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7.5.12

The Balsam Plant Flowering

The balsam plant is a native of the Himalayas and has colourful flowers. The flowers are sweet scented and the plant propagates through spreading of seeds by wind. The blooms are very colourful and pink in colour. It looks just like an orchid plant growing in the wild. The balsam plant grows in hilly regions and does not require much watering. 
The balsam plant has a unique way of propagation. The plants develop seed pods that burst spreading the seeds far away. The plant grows in large numbers and sometimes the whole mountainous regions where the plant is seen is covered with pink! The flap of a petal looks like an helmet and this plant is also called the policeman’s helmet.
The fragrant Colourful Balsam flowers on Plant
 
The scientific name is Impatiens Balsamina and actually the balsam plant is a herb producing colourful flowers. There are many colour seen in balsam plants and many grow tall according tot eh conditions provided. The plant grown in small containers grows for two to three feet and flowers profusely. The leaves of balsam are bright green in colour growing in central arrangement and have wavy edges. The blooms are almost similar to rose flowers and from far they look like roses , just for the fact that they do not have thorns!.
Bright Balsam Flowers growing in Container

Close up of Balsam Flower

Close up of leaves of balsam plant

The best part of the plant is the process of scattering seeds from their seed pods. The plants burst and scatter their seeds far away and thus propagation.
Care of Balsam plant in container-  Plant grows and blooms during summers and beginnings of rains. The balsam plant does not tolerate more water and grows best in hard and firm soil. The roots spread fast and cover the ground and are not very deep. The plant grows best on slopes and borders of any landscape. The balsam plants are selected for the colourful show they give.
The seed pods when matured will burst open anytime and hence you have to collect the seeds when the pod looks mature and on touch they burst open scattering seeds. The seeds can be grown like any other plant grown from seed using small containers and having damp soil at first producing a high moisture environment.
Avoid over watering and have a well draining soil. The plant also will benefit when grown in conditions where it receives sunlight for few hours of the day.
The balsam plants flower in many colours and the pink, magenta and red being the most sought after colours by gardeners.
Happy Gardening from Rizwana!

I do not sell plants, Gardening is my love and passion! I am A Healing Artist selling original Reiki healing art @ The Red Pilgrim's Healing Art You Tuber The Red Pilgrim Dedicated since year 2000 towards spreading health wealth and joy to the world with my Reiki symbol healing paintings!


39 comments:

  1. Thank you. I have been having trouble getting information on this plant and so am very appreciative. You have given me an insight that the other sites have not.

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  2. Great article. Balsam plants are my favorite - lots of childhood memories of opening the pods and scattering the seeds as soon as we got back from school

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    1. yes Saroj the most beautiful moments of pods opening and scattering seed , out of this world!
      Thanks for coming by garden care simplified

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  3. Thanks for the helpful blog.It is very interesring

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  4. Thanks for the lovely comment,Anonymous, hope it helped.

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  5. Balsam is one of my favorite flowers. I never know where it's going to show up. It's always welcomed in my garden. I started it from seeds years ago. I like all the different colors. It is easy to transplant from one area to another.

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  6. wow Judy nice to know that you have different colored balsam plants , would love to know which colors you have, pink, white, orange,purple, I love different colored flowering plants.
    Thank you Judy for coming by Garden Care Simplified

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  7. I have seen this flower since childhood but never knew it is called BALSAM....I remember that we call it CAMANTIGUE in the Philippines. The flower also come in purple and yellow.

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  8. Yes very true purple and yellow flowers look great! Phillipines the climate must be cool for bulbs and rhizome to grow well in spring.

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  9. i was in trouble to find if my plant was balsam now i am clear thank you very much

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  10. thanks Arun this info has helped you, Thanks for coming by Garden Care Simplified.
    Take Care!

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  11. Could you please find me contacts where balsam seeds are available. I had a good collection of around 7 colours but after the rains they all vanished. Even internet has not helped me locate a seller for seeds or plants

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    Replies
    1. I ordered seeds from trustbasket..feeling very happy to see the plants growing

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  12. Seven colors is too good a collection Zanil, you should have kept some seeds at least! I am afraid Zanil I would not be able to help you here, where are you located?, refine your search or talk to friends, nearby plant nurseries, Mumbai and Pune have great plant nurseries, I am sure someone may be having this plant. Even my plants have withered after rains.
    Just a part and parcel of gardening,!
    Hope you get lovely plants soon, All the Best!

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  13. Thanks for the valuable information.

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  14. Welcome Pradnesh to Garden Care Simplified, Take Care and All the Best!

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  15. thanks for grt info as i love this flowers very much
    this tym i planted seeds from shops & now waiting for how it will grow!
    i would like to know how much time it will take to have flowers ??

