Impatiens namchabarwensis
Lee Poulsen (Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:16:01 PDT)

I get the sense that I. namchabarwensis is sensitive to how cool the
nights are during the summer. To most people in the U.S. who have never
visited the Bay Area, they have no idea how much it cools down there at
night right through July and August. I have killed this species three
summers in row now. [Does that mean I can now stop trying to grow it?]
They do fine in the spring and fall here in Southern Calif. (BTW, for
those who grow fruit trees, I believe that the Bay Area is the only
place in the entire U.S. where you can successfully grow and fruit both
orange trees and cherry trees simultaneously in the same location, if
that gives you an idea of the Bay Area's climate.)
This makes me very curious about the climate in that canyon (Tsangpo
Gorge), purportedly the largest/deepest in the world and very recently
(re-)discovered. ["The canyon has a length of about 150 miles as the
gorge bends around Mount Namcha Barwa (7756 m) and cuts its way through
the eastern Himalayan range. Its waters drop from 3,000 m near Pe to
about 300 m at the end of the gorge. "] Sounds like an amazing place to
try visiting one day (if they don't dam it first).

--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a

David Ehrlich wrote: