Annual or Perennial? Violas and pansies are short-lived perennials, meaning the plant will usually last a few years before needing to be replaced. They do, however, tend to die out in the heat of summer, and will therefore need replacing for the next season. Many gardeners accept this and grow them as annuals, replacing them every year. You can grow them for spring bloom, or autumn bloom or both, if you can keep them alive during the summer.
Whichever plant you choose, pansies and violas will provide months of colour in cooler temperatures and provide a cheerful seasonal display, whether in flowerbeds, or autumn and winter container arrangements. Can't decide? Visit one of our Sussex-based garden centres and speak to a member of our friendly and knowledgeable plant team.
A popular addition to the home herb garden, viola and pansy flowers and leaves are edible and often used to decorate cakes and other baked treats.
Leaves and flowers can be eaten raw or cooked. Ideally, plant your pansy seeds in borders or pots during September and early October — this will give them a better chance to grow sturdy roots and flowers. The lingering warmth in the soil during this pre-winter period helps to support faster growth and will prepare your pansies for producing more flowers over winter.
A hardy species, winter pansies will flower for the majority of the winter season and into spring even when planted in late October or November. Though they prefer sun, pansies also grow well in partial shade meaning that even in these darker months they will yield a display.
However, it is worth noting that pansies planted later on are less likely to survive harsh winter weather because they have had less time to develop robust roots.
Winter flowering pansies are bred to withstand frosty temperatures, drooping during harsher conditions and rebounding when temperatures rise. If properly planted and well cared for, winter pansies can last for three years or more. Despite British winters being notoriously wet, pots under covered areas can still dry out. For the best possible results, make sure covered pansies are regularly watered and likewise have good drainage.
Inspect them weekly during September and early October to see if any seed pots are forming. If they do, snip them off to ensure more flowers are formed. When you are in the garden centre choosing winter flowering pansies , experiment in the garden centre by combining plants to select your colour themes.
As our UK winter light levels are very low in winter we recommend lighter coloured flowers for the biggest impact. Yellow always works. Click here for more spring bulb ideas. Dry compost leads to starving plants. As you walk past, push a finger under the foliage weekly to check for dry compost. Due to their sturdiness, winter flowering pansies they will flower for most of the winter when planting later in October or November, but to make the biggest impact, plant more pansies and plant them closer to each other.
Winter flowering pansies will flower well into the late spring. Planting winter pansies in late autumn and winter will produce a great flush of spring flowers. One way to tackle this is to purchase or use empty pots and hanging baskets you may have to spare, plant them up with pansies and have them waiting on the sidelines as a substitute for when your summer plants have finally worn themselves out or have been hit by a frost.
Thus giving you the best of both worlds, getting to keep your summer plants until they have finished their final flourish and having bigger and more established winter pansies that will flower more throughout the winter.
Simply nurture these freshly potted plants in a warm sunny spot of your garden until you are ready to replace your summer bedding. Years ago we never used to have this problem as summer bedding was normally wiped out by early frosts in September, but the weather seems to have shifted and we now get warmer weather in the autumn here in the UK.
Due to this shift in weather, I believe this has lead to less winter bedding plants being sold in general. Sales of winter pansies are down, there is hardly a market for chrysanthemums and wallflowers have all but ceased to exist. Pansies like a well-drained soil where they will get either full sun or partial shade. To help your plants thrive keep the soil moist and mulch to help retain moisture.
Even though sales of chrysanthemums have rapidly declined they make an excellent companion for winter pansies as do mini cyclamen. You can also add a spring surprise by planting spring-flowering bulbs below your winter pansies, m iniature daffodils, crocus and dwarf iris are ideal.
So try and plant them where you look at them with the sun behind, and then the flowers will face you. Sometimes we get an Indian summer and September can be hot. This may cause your pansies to set seed and pansies that set seed stop flowering. Inspect them weekly during September and early October to see if any seed pods are forming. If they do, simply sip them off to ensure more flowers are produced. Winter pansies are not difficult to grow from seed and should be sewn weeks before you plan on transplanting them.
Fill a seed tray to within an inch 2. Prick the seedlings out when they are large enough to handle using the seed and plug compost. They can be transplanted into trays or a 3in 7cm pot and grown in a cool frame or greenhouse until September when should be ready for planting.
Amazingly you do need to still water during the winter months, especially if your pots and hanging baskets are close to your house or are under shelter. Although we typically have wet winters, we are also susceptible to high winds that dry out the compost. If planting in pots it is always best to give them a regular feed as all the goodness of the compost can be washed away during the winter.
To keep your plants flowering for as long as possible by simply removing spent or diseased blooms just above the first set of leaves.
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