Ladies and Gents;
Here is an amazing form of Impatiens balfourii with scarlet red flowers and golden foliage.
It is Impatiens balfourii aureo-variegata sub-species.
This was obtained from a family we befriended in Nepal who have been cultivating the plant for as long as they can remember. The eldest member of the family was 97 and can remember it as a child, apparently it was obtained from Lake Gosaikunda which is a glacier lake in Langtang and took us 4 days trekking from Dhunche.
This was in 2003 during my "healthy years"
As far as I know this form is not grown anywhere in the western world or by any botanical university and is new to science.
Unlike it's "green cousin" which is a brutal weed this form by the very nature of it's golden foliage is very well behaved and the seeds need a cool stratification.
Rather than seed production it puts its vigour into flowers hence I have no seed for sale or trade.
The flowers it does produce are a hive of activity to bumblebees and it produces lots of nectar and is scented faintly like vanilla, if I only had hummingbirds here in the UK I would imagine they would look great against the leaves (sigh)
Some forms produce very red stems and veins, flowering from June to October.
Enjoy!
