Touch Me Not

I'm not sure if this is the right name for the plant, but I have a friend that was telling me about a flower that if you touches it, it will close, and then reopen. Is this an indoor/outdoor plant? I know she's not talking about the fly trappers LOL.

Linda

http://www.backyardgardener.com/annual/annual39.html
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/impatienspall.html This is the one that we called Touch Me Not as a kid in Virginia. I grew wild along the creek banks.
http://www.laurentiancenter.com/plantkey/plants/touchmenotspotted.html
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/156/
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1431/

Actually what I think you're talking about is a Sensitive plant, mimosa pudica. When you touch its leaves, they fold up.

http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week147.shtml

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5930.html

Touch me nots, (Garden Balsam, in the Impatient family) are unique in themselves. The seed pods are fuzzy little green footballs. When they're ripe, if you pluck one, it bursts open. It's really neat for playing tricks on people or delighting children. You can very carefully pluck one and have someone hold it in the palm of his hand. Tell him to close his fingers over it and gently squeeze. Everytime, he will squeal, throw the pod down and jump back to search his hand for a bug. The pod opens spirally and when it does, it tickles and feels like a bug crawling in your hand. My nieces love to help me gather the seeds. AND this plant has beautiful blooms in an array of colors. It's very easy to grow from seeds too. This plant is just plain fun!

I'm not familiar with a plant whose flower closes when touched, but then I haven't grown them all...YET. LOL

BC

The flower looks like an orchid, but its not. How interesting!

Oh, I definitely want something in my garden!

My nephew will go wild with those seed pods you've mentioned.

hehehe....feel like a kid again

Linda

I absolutely love the Touch-me-nots.... Where I am, they could be invasive. But the seedlings are large enough to pluck out if they show up where you don't want them. They are truly lots of fun!

Sanna

Touch-Me-Nots always grow here where poison ivy grows. The sap from the hollow stem rubbed on poison ivy exposure keeps it off if done soon enough. An old Cherokee remedy.

Linda - the blooms are very small - about an inch. This (jewelweed) grows rampantly all through our woods, as Darius says, with the poison ivy. I've used it a number of times when I've gotten into the ivy by accident.

You're welcome to fill a truckload or two come springtime :) It's not in bloom in this shot, but you'll get the idea....

Stacy

Stacy,

Great. Thanks so much. I'll stop by sometimes in the Spring to grab a few. I have some shaded area in the yard they'll like LOL

Are you a member of the Garden Club in Rockford?

Linda :)

I've been thinking about joining a club, but haven't gotten around to it, and I'm not familiar enough with them to know which to join. Do you belong to one?

There are two clubs in the Rockford, IL area that I know of:

Council of Rockford Gardeners
7418 Tulagi Trl
Rockford, IL 61108
Within the council, you can choose any or all the sub-clubs:
Morning Glory Club, Potpourri Garden Club, Seedlings Garden Club, or
Wildflower Garden Club



Rockford Area Gardeners of America
2701 Clifton Ave
Rockford IL 61102
Meeting 3rd Thursday of each month at Klehm Arboretum

Contact me privately if you need the phone numbers

Linda :)
P.S. I joined the Council of Rockford Gardeners: Seedlings and Potpourri

Pale Jewel Weed, Pale Touch-Me-Not, Yellow Jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/73313/index.html

~* Robin

I don't have the jewelweed variety. I have Impatiens Balsamina--a beautiful small bushy variety that comes in many colors--coral, purple, white, pink, magenta, and even some bitones. It's one of my favorite plants.