Sunpatiens questions

[Paul Westervelt]

IDM was a big issue in our relative region last year. Rather than stick our head in the sand and grow the same number of walleriana again this year, we've embraced alternatives. Sunpatiens have moved from bit player to major role. So far, so good, but we've gotten a  few questions I can't confidently answer. I'm turning to you guys!

1. Are Sunpatiens deer resistant?

2. Is one series of Sunpatiens (Vig v Spreading v Compact) more likely to flop than others? I've not seen it in production, but I've not grown big banks of them in the landscape either.

3. Is the bloom better in the shade with Sunpatiens than traditional New Guineas? I think the asnwer here is no, but I'd like some corroboration.

4. Do vigorous Sunpatiens really get 36-48" tall? That's really big. When I've seen them in trials, they haven't been that big.

[Eric Rohloff]

What did you think of the ones in the photo? Looks like Rakers garden trial.

[Erik Friedli]

I can't say that I see any real difference between Sunpatiens and New Guineas.

[Sara Tambascio]

Here's an article we had on how to produce Sunpatiens. Hope this helps. 

http://www.greenhousegrower.com/article/32102/how-to-grow-sunpatiens

[Paul Westervelt]

I asked the same questions in a few different forums and forgot to update this one when I got the info I needed. For those of you who may be interested, here's what I found.

1. The perpetual deer question. Are SunPatiens resistant to deer browsing? Yes and no. Several people weighed in to say they'll eat them, but they're not high on the preferred food list. If you have heavy deer pressure in your area, I wouldn't count on them being resistant.

2. Is one series more likely to flop than another? I received a unanimous "no" on this one. No one who responded has had any issues with any of the series flopping even when spaced closer together than necessary. It WAS pointed out that they love water and wilt when too dry but recover nicely.

3. Do SunPs bloom better in the shade than traditional NGs? The answer here was "sort of". SunPs allegedly have smaller flowers, but they'll bloom through the heat when traditional NGs sometimes stop flowering.

4. Does the Vigorous series of SunPs really get 3-4 FEET tall and wide. Again, a resounding "maybe". In the south, if planted early, with regular food, and unlimited water, they can get that tall. A landscaper customer in Northern VA who's used them for several years said hers don't get that tall or wide.

Additional useful info:

• According to a Sakata marketing poobah, the Compact series is more likely to be a ball of flowers while the Vigorous series is more upright. I'm taking that with a grain of salt since the plants in the Raker trial in September didn't reflect that. Plants labeled 'Vigorous Blush Pink' and 'Vigorous Lavender' had terrific flower coverage even on the sides. Maybe that's the northern habit or the end of season habit or maybe they were just mislabeled, but it's incongruous.
• They root so quickly in cuttings that some folks are direct sticking cuttings into the final container. I'm not going that far that fast, but am considering it for spring 2014.