It might be that the sun is giving off too many UV rays this year because they look very sun bleached to me. Actually sun Impatiens do not like full sun all day. They prefer to be shaded during the hottest part of the day. That this has not happened before is only the luck of the draw

I'll go with Dowling on this one. I have 9. The one that gets more sun is having the same problem.
These things may be called Sunpatiens but they need a lot of water. The should be called "Sun(maybe) and Water" impatiens. And because each color is separately developed they have different needs.

I will not be planting them again.

So many plants are more forgiving if I skip a day of watering. Currently in my garden these get hit the hardest if I don't water on one reasonably hot day. And all are in different areas where they get sun only part of the day.

Incidentally, if you want more plants do the following: as the plants grow and the lower branches extend out, place dirt over the middle part of the branch with a node covered. After awhile the node will root and you can cut that branch off near the plant and plant the cutting.

This post was edited by bugbite on Tue, Jun 11, 13 at 21:52

Well these are the first batch that have ever done this before. I have had SunPatiens for years and they were planted in the same area, treated the same way, Directly in the sun and they flourished. So that is what has me baffled. I do agree they need lots of water. I water mine twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Its super hot here and they dry up quickly. Heck everything does :-)

Happy,
After studying mine more since your post, I think this is happening with the aged blooms...shade or sun.
Bob

I think they look sun-bleached, too. I have one coleus that gets bleached like that, the other varieties do fine in full sun.