A touch of the tropics

Impatiens and hibiscus have long been included as key plants in tropical garden designs, adding vibrant floral colours in amongst leafy greenery. New varieties of these beautiful plants have improved size, performance and flower colours and are perfect for adding a touch of the tropics into your garden.

There is a range of show stopping varieties of tantalising New Guinea impatiens now available through Enrich with Nature. Called Tamarinda ® Impatiens, they have masses of large showy flowers and will bloom from spring right through until autumn. The flowers are long lasting, bring colour into shady parts of the garden and the plants have been bred to have superior diseases resistance.

Tamarinda Impatiens are vigorous plants, growing to around 40cm tall and wide, and do best in a frost protected, shady position. They make spectacular potted plants and can even be grown indoors in a brightly lit spot.

Tamarinda Impatiens are available in a stunning range of colours, including ‘Lavender’, ‘Red Bi-Colour’, ‘White’, ‘Red Flame’, ‘Cherry Blossom’, ‘Dark Red’, ‘Purple’, ‘Orange Orchid’ and ‘Soft Pink’. It’s important to keep these impatiens well-watered. Incorporating organic matter, like Yates ® Dynamic Lifter ® Organic Plant Food, into the soil promotes improved soil water holding capacity and applying mulch around the plants will help keep the soil moist. For potted impatiens, choose a quality potting mix, like Yates Premium Potting Mix, and mulch can also be applied over the surface of the potting mix to help retain moisture.

Hibiscus also bring a colourful, tropical feel to gardens with big showy flowers in a range of beautiful colours. HibisQs ® is a fabulous range of hibiscus from Enrich with Nature that just love a hot sunny spot. They’re compact hibiscus, growing to less than 1m tall.

During summer, when night time temperatures are above 12°C, HibisQs can be planted outdoors in a warm sunny garden bed with well-drained soil or grown in a decorative pot and displayed in a courtyard, balcony or terrace. In cool areas where there’s frost and the temperature drops below 12°C, potted HibisQs can be brought indoors in a brightly lit spot, for a lovely summery feel.

Each flower has an extended shelf life of up to three days, with new flowers emerging each week. The exotic blooms can also be cut and displayed in a shallow bowl of water. They’re available in a range of vibrant colours including ‘Apollo’, with eye catching yellow and orange two toned flowers, vibrant red ‘Adonis Red’, ‘Boreas Yellow’, which has bright sunshine yellow flowers with a red centre and 'Adonis Dark Pink', with showy pretty pink flowers. Keep the soil or potting mix moist and to help keep hibiscus tidy, give them a light trim in late winter or early spring. To keep impatiens and hibiscus looking their best, feed each fortnight with Yates ® Thrive ® Rose & Flower Liquid Plant Food, which is a complete fertiliser that’s boosted with additional flower-promoting potassium.

Impatiens and hibiscus images courtesy of Rainbow Park Nurseries.

Pest Watch

Hibiscus can be prone to aphids, which feast on the sugary sap. Control aphids with regular sprays of Yates Rose Gun ® .