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Garden Impatiens

Impatiens walleriana

Found in suburban woodlands, weakly spreading from horticultural plantings. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 29%

Light
Up to 6 hours of direct sun
Soil moisture
Average to wet

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 2 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Impatiens

  • Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
  • Caripeta divisataGray Spruce Looper Moth
  • Coelostathma discopunctanaThe Batman Moth
  • Euchlaena obtusariaObtuse Euchlaena
  • Euphyia intermediataSharp-Angled Carpet Moth, The Intermediate
  • Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
  • Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
Show all 12
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
  • Xanthorhoe lacustrataToothed Brown Carpet
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Impatiens

  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
  • Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
  • Pheucticus ludovicianusRose-breasted Grosbeak
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Balsaminaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Conservation status

Alabama rankNot available
Global rankNot available
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources