Name: Impatiens walleriana Beacon®

Type of Plant: The free-flowering, grown from seed Impatiens you have long known and loved, with one huge difference: a high resistance to Impatiens downy mildew.

Why I Love This Plant: For several years now people have had to avoid the regular six packs of Impatiens walleriana because the water mold which is commonly called Impatiens downy mildew was likely to kill the plants. Using the regular impatiens in containers or the ground has been a roll of the dice; sometimes we got away with it, and other times they all died prematurely.

Well, there is no need to gamble moving forward, if you plant Beacon® Impatiens. It looks and behaves just like the annual you have loved for years, but does not succumb to the downy mildew.

Beacon® Impatiens comes in assorted colors and because it’s seed propagated the plants aren’t as expensive as cutting-grown varieties of Impatiens.

A Word to the Wise:  Check with the store where you buy your Impatiens – don’t assume that the six-packs of Impatiens you see for sale are Beacon because the standard plant is still being grown and sold. Beacon® is best.

On Cape Cod the downy mildew is still with us, but these white Beacon Impatiens showed no signs of the disease all summer and fall.

I took this closeup photo of my Beacon Impatiens in mid-October. No sign of the disease, even in our cool, damp fall conditions.

This flyer from Ball shows the many colors of Beacon Impatiens that are available, and more colors are always being introduced.

I grew these white Beacon Impatiens in a large box on my deck. As you can see, they clearly play well with others. This photo shows the white Beacon growing with a Endless™ Illumination  Browallia and pink Mandevilla vine in the box. The pot to the right contains a Justicia carnea, the Brazilian plume flower.