The Magnum New Guineas

In short, Magnums are extremely effective at doing the job that New Guineas are called on to do. A New Guinea impatiens in an 8-inch pot is the all-purpose shade plant: its task is to provide continuous color in a wide range of shaded and semi-shaded garden scenarios, from landscape beds to patio containers to mixed combos. To accomplish this it should provide extra-large rounded flowers with a heavy display across the top of the plant. Not all cultivars of New Guinea fulfill this requirement.

Hot Pink

New Guineas have been actively bred since the 1970s, which is not a very long time in the breeding business. Other crops, like petunias and geraniums, have well over 100 years of active breeding, so those plants are well understood and heavily tweaked by the industry. With New Guineas, breeders are still working out the kinks and you can see it in the performance characteristics of specific series and their cultivars. An important feature still being untangled is color coverage.

Orange

This is a key value for most decor crops. Stand back and look at the plant—you should see more color and less green. Drama plants such as hibiscus and canna can be sold on the individual flowers; however, most of the standard commercial crops are sold on their ability to cover the ground or a container with color. The more color you see, the more sales (retail) and the more value (landscape) you can expect.

Pink

That kind of super coverage also requires super reliability and super consistency. It takes decades to nail down all the little details in a line of genetics, which is why the kind of New Guinea you buy and how it is grown has a real impact on what you receive to re-sell. In our experience, the Magnum series achieves that predictable and reliable color coverage better than any other New Guinea on the market today. The Magnum’s high color coverage translates into better retail sales and more impressive landscape beds for the trade buyer.

Purple

Since the best cultivar for one size of pot is not so for a larger or smaller pot, we can’t just stretch one series across a bunch of sizes like saran wrap and expect a quality crop. For this reason we grow the Divine, Celebration and Harmony series along with the Magnums. There is a strong relationship between root volume and topside performance in New Guineas, and we have found the best results by customizing the crop to the size of the pot. This is the path to take for the best color coverage in New Guineas.

Salmon

Height among Magnums is strongly related to their access to water, just like it is with standard impatiens. Magnums can grow up to 28 inches tall when planted in the ground if they have generous access to water—the drier the soil, the smaller the plant will be. In baskets and containers the constrained roots will keep plants smaller as well, so expect to see about 15–18 inches in height. Plants will form a tidy dome that’s wider than it is tall. Summer performance is better with ample shade during the hot part of the day. As the Magnum is a New Guinea impatiens, plants are not vulnerable to the downy mildew problems plaguing the standard impatiens varieties right now.

White Blush

We are shipping a wide range of Magnum colors: Blue, Dark Red, Hot Pink, Lavender Splash, Orange, Pink, Purple, Salmon, Wild Salmon, and White Blush.