Impatiens is an annual or perennial grown for its blooms, which open from spring through fall and return year after year. It overwinters in USDA zones 10 through 11 and is grown as a summer annual wherever the season is long enough. Notably, it shrugs off deer and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Impatiens — the short answer
Impatiens: grown in zones 10–11, shade, pH 5.5–6.5, about 80 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 10–11
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH
- 5.5–6.5
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Shade
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 80 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temp (growing season)
- 32°F
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
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What Impatiens is
Impatiens grows as an annual or perennial and reaches around a foot and a half at maturity. It blooms from spring through fall. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Impatiens
Impatiens overwinters in USDA zones 10 through 11 and is grown as a summer annual wherever the season is long enough. Impatiens does best in shade — at least 2 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 6.5, on well-drained ground. It needs around 1,200 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 80 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
10-11
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Soil pH
5.5 - 6.5
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Shade
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
32°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Days to Maturity
80 days
Growable Ground plant catalog
GDD Required
1200+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
1.5 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
80+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant impatiens in shade with at least 2 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Impatiens prefers pH 5.5 to 6.5 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at its peak
Cut impatiens blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.
Where Impatiens thrives
Impatiens overwinters in USDA zones 10 through 11 and is grown as a summer annual wherever the season is long enough. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 10–11 spans average winter lows from 30°F to 50°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers none outright but splits 8 down the middle.
Zones 10–11·Hardiness bandOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Impatiens stands, state by state
Impatiens is rated for zones 10–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at 30 to 40°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 0 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 8 more, and 43 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
The line runs through
8 states
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Nevada · zones 4a-10a
- Arizona · zones 5b-10b
3 of 8 shown
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Impatiens
Growing guides for impatiens
Related plants in annual flower
Good to know
Impatiens offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Your land is one point inside Impatiens's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Impatiens will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether impatiens actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Impatiens
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Impatiens in my zone?
Impatiens overwinters in USDA hardiness zones 10 through 11 (NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox) and is grown as a summer annual wherever the season is long enough. Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Impatiens?
Most growers plant impatiens after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 80-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Impatiens need?
Impatiens is shade-tolerant — it gets by on as little as 2 hours of direct sun, so it earns a place most vegetables can't use. A north-facing strip or the ground under a leafy canopy is right where it belongs. A Growable Ground report shows which corners of your land stay shaded through the day, turning those dim spots into planting spots.
What soil does Impatiens need?
Impatiens prefers soil pH 5.5 to 6.5, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Impatiens attract pollinators?
Yes — impatiens's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)