The joy plant that they sell most often looks like a fragile herb, with numerous flowers that, although they are small, are very brightly colored and very happy. But the genus to which it belongs, Impatiens, is made up of about a thousand different species, mostly distributed in the tropical climate regions of the world.
Naming them all would take us a long time, so much so that we could write a book about them. But we will see the types of joy plants that are best known, which are quite numerous as you will be able to verify.
impatiens auricoma
Image – Wikimedia/Bendzh
La impatiens auricoma It is a native species of the Comoros archipelago, in southeastern Africa. It is a small plant, growing about 30 centimeters tall., and that after flowering and producing seeds in the same year of its germination, it dies. The flowers are yellow, about 2-3 centimeters, and appear in spring-summer.
Irresistible balsam
Image - Wikimedia / Lazaregagnidze
La Irresistible balsam It is one of the most common species. It is known as balsamina or joy, and is native to South Asia. It is a herb that can live a few years if temperatures are always high.; otherwise, it will be a beautiful annual plant with which to decorate the balcony or patio during the warm months. It grows up to 60 centimeters tall, and produces lilac, pink, white, yellow or red flowers in spring-summer.
Impatiens hawkeri
Image - Wikimedia / Forest & Kim Starr
La Impatiens hawkeri It is a perennial or annual herb -everything will depend on how warm or cold the climate is-, native to Southeast Asia. It grows up to 60 centimeters tall, although it can reach 80 centimeters., especially if planted in the ground. Its flowers can be of very varied colors, such as pink, red, white or yellow.
impatiens marianae
Image - Wikimedia / Diego Delso
La impatiens marianae It is a most curious species: it has dark green and white leaves, so that it would be easy to think that it is a selected hybrid, but it is not: it is a pure species originating in India. It is between 30 and 40 centimeters tall, and produces pink flowers. Now, it is very important that the temperatures remain above 10ºC and below 30ºC, since it does not like extreme cold or heat.
Impatiens morsei
La Impatiens morsei It is a natural annual herb from China. It is 20-40 centimeters tall, and has green leaves with a very marked main vein.. Its flowers can be white, pink or lilac, and although they are small, when they sprout in spring they greatly embellish the plant. Of course, unlike other Impatiens, this is a species that prefers shady places.
Impatiens phengklaii
La Impatiens phengklaii It is a rare plant that, if it were not for its flower, it would be difficult to think that it is really an Impatiens. Why do I say this? Because its stem thickens so much that it forms a light brown caudex and with a width of about 5 centimeters. The flowers are reddish, and it is a native species of Thailand, so we are talking about a species that will suffer if it is exposed to both temperatures below 13ºC and those that exceed 27ºC.
Impatiens psittacin
La Impatiens psittacin It is an herb native to Southeast Asia that reaches about 50 centimeters in height. Its leaves are green, and the flowers are red. It is a very rare type of joy plant, which, however, like other Impatiens, germinates after a few days or weeks -depending on when the seeds were collected and their viability- and grows quickly.
Impatiens niammiamensis
Image - Flickr / Maja Dumat
La Impatiens niammiamensis It is a species native to Africa that lives several years, as it is a perennial shrub. It reaches 60 centimeters in height, and its flowers are red and yellow, shaped like a cap.. Taking into account its origin, it should not be left out if the thermometer drops below 10ºC.
Impatiens 'Sunpatiens'
Image - Flickr / Serres Fortier
La Impatiens 'Sunpatiens' It is a hybrid resulting from the crossing of a Impatiens hawkeri of which we have already spoken, and two other varieties. They reach a height of about 20 centimeters, so they are small plants. The flowers measure about 2 centimeters, and can be of different colors: pink, red, yellow or white. Its life is short, just a few months, but it must be taken into account that multiplies well by seed if sown in late winter.
Impatiens walleriana
Image - Flickr / Mauricio Mercadante
La impatiens walleriana It is a species of perennial herb native to Africa. It measures between 20 and 50 centimeters, and develops green leaves. Its flowers appear in spring-summer, and can be orange, red, purple or white.. It is popularly known by the names of joy of the house, balsamina, miramelindo or valerian impatiens. But regardless of this, it is undoubtedly a plant that will look beautiful on sunny balconies and patios.
Impatiens 'Velvetea'
Image - Flickr / Maja Dumat
Impatiens 'Velvetea' is a lovely annual herb. It is a cultivar of Impatiens morsei, this means that it is not found in the wild. It reaches 30 centimeters in height, maximum 40. What is most striking are its leaves: dark green with a pink midrib. The flowers are small, white.
What is your opinion of these types of joy plants that we have shown you?