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  16. Hello Sachin, thank you for coming by Garden Care Simplified. Yes I too love these balsam plants as they have lovely colorful flowers.
    As for growing them from seeds, ours have just come up along the original plant. The flowering takes about a couple of months as the plant matures, give about six to eight months approximately if grown healthy, I think as I have not quite calculated the time required for flowering.
    Hope this helps, Take Care and All the Best!

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  17. Good article, but no advice - what & how about fertiliser. All seasonal plants need specific fertiliser. How about a few line on on the subject.

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    1. Hello A Ghosh , welcome to garden care simplified, thank you for the insight, yes i will post some info on care of balsam plants, soon, please visit the home page of Garden Care Simplified.
      Take Care and God Bless!
      www.razarts.com

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  18. hi..very interesting write up! my neighbor had a wonderful collection of balsams and was kind enough to give me one. I planted one in a pot and unfortunately it started to droop. And today morning my balsam is literally hanging down. where could i have gone wrong? is there any way i could get this growing? the leaves and stem are still green!

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  19. Thank you Nareash for coming by Garden Care Simplified.
    Balsam is a very tricky plant, watering too much or too little is one reason. Usually the plant gets clogged with water and drops leaves and dies off.
    needs well draining soil, mixture of small gavels rocks and soil, like in hilly terrains.
    Hope this helps.
    All the Best from Rizwana!
    www.razarts.com

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  20. Thanks for the information. My plant's leaves are drying. What should I be doing?

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  21. Malliga welcome to garden care Simplified!
    Balsam plants require less water and well draining soil. Yes the lower portion of leaves do dry out and fall as the plant grows taller.
    Still check out for any signs of disease or pests attacks. Ants eggs , black spots on leaves.
    Choose a sunny spot for few days,change place of your container, many times this has helped me to save my precious ones!
    Hope this helps!
    All the Best from Rizwana!
    www.razarts.com

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  22. balsam is like impatients only on steroids..prefer morning sun with shade during the hard heat of the afternoon.grown them before and collected seeds and enjoyed them .. looking to do that again because i have a spot i know they will enjoy by my door..and will be kept an eye on..lol very enfoyable plants , seed collecting very easy if on top of it. enjoy all.. im looking ...

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  23. Yes Anonymous, very true, collecting the seeds for a new life! Thank you for sharing these helpful tips for readers of Garden Care Simplified! All the Best from Rizwana! www.razarts.com

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  24. My plants are in containers well drained soil and enough sun. Are my leaves green and red due to too much sun? I have nothing but leaves right now no flowers bloomed yet

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  25. Hi Nekki, Welcome to garden Care Simplified!
    Leaves change color according to the amount of sunlight they receive. If they are growing healthy then its fine, the right amount of sunlight will give different colored leaves.
    Try trimming a few top parts, and add some fertilizer or cowdung, it will soon show blooms. Unless of course if you have never seen blooms, then it might be the plant is infertile.
    Hope this helps!
    All the Best from Rizwana!
    www.razarts.com

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  26. I have balsam plants, they are very healthy, but not making any flowers after 3 months! We live in Houston, TX, very hot now but still getting rain and watering everyday. Wondering why?

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  27. Rekha, did you feed the plant, try some mild ready mixes, as it may give a growth flowering spurt. Then maybe the foliage is too much, a little trimming brings it to action , but usually they give out blooms in summers. Hope this helps!All the Best from Rizwana!

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  28. hi i hv sow d seeds n within 4/5 days small plants came out now after one week it has grown 5/6 inches stem n 2 small leaves... now d problem is while watering if d stem gets even a drop of water on it d plant fells down n never agains being straight ... now all small plants r in sleeping position .... i hv kept d pot in gallery to avoid rain drops ... but sun light cames well there .... pls help n guide ..... do i hv to transplant dem but the plants r so small it may die while transplanting ....

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  29. Oh these tiny plants...Mandar, the roots have got disturbed due to watering with pressure. No ..transplanting will only kill them if not done properly...water very carefully delicately from the sides of the plants.Usually they come up with some sunlight and do not add more water , the roots will rot. Hope this helps! Please save them, praying.. All the Best!

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  30. I had planted Garden Balsam And it is not giving flowers propely...
    Actually The Flowers Do not Open...
    they remain closed...
    What to do?????

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  31. Hi, I want to collaborate with you and send my sample packets of flower, vegetable and herb seeds. I am from Biocarve Seeds, and want your address.

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  32. Very informative and impressive post you have written, this is quite interesting and i have went through it completely, an upgraded information is shared, keep sharing such valuable information.

    Feng Shui

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  33. I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often. plant seeds

    ReplyDelete

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