Pansies are usually found in shades of yellow, orange, purple, burgundy and white. The three color patterns are solid colored, one solid color with lines coming out from the center and blooms with a dark center, sometimes called a face. Follow a few simple tips and you can have these cheery flowers blooming all winter long.
These are cool weather plants, so you want to plant them when soil temperatures are between 45 and 65 degrees F. You can grow pansies from seeds, but its easiest to purchase small plants and transplant them into your garden. Choose transplants that are compact with dark green leaves. Although it may be tempting to buy the plants that are already blooming, youll have better luck if you choose smaller ones that are just starting to have buds or blooms. They will give you more flowers in the long run.
Plant pansies in a well-drained soil that has some compost mixed into it. The bed should be located in an area that receives full to partial sunlight. They need about six hours of sunlight a day for optimal blooming. You should plant your pansies six to 10 inches apart. Your bed will look fuller if you plant them closer to six inches apart, but the plants will be healthier with a little more space. After planting, water your new pansies thoroughly.
Pansies are easy plants to take care of. Water your pansies regularly during dry weather, but dont let the soil stay wet and soggy, especially during the winter. This can cause root rot. You can apply a two-inch layer of mulch around the plants to help retain moisture, reduce weeds and protect the roots from the cold.
Apply a fertilizer containing nitrogen about once a month. To keep your flowers blooming longer, pinch off the spent blooms frequently. Pansies tend to be disease- and pest-free, but if you have a problem be sure to treat it quickly so that they will continue to thrive.
Until next week, this is Ruth the Grower saying, Pansies have come a long way in the past 15 years. What was once considered a drawback to growing these beautiful, easy, and colorful plants, their aversion to heat, has become an asset. We now realize that they can be set out in the fall to provide late-season color and will winter over, leaping back to life in late March through April to put on a great show until summer heat strikes them down. Keep writing to ruththegrower@aol.com.
