Impatiens flowers are bright and cheerful annuals that can light up any dark and shady part of your yard.

Impatiens flowers do best if fertilized regularly. Use water soluble fertilizer on your impatiens every two weeks through spring and summer. You can also use slow release fertilizer at the beginning of the spring season and once more half way through summer. Impatiens do not need to be deadheaded. They self-clean their spent blooms and will bloom profusely all season long.

Impatiens is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics.

Common names in North America include impatiens, jewelweed, touch-me-not, snapweed and patience.

Most Impatiens species are herbaceous annuals or perennials with succulent stems. Only a few woody species exist. Plant size varies dependent of the species from five centimetres to 2.5 meters. The mature capsules burst, sending seeds up to several meters away.

Impatiens contain 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, an anti-inflammatory and fungicide naphthoquinone that is an active ingredient in some formulations of Preparation H. Impatiens glandulifera is one of the Bach flower remedies, flower extracts used as herbal remedies for physical and emotional problems.