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The History of Impatiens

Impatiens, lovingly known as Busy Lizzie, grow wild in most tropical and warm temperate regions. It is  native to the tropical forests of East Africa, having been found originally in Zanzibar, originally called Imaptiens Sultana, after the Sultan of Zanzibar.

Impatiens was later renamed Impatiens Wallerana after Horace Waller a British missionary and brought to England in 1896 by a physician and naturalist Dr John Kirk.

Impatiens were commonly referred to as Buzy Lizzie and Touch Me Not  because the slightest touch would cause the ripe full seed pods to burst open and impatiently scatter their seeds to the wind!

Impatiens were developed and plant qualities improved through hybridization by various companies such as Bob Riemand and Ball Seed, Sluis and Groot and Joseph Harris Seed.

The 'Father of Modern Impatiens' however was Claude Hope who in 1965 created a series of 8 colours of new impatiens and worked with Pan American Seed in 1968 to produce the 'Elfin' impatiens.