Pansy Care Instructions
Pansies are hardy, or cold-tolerant annuals. They can survive cold snaps, even snow, with little damage except to the open blossoms. These plants grow quickly in the cool weather of spring. Their full glory is when other warm-season annuals are still in the green plant stage. Pansies can be planted in the fall and will winter over for excellent spring color. Here are a few tips on gardening practices to keep your pansies at their peak through spring and fall.
Light
Pansies prefer a sunny spot. Shade will make them stretch and cuts down on the number of flowers produced. They tolerate very light shade, and a couple of hours of shade in the hot afternoon is to their liking.
Watering
Plant pansies in moist, not wet, fertile soil. If pansies dry out or are nutrient starved, their vigor declines very quickly. Baskets and clay containers will probably need watering every day.
Feeding
Feed pansies with a granular flower food, a water-soluble food, or a slow release pellet.. Follow the instructions on the fertilizer packaging.
Maintenance
Remove the spent flower heads before they form seeds. Energy that could be going to the production of new flowers is wasted on formation of seeds if the flowers aren’t picked off regularly. Remove the entire flower stalk, not just the flower end. Pinching is fine, or use scissors.
Many gardeners ask if pansies will bloom all summer. The answer depends on several factors: the amount of care they receive, the heat tolerance of the variety planted, summer rainfall, and temperatures.
Pansies should not be thought of as a replacement for main-stream annuals like marigolds and petunias. Many gardeners prefer to remove their pansies once the hot weather hits and replace them with heat-loving annuals. Others will cut their pansies back in mid-July and allow them to regrow for fall blooms. Some grow their pansies in containers on porches and patios so they can have lots of color while waiting for main-stream flowers to grow.
We grow only the most heat-tolerant, compact varieties on the market today. Ashcombe merchandise buyers are constantly searching for new varieties to please our gardening customers. With proper watering and fertilizing, and removal of seed heads, pansies can provide pleasure throughout the spring and fall seasons.