While geraniums have been a garden favorite for centuries, they do require a little maintenance to keep them looking their best. Their sometimes leggy growth means you’ll want your pruning shears handy if you prefer a plant with a nice shape and plenty of blooms. Deadheading is recommended to prolong their blooming season, so you’ll need to know how and when to deadhead your geraniums, too. Plus, they’ll flower more profusely when grown in a sunny location. If this sounds like a little too much work, or your urban yard is often shaded for much of the day, there’s a better replacement for geraniums that you might want to consider: impatiens. These garden hardy flowering plants don’t need a lot of extra attention and will fill your outdoor space or your containers with brilliant colors.

Basically, there are two types of popular impatiens. Common impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) are typically shade-loving plants that bloom prolifically, even in deep shade. This makes them ideal if your garden or outdoor growing area doesn’t receive very much sun during the day. The other type is the New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri), which are somewhat more tolerant of growing in sunnier spots, although they do need plenty of water when grown in full sun. One of the major benefits of growing impatiens versus geraniums is that the former don’t require deadheading as they’re self-cleaning, and they have a fairly compact growth habit. This makes them relatively low-maintenance, except for regular watering and feeding.

These delightful garden or container plants need moist, well-drained soil to thrive. The best time of year to plant impatiens for beautiful blossoms is early spring after the danger of frost has passed. It’s usually best to choose a shady spot, or at least one that only gets a little morning sun, depending on the variety you want to grow — and in USDA zones 10 through 12, respectively. These species tend to wilt during hot, arid weather, so giving them a good watering when the top of the soil feels dry is recommended to stop them from dropping their flower buds. If you’re going to be growing impatiens in pots, ensure these have drainage holes and water them on a daily basis during the warmer weather. While requiring ample water, they can also develop root rot if overwatered, so you want to get the balance right. Essentially, permitting excess moisture to drain away freely should avoid any problems. You also want to feed your container impatiens with a liquid fertilizer every two weeks or so to keep them looking good.

While older varieties of common impatiens have problems with downy mildew disease, plant breeders have been busy creating newer, more resistant cultivars. The best ones include ‘Beacon’ and ‘Imara,’ as well as New Guinea impatiens cultivars such as ‘SunPatiens’ and ‘Bounce.’ Finally, if you’re fairly new to growing flowers, you’ll be pleased to know that impatiens are flowers that even the worst gardeners can handle.