Caring For Pansies

It's that time of year again in the South, fall flowers!

Planting pansies and violas is a great way to get all-season color. Unlike snapdragons and dianthus, pansies/violas will bloom throughout the winter, giving you color all season long.

Throughout this blog, I will use the word "pansies" to refer to both violas and pansies since the care is the same for both.

Those who move here from the northern parts of the US, where they have "real" winter, are often surprised to see many businesses and residences put all this effort into winter flowers. Pretty much every apartment complex, business park, and restaurant has winter flowers. It's a must here in NC, and if you don't have winter flowers, it's like you're saying you don't care, leaving your property looking rundown and abandoned, and also leaving your clients and employees feeling sad and unfulfilled each time they visit.

The same goes for your house; be the envy of your neighbors and outshine them with a colorful display. All this can be achieved and more, but just like anything else in life, it will take patience and consistency.

3 Things that you must do consistently for pansies

1. Water regularly and when slightly dry

   
   

2. Deadhead spent blooms and seedpods

   
   

3. Some food is good just don't over fertilize

WATER

A thirsty pansy can be completely FLAT and rise up right before your eyes! It's best to underwater than to overwater this plant. Overwatering leads to rot. This is IRREVERSABLE, once this happens there is no going back. If you're not sure if the plant needs water or not, wait a day and then water. For pots it will likely be a daily thing, unless it has rained. It must be at least an 1" of rain fall to adequately water. Check rain gauges or the poke around in the soil to see if it was enough.

DEADHEADING

This is a MUST for consistent color. Pulling off spent blooms and seed pods keeps the plant producing flowers. It believes its job is not done and will continue to push blooms. It's actually very satisfying once you get the hang of it. Make sure you pinch off the entire stem the flower is on. This will not only give the plant a clean look, but it will focus its energy towards new growth instead of dying back the remaining stem.

FERTILIZING

For food, you can add general fertilizer that is even across the board, for example, a 10-10-10. Just be careful with the amount of nitrogen (that's the first number). Too much nitrogen can cause the pansies to get what we call "leggy." This means that the space between the nodes elongates and the plant loses its compact shape, making it look untidy. I recommend adding something like Osmocote, a slow-release fertilizer, for those wet winter days. You can add this to beds and pots. This is a good way for them to get fed without adding more water to the soil. Sometimes our winters are dry, so hit 'em with a liquid fertilizer every now and then. Keep in mind the slow-release fertilizer will be the most effective when the soil temperatures are warm, like in the spring and fall. Don't worry; during the coldest days in winter, the pansies won't need much food. Once temperatures drop, cell division slows down, and in freezing temperatures, it comes to a halt.

Do these three things consistently, and you will have beautiful, full pansies loaded with blooms!

Happy planting!

Written by: Natasha Poteet, NCNLA Certified Plant Professional, NCSU Horticulturist