Garden Balsam
Impatiens balsamina
Frequently cultivated, sometimes escaped as a waif or "throw-out". FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 6 inches–2.5 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- June to November
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 7 Virginia counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
17CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Impatiens
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Caripeta divisataGray Spruce Looper Moth
- Choristoneura fumiferanaSpruce Budworm Moth
- Coelostathma discopunctanaThe Batman Moth
- Euchlaena obtusariaObtuse Euchlaena
- Euphyia intermediataSharp-Angled Carpet Moth, The Intermediate
- Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
- Pseudorthodes vecorsSmall Brown Quaker, Small Brown Groundcat
- Spilosoma latipennisPink-Legged Tiger Moth
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Show all 17
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Trichodezia albovittataWhite-Striped Black
- Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
- Xanthorhoe lacustrataToothed Brown Carpet
- Olethreutes albiciliana
- Pristerognatha agilana
—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
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
- Hardiness
- Zones 2a–11b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Pink, purple, red or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink, purple, red or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 2a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “6 inches–2.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Garden Touch Me Not
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications