Hardy And Happy....Pansies

By Jos Van Hage

A favorite among many gardeners because of their hardiness and versatility are pansies (Viola x wittrockiana). Flowers have five overlapping petals that come in a wide range of color and patterns to suit any color décor.

They are usually the first annuals that are planted out in the spring and tend to be one of the last to bloom in the fall.

Botanically violas are considered a perennial but in our area they are planted as an annual; however, they have been known to come through a mild winter with a good snow cover. Many of them are non-aggressive self sowers and so there is a chance that the following spring you will have new seedlings.

Pansies are readily available as bedding plants in the spring but they can also be started from seed. If you choose to start your plants from seed you should sow the seeds now so that you have a good sized plant in May.

There are many different varieties of pansy and viola seeds some of which are not available as bedding plants. Mr. Fothergill’s and Thompson & Morgan have the largest selections.

Because of their excellent frost tolerance being able to handle a few degrees of below freezing temperatures, Pansies can be planted out in early May or late April.

If you have started them from seed they should be hardened off first by placing them outdoors during the day and bringing them in at night for 10-14 days before planting them outside. This is also true if you are purchasing the bedding plants in the spring.

You want the plant to become climatized to the cooler outdoor conditions so that it does not have a shock. Some garden centers will display the pansies in a cooler location for this purpose.

Pansies do best in cooler temperatures. Plant them where they will be in full sun to partial shade away from the hot afternoon heat, and the soil should be fertile, moist and well drained.

They are beautiful in borders, mass plantings, and grow well in containers. Routinely fertilize with flowering plant fertilizer (low first number) and do not allow them to dry out.

In mid-summer if the plants have become leggy cut them back by one-third and they will produce a new flush of flowers.

For the highest yield of flowers remove the finished flowers before they can set seed which takes away important energy from the plant. In the fall if you want the plant to self-sow leave a few of the flowers remaining so that they can produce seed to maturity.

-Jos.

Jos VanHage owns and operates two Art Knapp Garden Centres in the Prince George Area

• Highway 97 North at Aberdeen
• Highway 16 West  across from the Bon Voyage Plaza
  

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