Does anyone grow double flowering impatients as houseplant?
Many years ago I was impressed by a huge double flowering impatient an elderly lady was growing in 5-7 gallon container. She moved it outdoors every spring, but back into a slightly heated window frame porch in fall. The porch was shaded by a large tree, so the plant in fall and winter only got light, and not very bright at that. I never remember that plant blooming in the winter when I would visit the elderly lady, but I remember how large it was. Hers was a nice red color, bloomed outdoors.
So this year I purchased a pink one to put in one of my containers outdoors since they are continuous bloomers in the summer in a shaded or mostly shaded area. Because of all the rain we had in spring, my containers did crappy, though the impatient survived and bloomed, but not like normal. I decided because it wasn't a cheap plant, because it had made a slight comeback in late summer, I'd bring it in to winter over since I knew it could be done. The reason I posted on this thread is because the plant keeps wanting to put out blooms. Honestly, I don't want blooms, I just want the plant to survive well so that in spring I can take cuttings (that's what the elderly lady did too and spread them around in other areas), and have more plants.
Now I'm not sure what's causing it to bloom, or if that would be the usual normal. But I just keep picking them off because I want the plant to be nourished. Although I really enjoy houseplants, I have very little extra space for them (cats light the windows). Upon bringing it in, I took several cuttings and gave them to my mom.
