Impatiens BABY DWARF ® MIXED

Impatiens WALLERIANA ® BABY DWARF MIXED - Mix of compact cultivars of Waller's impatiens Baby, Busy Lizzie, Touch-me-not, Balsam.

Balsam is a genus of herbaceous, flowering, annual, and perennial plants in the family Balsaminaceae, numbering more than 500 species, widely distributed in natural environments in subtropical and tropical regions of Asia and Africa. A small number of species inhabit temperate latitudes of Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Low bushy herbaceous plants with branched, succulent, and translucent stems reach in height, depending on the cultivar, from 15 to 50 cm (6 to 20 in). Fleshy, entire oblong-ovate leaves without stipules have wavy margins, arranged on long petioles oppositely or in whorls. The upper parts of the glossy leaves have a water-repellent cuticle, and at the bases are small glands, because of which, when humidity rises, drops of liquid can form at the tips. Coloring varies from plain green to green-red, bronze, and even variegated, as in New Guinea hybrids.

Fairly small, single or double flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils or gathered above them in loose inflorescences on long pedicels. The flower consists of 5 petals, 4 of which fuse into an irregular shape and point downward. There are cultivars with pink, red, white, orange, lilac flowers, as well as bicolored, with spots or stripes. Yellow and blue corolla coloration does not exist. Impatiens with double flowers are subdivided into rose-flowered, camellia-flowered, and carnation-flowered. After flowering, a fruit matures in the form of an oblong succulent multi-seeded capsule with five valves that burst open and curl upon full maturity.

With the development of breeding, for cultivation, compact profusely flowering first-generation (F1) hybrids or New Guinea variegated varieties have become the most appealing. Many growers seek low-branching bouquet-bush forms reaching 40 cm (16 in) in height and dwarf forms up to 25 cm (10 in) in height. At the same time, growers around the world continue to cultivate traditional species, with spreading succulent stems and flowers of white, pink, or red coloration against a background of green leaves.

Waller's impatiens is a perennial bushy plant grown as an annual, reaching 60 cm (24 in) in height. Thick succulent stems with delicate leaves branch heavily. The long leaf petiole often greatly exceeds the blade. The oval or ovate blade with a broad wedge-shaped base and pointed apex grows up to 4-6 cm (1.6-2.4 in) in length. Rather large, solitary, single or double diversely colored flowers are located at the ends of stems. On the basis of this species, new cultivars and hybrids are constantly emerging, grouped into series differing in flower shape, color range, doubleness, or height.

The 'Baby' series is an early-blooming F1 series of annual, heavily bushy plants 10-20 cm (4-8 in) in height. Flowers are up to 4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter, solitary or sometimes in small inflorescences.

The seeds have a high germination percentage. Before sowing, the seeds are pre-soaked in a weak potassium permanganate solution for 10 minutes, then in warm water for a couple of hours, after which they are sown into a moist substrate consisting of peat and sand or any ready-made seedling mix for flowering plants. Sowing is carried out on the surface or with embedding to a depth commensurate with the seed itself. The sowing is moistened with a spray bottle, covered with film, and germinated in light, but not in direct sun at a temperature of 20-24 °C (68-75 °F). Seedlings require ventilation. It is necessary to avoid waterlogging and drying out of the crops. Seedlings appear after 14-16 days.

There is an alternative sowing method where seeds are germinated in moist cloth. With this method, sprouts emerge on the 3rd-4th day after soaking, after which they are planted into substrate. After a pair of true leaves appears, seedlings can be pricked out into individual pots of appropriate size. After 5-9 leaves appear, the tip is pinched back to enhance bushiness. Flowering begins 90-100 days after emergence of seedlings.

Special notes: The seeds are very small. There are about 1,000 seeds in 1 gram (0.035 oz).

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Balsam is a light-loving plant that prefers intense diffused light, while also growing well in partial shade. For cultivation, placement on sills of east- or west-facing windows is optimal; on south-facing ones, the plant must be shaded from direct sunlight during midday hours to avoid excessive moisture evaporation and wilting. With insufficient lighting, flowering may be sparse or completely absent. It has no distinct dormant period, so with additional lighting arranged in winter, it can continue to bloom.

In the spring-summer period, an air temperature within 20-25 °C (68-77 °F) is preferred; when kept outdoors in moist substrate, it tolerates higher temperatures quite well. Planting out into open ground is carried out no earlier than mid-June in a spot protected from direct sunlight and precipitation. The plant adapts rather easily to new conditions, growing and blooming well from June until the first severe September cold snaps. At the end of the warm season, the plant is dug up. Many growers recommend renewing their specimens annually from rooted apical cuttings. In winter, under conditions of high temperature and low light, plants become leggy and bloom sparsely, so lowering the air temperature is recommended, but not lower than 12-15 °C (54-59 °F).

During the spring-summer period, balsam is watered abundantly with settled water at room temperature immediately after the top layer of soil dries. In the autumn-winter period, watering is done moderately 1-2 days after the top layer of substrate dries out. To avoid bud drop and sparse flowering, the soil must not be allowed to dry out completely, and to prevent the development of diseases and rot, especially in the cold season, the substrate must not be overwatered. Balsam requires misting when air temperature exceeds 22-24 °C (72-75 °F).

Virtually any nutritious substrate with a pH level around 6 is used for cultivation. A mixture can be prepared from equal parts leaf, humus, sod soil, and sand with the use of a good drainage layer. The vigorous root system is not suited for cultivation in overly wide, shallow, and flat containers. Slightly tight pots stimulate profuse flowering. Feeding is carried out during active vegetative growth from spring to autumn every 2 weeks with a half-dose of complex fertilizer. In the winter period, flowering balsam, once buds have formed, is fed after watering with a weak solution of mineral fertilizer.

Young plants are repotted annually in spring or potted on in summer. Mature two-to-three-year-old specimens are repotted in spring or renewed by rooting apical cuttings. During repotting, overgrown plants are trimmed back by half the shoot length. To shape the desired length, shoot tips are pinched back, stimulating the emergence of new growth, and over time, abundant flowering. Throughout the year, preventative pruning of weak and crowded shoots is conducted. With proper care, balsam can bloom virtually year-round.