Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Saturday - May 11, 2013

From: Westchester County, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Diseases and Disorders, Wildflowers
Title: Native Annual Plant Substitute for Impatiens
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

What can be used as an annual flowering plant to substitute for the diseased impatiens? Is Vinca one you would suggest?

ANSWER:

The disease that is causing trouble for the cultivated garden impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) in at least 33 states is downy mildew. There's a good article in ScienceNews, the online magazine explaining the downy mildew problem on impatiens. There are no native vincas to suggest as substitutes, but there are several native annual flowering plants for you to consider. Some will bloom better with more sun.
To find an annual native plant substitute, the first place to go to find a list of potential plants is our Native Plant Database.  Use the Combination Search feature instead of Recommended Species. This will provide a bigger selection with much more choice to narrow down. The volunteers and staff at the Wildflower Center who maintain the database have partners in different regions to help with these recommended species lists based on what is easy to access in local nurseries.
Under Combination Search, select the following categories: Habit – herbaceous, Duration – annual, Light requirement – part shade or shade, Soil moisture – moist, height 0-3 ft.
Some of the impatiens substitution possibilities include:

Bidens cernua (nodding beggartick) yellow blooms August – October.

Capsicum annuum (chile pequin) white flowers followed by small green fruit turning red when ripe.  Hot, edible fruit.

Geranium viscosissimum (sticky purple geranium) purple/pink blooms May to August.

Mimulus bicolor (yellow and white monkeyflower) yellow blooms April to June.

Nemophila maculata (fivespot) white blooms with purple spots from April to July.

Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan) yellow daisy-like blooms from June to October.

Salvia coccinea (scarlet sage) white, pink or red blooms February to October.

Tinantia anomala (false dayflower) white, blue or purple flowers from March through May.

 

From the Image Gallery


Nodding beggartick
Bidens cernua

Chile tepin
Capsicum annuum

Sticky purple geranium
Geranium viscosissimum

Fivespot
Nemophila maculata

Black-eyed susan
Rudbeckia hirta

Scarlet sage
Salvia coccinea

False dayflower
Tinantia anomala

More Wildflowers Questions

Peak time for bluebonnets to bloom in 2009
June 12, 2008 - Any idea when we can look for the bluebonnets to appear in 2009? Trying to have a reunion and want to see bluebonnets for the out of staters!!
view the full question and answer

Garden planning for wedding in Tallahassee
July 18, 2012 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I would love your advice on creating a Wildflower Garden Plan. Earlier this spring in Tallahassee (North Florida). I sowed Wildflowers for the first time to see what would blo...
view the full question and answer

Genetically altered bluebonnets?
September 07, 2008 - I am trying to locate where I can purchase what I consider real bluebonnets not the genetic altered ones. The ones I am talking about are completely blue without the white tip on top. Do you have an...
view the full question and answer

Latest time to mow bluebonnets from Chappell Hill TX
February 13, 2014 - The past few years, my bluebonnets have been overwhelmed by tall grass. I could have solved this by mowing later, but I was always afraid of mowing new bluebonnet plants. When is the latest time I can...
view the full question and answer

Best Asclepias for Kansas City
October 06, 2014 - I have a question about the Asclepias. I live in the Midwest, in Kansas City with hardiness zone 5b or 6. I want to know which of these plants would be good for me in a cultivated garden. It's not to...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.