When I was little I thought they were called “Impatients”.
Patience is not something I hold. When I want something, I want it now. Or else. Maybe that’s why my “Impatiens” and I get along so well. They know I want pretty flowers, and I want them now!
Indoor Impatiens. Who knew? I didn’t, it just happened by chance. Oh, but I’m so happy it did. Aren’t they pretty?
I’m going to tell you how you can do this easily.
Here’s how it went down. I was on my front porch filling my urn that doesn’t receive any sun. Outdoor Impatiens are perfect for this location because they love shade, and moist soil. I plant them out there in April, and by October they are absolutely stunning, just look. You can see in this photo that they get a tiny bit of sun late in the day.
See them starting to grow over in the corner?
So, as I filled my outdoor urn, I had 3 plugs of Impatiens left over. I have no idea why I brought them inside, but I did. I ended up spotting this milk glass bowl I found at the thrift store. I figured why not plant them in there and see how they do.
These little babies thrived and the more they grew, the more I knew I was on to something beautiful and simple.
By the way…they do not attract bugs like you may think, but they can make a home for a lady bug. I found a lay bug on our wall this Winter and she lived in the plant for a couple days!
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Here’s how you do it (click on supplies to purchase on-line if desired):
- Find a pretty container that doesn’t have drainage. You can clearly see, this milk glass bowl does not have any holes. I don’t like holes because the dirt gets all over. You can add moss or stones to the bottom if you want, but I didn’t.
- Fill it with a little bit of Miracle grow soil (find that here) and plant your Impatien plugs in the soil, covering them with as much soil as you can fit into the pot.
- Place the pot in a window that receives INDIRECT SUNLIGHT-meaning no sun rays on the plant.
- Water them the first time with a mix of Miracle Grow Plant Food. I mix 1 scoop of plant food to my 1 gallon watering can. Then I water with that. Don’t over do it, just enough to get the roots and soil wet, but not soaked.
- (BEST TIP EVER) Every 3-4 days, I spray mine with my sink sprayer. They seem to love this. You will notice when they get droopy while your doing the dishes, and just give them a spray or 2. I use room temperature water because I don’t want to hurt them! They become kind of like little babies to you, trust me.
- When ever you see a yellow leaf, or brown flower, get rid of it.
- Be careful of the little “seed pod bursts” you will notice when a bloom first starts. Leave those alone. (you can see them in the photo below).
- Do #4 every season. I have skipped, and they do okay still.
- Most important tip is to make sure you water them often, but don’t soak them. Oh, and INDIRECT LIGHT!
Let me know if you try this 🙂
Happy Easter!
Iron dish rack can be found HERE.
Beautiful bridge faucet can be found HERE.

I am Soooo doing this as soon as we get those types of plants in the stores. Still a bit cold in CT!
Yeay, Laura! I know, it’s cold here in MI too! Come on Spring, we need you!!
So. They aren’t Impatients. hmmmmm
🙂
LOL, Nikki! 🙂
Just today I was deciding what flowers I want to put in containers and impatiens is top of my list. Your white ones are beautiful, I haven’t decided on color. This year I finally got a booklet that gives some great information and ideas and I am raring to get working in the dirt.
I can’t wait to get in the dirt, Treva! Happy Spring, friend!
I have grown Impatiens for years outside. It just never occurred to me to bring them indoors. Now I have to try this! Thanks!
Me too, Tammy. I should have done this years ago.
Thanks so much for your always cheery messages. Happy Easter weekend to you too.
Sooo cute! Love the look!
Thanks so much for sharing this. I live for summer and my flowers, so this will be wonderful to have indoors all those months. Hope the no drainage container works; have had poor luck with that. Going to try it!
Simple, yet elegant like everything you do. Thanks for sharing
Thank you, Ivory! What a nice compliment! 🙂
My mom grew these all the time as house plants when I was a kid. They were the only ones that she didn’t kill.
What a lovely front porch you have just like a film set!! Will be planting in doors looking foreward to spring love your ideas many thanks ,lilian x
Thank you for your kind words, Lilian! So happy you are going try this!
Julie
Double Impatiens are my favorite, just planted mine very easy to propagate try coleus in your no shade area they are great together.
Debby
oooooo…great tips! Thanks, Debby!
Wow…you must have the perfect condition for growing them indoors!…They look beautiful in your kitchen!!!
Hi Shirley! All it takes is indirect light and keeping moist. You should try it 🙂 Happy Spring!
I am so glad I saw your post, because I have a beautiful cobalt blue glass dish of similar size and shape, and white impatiens would look wonderful in it! Thank you!
Hello Odessa, that sounds perfect! I love cobalt blue 🙂 ~ Julie
Do they grow indoors through out the months or only spring and summer months?
All year.
[…] you can learn how to grow indoor impatiens HERE like I have growing on that coffee […]
[…] It all started at my kitchen window. You see, I grow impatiens indoors by my kitchen window. If you want to know more about how I do that, you can read all about that here: INDOOR IMPATIENS. […]
I can’t wait to try this Julie. I love inpatients and milk glass, why didn’t I think of this? Lol. I am having Spring fever as well. It can’t get here fast enough. Thanks for the inspiration, have a great day.
[…] By the way, I want to make sure you know that impatiens do well in the shade. I attempted to put these beauties in the sun because a nice lady told me as long as you water them they will be okay. Um, no. They need shade. Maybe an hour of sun, but no more. I also take impatiens inside the house and they do amazing. I wrote about that here: “Indoor Impatiens“. […]