Impatiens are among the most popular annual bedding plants, prized by gardeners for their ability to deliver continuous, vibrant color in shady garden spots. While their bright display is visually appealing to humans, a growing question for environmentally conscious gardeners is whether these colorful flowers actually provide meaningful support for local pollinator populations like bees. The answer is complex, as the genus Impatiens contains over 1,000 species, but the common garden varieties are generally poor sources of sustenance.
Pollinator Attraction: The Status of Common Impatiens
The brightly colored impatiens found in most garden centers are products of intensive horticultural breeding focused on visual traits like bloom size, color saturation, and a long flowering season. These varieties offer a minimal reward for generalist foragers such as honeybees and common bumblebees. This focus on human-preferred aesthetics has selected against traits that attract and sustain a healthy bee population.
Studies have shown that the common Impatiens walleriana is limited in its reproductive success without high pollinator visitation, indicating that it is not strongly attracting insects in a typical setting. Cultivars bred for dense, showy flowers often contain significantly less pollen compared to their wild ancestors. For a bee, visiting a large patch of these common impatiens provides a very low return on the energy investment required for foraging.
Structural Reasons for Low Bee Interest
The floral structure of heavily hybridized impatiens presents significant barriers that contribute to low bee interest. Horticultural breeding often leads to a reduction or complete elimination of the flower’s natural nectar spur. Even when some nectar remains, the physical form of the flower can obstruct a bee’s access to the food source.
This issue is greatly exacerbated in double-flowered cultivars, where the stamens and pistils are often transformed into extra petals. The overlapping petals physically block the insect from reaching any remaining pollen or nectar. Unlike native plants that may display ultraviolet (UV) nectar guides to direct bees, many commercially bred impatiens lack these visual cues, making the search for reward inefficient. Breeding for color and size has unintentionally diminished the flower’s ability to signal a nutritional reward to a foraging bee.
Impatiens Species That Are Bee-Friendly
Fortunately, the Impatiens genus contains several species that are highly supportive of pollinators. The native North American Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis (spotted touch-me-not) and Impatiens pallida (pale touch-me-not), are excellent examples of bee-friendly alternatives. These species have a distinct, open structure with a prominent nectar spur that is easily accessed by long-tongued insects.
Jewelweed is a major attractant for native bumblebees, whose long proboscis is perfectly suited to reach the nectar at the base of the spur. The flowers of these native species provide a substantial amount of nectar, offering a high-value food source that encourages repeated visits. The less-hybridized New Guinea Impatiens (I. hawkeri) also offers more value than the common I. walleriana, particularly as a food source for hummingbirds.
While New Guinea Impatiens is less of a bee magnet than Jewelweed, its larger, tubular flowers and higher nectar content can still support specialist pollinators like the hummingbird. These beneficial impatiens varieties demonstrate that the genus is not inherently useless to wildlife, but rather that aesthetic selection in common garden varieties has diminished their ecological function. Gardeners seeking to support pollinators while still enjoying the shade-loving qualities of impatiens should specifically seek out the native Jewelweed species.