How to Keep Impatiens Alive Indoors Through the Winter

Flower gardens, growing beds and pots generally require full sunshine, with plenty of light to encourage bright, continuous blooms. But plants like impatiens require milder conditions, with partial or filtered light and cool, moist soil for growth. These are still annuals, though, and fail at the first fall frost. Move impatiens to pots and then inside to keep them safe and warm through winter.

Pots
Quick-draining potting soil
Organic compost
Spade
Watering can

Instructions

- 1
  Move the impatiens in fall, two to three weeks before the first frost. As annuals, impatiens fade and die when temperatures reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit. If your impatiens grow in the garden, prepare 3- to 5-gallon pots with drainage holes for the move.
- 2
  Fill the pots three-quarters full with a mixture of quick-draining potting soil and organic compost. This mixture nourishes the impatiens throughout the winter and maintains moisture between waterings.
- 3
  Dig the impatiens up and lift them from the soil with root balls intact. Replant them in the pots at the same depth they were in the garden. Give each plant 3 to 4 inches of space.
- 4
  Place the pots in a protected indoor location with partial or indirect natural or artificial light. Impatiens need the same lighting conditions indoors as they do outdoors. Keep the impatiens at 60 to 70 F to keep them alive, but don't put them near fireplaces or heaters. Hot air dries the plants and kills them.
- 5
  Water the impatiens with 2 inches of water every week to keep them growing. Move the plants back outdoors after the frost lifts in spring.

How to Grow Sobennikoffia robusta

How to Germinate Cornflowers

Flower Basics