstop color where little else blooms. The open flowers offer some nectar to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, but it is grown above all to light up shady beds and containers. Non-toxic and safe around pets and children.
For educational and informational purposes only — HomeSown is not medical, health, or other professional advice. Always positively identify any plant before handling or eating it; some plants, and some parts of otherwise-edible plants, are toxic. Consult a qualified professional before consuming or otherwise using any plant, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a health condition.