Pansy Care: How To Plant, Grow And Care For Pansies
Pansies are vibrant color flowers with faces, which are a perfect piece if you want to pick-me-up homegrown flowers. It is a cool, weather-loving plant that makes pansy care an easy-breezy affair even in winters.
What’s more interesting is that it also blooms well in fall and spring and thus an amazing option for homegrown flowers. However, like any other flowering plant, it also requires some minimum care.
Here in the article, we will explore all the aspects of pansy care. We will tell you how to grow it and keep it blooming.
What is a Pansy?
Before we move on to pansy care and its growing tips, lets us understand what a pansy flower is and why you should prefer it over other options.
Pansy flower is a heart-shaped flower with overlapping petals and pretty bright patterns and colors. It is a good option for borders, ground cover, containers, and other places. What’s more amazing is that it is a year-round blooming flower; thus, you don’t need to plant it again every season. They look beautiful in their own monochrome color scheme and mix up colors.
These flowers can also be combined with other flowering plants like primroses, sweet alyssum, violas, and trailing lobelia.
How To Plant Pansy?
Planting pansy flowers is easy; you just need to know some basic pansy care. Follow these steps for growing pansies:
When To Plant Pansies
- You can plant the pansies in the fall or early spring.
- Pansies are a bit finicky if you want to grow them from seeds. Thus the best thing to do is get established plants from a nursery. This also lets you have blooms early in comparison.
- In case you want to go for seed growing, then plant it indoors. It would be best if you planted it at least eight to ten weeks before the last frost of the spring season. This will help in blooms during summers and springs.
- You can also go for summer planting if you want blooms in falls and winters. You must know that pansy flower seeds are slow to germinate; thus, be patient.
- When the soil becomes workable in the springs, plant the pansy seeds. They grow best in the temperature range of 45 F to 6 F.
- Pansies are tolerant and can work with light frost. However, if the temperatures are regularly going below freezing points, then it is best to wait for the plantation.
These are some pansy care tips that can help you select the best plantation time for the pansies.
Where To Plant The Pansy Flower
- The pansies love moist, well-drained, and humus-rich soil.
- Winter pansies and other varieties like the partial sun and can also tolerate full sun. However, for best thriving, they prefer the cooler temperatures instead.
- The ideal plantation site for the pansies is where they get the morning sunlight but avoid the afternoon heat.
- You should keep at least seven to twelve inches of space between the flowers. This is essential as when fully grown, they spread to an area of nine to twelve inches. They also grow up to a height of six to nine inches.
Plantation In Pots
- If you want container plantations, then pansies are a great option.
- One thing to know when going for pot plantation is that use potting soil specific for pansies.
- You should prefer plantations in portable containers. This is essential as if the sun gets stronger; then you must be able to move them in areas with shades. It is even more essential for winter pansies.
- If you plant them early in the fall or spring season, then a south-facing patio is the best option.
- During the summers, move the pansy flower to east side areas. This will let them get the morning sun while avoiding the afternoon sun.
Pansy Care
Pansy care is easy, and you just need to remember some basic tips for it. These are:
How To Care For Pansies
- It would be best if you watered the pansies on a regular basis. This is essential as they love moist soil.
- The irregular and improper plantation is the reason why the pansies generally fail. So if your pansies are not doing well, then try watering them more often.
- For fertilization, you can use a regular all purpose fertilizer with your pansy flower. One thing to know is that avoid the use of nitrogen-heavy variants of fertilizers. This is vital as it may lead to the growth of more foliage than the flowers.
- Regularly remove dead or faded flowers from the plant. This will encourage your pansy flower plant to bloom more, and the prolonged season will also be prolonged.
These are some of the pansy care tips which will help you get a blooming gorgeous pansy flower plant.
Pansy Flower Disease And Pests
There are various pests and diseases which can harm your beauteous little addition. These are:
- Mosaic Viruses
- Powdery Mildew
- Rust
- Spot Anthracnose
- Downy Mildew
- Root Rot and Crown
- Gray Mold
- Aphids, Snails, and Slugs
These are some of the pests and diseases for which you must lookout. However, you can easily avoid these problems with a little pansy care.
Recommended Varieties
These are some of the recommended varieties of the pansy which are most attractive and easy to care for:
- Jolly Joker: This version of the pansy blooms in the summer and spring. It has an orange flower that has deep purple petals on the upper side. The petals also have a purple outline.
- Princess Series: The princess series is the most beautiful among the pansy as they offer a variety of colors. Some of the common colors which you can see in them are yellow, blue and purple.
- Fama Series: These basic winter pansy flowers, basically. They offer numerous options of mixed and single-color flowers.
These are some of the pansy flower varieties from which you can choose. One thing is sure; whatever you choose, these flowers will surely increase the curb appeal of your garden. They are also an amazing option if you use them as front door flower plants. Only thing to remember with these is that a little pansy care is essential for the best results.
Pansy Flower Meaning
What if we tell you that there is also pansy meaning and these are not just simple, beautiful plants? It may fascinate you. Isn’t it? Well, it is true, and there is a pansy meaning which you will surely love.
The pansy flower meaning is generally the depiction of thinking and thoughts. Yes, these flowers depict thoughts and thinking. Some other pansy meanings are:
- Love for idleness
- Freethinker
- Considering
- Remembrance
- February’s birth flower
In the Victorian era, England pansy was also used for the courting of secret love. This was a way of showing love as any display of passion or love was severely frowned upon. Thus in order to express love and avoid any outrage, pansies were employed by the lovers.
Cooking Pansy Flower
The pansies are one of the most favorite edible flowers which you can use with dishes and vegetables. These flowers offer a minty flavor, which makes them a lovely edible flourish for desserts and salads.
One of the best ways to use them with the various dishes depends on the preference of the person. However, some of the common ways are:
- Mesh them and add them to the dish.
- Cut them into small pieces.
- Or add as an ornamental garnish with the dishes.
Tips
- Wash well before use.
- Look out for any small pests that may be hiding in the multicolors.
- Avoid the pansies which are sprayed with fertilizers.
Bottom Line
Pansies are one of the most captivating flowers which you can have to increase your home’s curb appeal. What is more amazing is that pansy care is also easy, and they bloom attractively with a little care.
In pansy care, all you need to do is provide them with proper sunlight and water. If you do this, three little beauties will surely make you fall in love with them.