Impatiens pallida

Common Names

Pale Touch-Me-Not, Yellow Jewelweed, Pale Jewelweed, Snapweed, Touch-Me-Not, Yellow Touch-Me-Not

Summary

Pale Jewelweed is a native annual in the Balsaminaceae of the United States and Canada. It grows upright and freely branched to about 0.5–2.5 m, with hollow pale green stems and alternate elliptic leaves with toothed margins. Flowers are pale yellow, 2.5–4 cm long, bilaterally symmetric, tube- or funnel-shaped with a rear nectar spur, often with brownish spots, in clusters among upper leaves. The fruit is a slender, explosively dehiscent capsule that ejects seeds on touch.

Prefers moist to wet soils and grows in sun to partial shade, tolerating a range of soils from mildly acidic to neutral with calcareous influence. Propagation is by seeds, self-seeding readily, with germination requiring light. Maintenance is low with no significant insect or disease problems. Landscape uses include borders in butterfly and pollinator gardens and plantings near streams, ponds, or wet areas. Edible young leaves and shoots (cooked) and seeds. Pollinators include bees (which must crawl inside the flower tube to reach nectar), bumblebees, and hummingbirds.

Lifecycle

Annual

Height

4-6 feet

Spread

2-3 feet

Hardiness Zones

Zones 7-8

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally partial shade.

Soil Type

Moist, loamy, well-drained, humus-rich soil.

Soil Drainage

Moist but well-drained

Soil pH

6.0-8.0

Bloom Color

Yellow

Bloom Time

Summer through Fall

Foliage Color

Light green

Fall Foliage Color

No fall foliage color

Growth Rate

Rapid

Seasons of Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall

Propagation Methods

Seeds

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, other pollinators