Impatiens omeiana 'Sango'

Mount Omei Balsam Balsaminaceae

A particularly handsome form of the Chinese woodland Impatiens, ‘Sango’ is grown as much for its dramatic foliage as its flowers. Long, lance-shaped leaves emerge deep green, heavily washed with burgundy-red and silver, while the stems and veins become intensely red when viewed against the light. Above this rather exotic foliage appear graceful, soft-yellow, spurred flowers in late summer and autumn. The plant was originally collected from Mount Emei (Omei) in Sichuan, China, and the name ‘Sango’ was coined by Nick Macer to reflect the remarkable red pigmentation running through its stems and leaves. 

A tough, rhizomatous perennial, it gradually forms a spreading colony and is particularly effective in cool, moist shade, where the foliage colour becomes especially intense. Give it humus-rich soil that remains reliably moist in summer, preferably beneath deciduous trees or amongst ferns and other woodland plants. It is surprisingly hardy, disappearing underground in winter before returning early in spring. The combination of dark foliage, red pigmentation and soft-yellow flowers makes this one of the more sophisticated members of a genus too often associated with bedding plants.

Collection: Mount Emei (Omei), Sichuan, China.
Cultivar name: Named ‘Sango’ by Nick Macer, referring to the deep red pigmentation of the stems and foliage.
Distribution: Sichuan, China.
Flowering: July–October
Hardiness: H5, approximately −15 to −10°C
Height: 30–50 cm
Spread: 40–60 cm