From my perspective as an impatiens plant, light is my primary source of energy. I use it to create food through photosynthesis. If I am not flowering, it is often because I simply do not have enough energy reserves. While I am often marketed as a shade plant, "shade" does not mean "dark." Deep, full shade limits my ability to produce the sugars needed to fuel the massive energy expenditure of creating blooms. My internal systems prioritize survival; without adequate light, my resources are directed solely towards maintaining basic leaf function and stem growth, not the luxurious extra of reproduction through flowers.
My soil is my only source of nutrients. If the balance is wrong, my flowering mechanisms shut down. Two common issues occur. First, a lack of phosphorus—the nutrient crucial for bloom production—starves my budding sites. Without it, I cannot initiate or sustain flowers. Conversely, an excess of nitrogen presents another problem. Nitrogen promotes vigorous, green, leafy growth. If I am given too much, I will direct all my energy into producing lush leaves at the expense of flowers. It's like being fed only starch; I get big and green but lack the specific nutrients to bloom.
My relationship with water is delicate. Both drought and drowning cause me immense stress. Under-watering causes me to wilt, shocking my system. To conserve water and energy, I will abort flower buds, as they are a non-essential resource in a survival crisis. Over-watering, or sitting in waterlogged soil, is equally damaging. It suffocates my roots, preventing them from absorbing oxygen and nutrients from the soil. Without a functional root system, I cannot uptake the water and minerals needed to support any biological process, let alone the demanding task of flowering.
I thrive in consistent, mild temperatures. When the weather becomes too hot, I enter a state of heat stress. My metabolic processes slow down, and I focus on conserving water and staying alive. Flower production halts because it consumes too much water and energy. Similarly, a sudden cold snap signals that the end of the growing season is near. In response, I will stop investing energy in new blooms and may even drop existing ones to focus on setting seed with the resources I have left.
My natural lifecycle involves flowering, setting seed, and then completing my growth. If my old, spent flowers (seed pods) are left on my stems, my biological programming tells me that I have successfully reproduced. I then shift my energy away from producing new blooms and into maturing those existing seed heads. This is a efficient use of my resources from an evolutionary standpoint, but it ends the floral display you desire. By removing the fading blooms, you interrupt this cycle. I receive the signal that I have not yet successfully reproduced, and I am triggered to produce more flowers in an attempt to create seeds.
