Impatiens Bounce Pink Flame at Univ. of Georgia Trial Gardens (photo by Meg Green)

Gardeners no longer have to give up growing garden impatiens (Impatiens walleriana). No, the worldwide disease outbreak of downy mildew  on garden impatiens is not over. But new disease resistant cultivars of impatiens are arriving at garden centers this spring.

Two of the newest are: SunPatiens® Spreading Shell Pink and Bounce® Pink Flame (‘Balboufink’). Sunpatiens thrives in half-day to full sun. Bounce impatiens are New Guinea types and grow either in modest shade to half-day morning sunlight (zones 6-8).

Spreading Shell Pink, the newest addition in the series, is covered with lovely soft pink flowers from late spring to first fall frost. After transplanting a strong rootsystem takes hold quickly and these impatiens thrive in summer’s heat, rain and humidity. Plants have a vigorous spreading habit and plants maintain excellent plant form through the summer in full sun to light shade.

Bounce impatiens are interspecific hybrids with New Guinea impatiens (I. x hawkeri); they look like old-fashioned garden impatiens in plant habit, flower form and count, but are completely downy mildew resistant. One of four new cultivars in the Bounce series for 2015, Pink Flame boasts massive numbers of stunning, bright pink bicolor blooms on plants that are 12 to 18 inches high and spread.

Bounce and Sunpatiens are low-maintenance flowering annuals to grace your garden this year and many more. Both new impatiens are highly disease and pest resistant. Feed plants monthly with a water soluble fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro™, Daniels™ or Schultz™. Mulch at transplanting time and irrigate during moderate dry spells through the season.

All-America Selections (AAS) has picked out these two impatiens for their exceptional performance in the AAS container trials.