How to Plant Impatiens From Seed

Fill your seeding containers with a purchased, commercial potting soil. You may recycle food containers--yogurt cups, sour cream containers or cottage cheese containers. Paper cups also work well for starting seeds. If you don't have a store of reusable containers on hand, choose a seeding tray or peat pots, both of these can be found at your local garden center. Fill the containers with potting mix to a ½ inch from the top.

Mist the soil with a water mister. You only want to moisten the soil, not make it soggy. Stir the soil around, so it is evenly moistened.

Place three to five of the very small impatiens seeds onto the top of the soil in the containers. There is no need to make a hole in the soil for these seeds. Help the seeds make contact with the soil by pressing them down, gently.

Put all of your seeded containers into a tray. Cut a piece of plastic wrap and place it over the containers. Leave it loose, so air will be able to circulate over the soil. The plastic wrap will help the seeds germinate (sprout) by holding in the soil's warmth and moisture.

Set the tray near a window, but not too close. Impatiens do better when not in direct sunlight. Choose a window that is not on the southern side of your home, where they might get full sun all day. Keep the seeding room warm, about 70 degrees F.

Check the soil daily. If it begins to dry, moisten it with the mister. Remove the plastic sheet after the impatiens seeds begin to sprout. Continue to mist the soil as it begins to dry.

Mix an all-purpose fertilizer to half strength with water. When the seedlings have reached 2 to 3 inches and have grown two sets of leaves, feed them with the mixture once a week.

Move your seedlings outdoors to a protected area after the last frost, in your location, has passed. Leave them out for only a few hours the first day, increasing the time each day. This process is called "hardening off" (acclimating the plants to outdoor life). When the impatiens have spent an entire 24 hours outdoors, they are ready to plant outside.