How to Plant and Care for Pansy Flowers (Pansies)

Pansies are hardy flowers that bloom in the spring, last through the summer and are often still sharing their beauty right into fall.  Of course, to keep them blooming during the summer months, you must water them often.  In the hottest part of the summer, I do water my pansies daily, and they keep smiling up at me.

Pansies come in a variety of colors.  Some have faces and some are wave pansies.  With so many options, they are perfect for gardens, whether planted alone or mixed with other flowers.  They get along well with other flowers and can be interspersed among them without choking them out.  I plant my bulbs in the fall, and then plant pansies on top of them in the early spring.  The bulbs shoot right up through them and naturally create a lovely bouquet of flowers in varying heights.

 

When to Plant Pansies

The Pansy flower plant is classified as a perennial, but anyone with a hard, cold winter will most likely have to replace their pansies annually.  If you experience a mild winter, you will be blessed with year round pansy blooms.  Pansies can survive in temperatures slightly below freezing for a few days, but they can’t survive weeks of extreme cold.  A little frost in early spring won’t harm them though.

If you are planting a nursery flower that is already blooming, you would plant them in early spring.  However, if you plan ahead and plant seeds, you would need to start them indoors about 8 weeks before planting time.  January is an excellent month for planting your seeds indoors.  Then, they will be ready to transfer outside in early spring.

When you set out your pansies, separate them about 8″ apart in a prepared bed of soil.  I always dig a dozen or more small holes.  Then I add Osmocote plant food to each hole as directed on the bottle, and set the plant in the hole on top of the Osmocote.

 

Where to Plant Pansies

Pansies can be planted in full sun, but make sure you keep them watered during the hot summer months.  Pansies can be planted in either flower beds or in containers.  They are indeed beautiful container blooms, but they are less likely to survive as long in a pot.   Container soil dries out faster and it also freezes faster than the ground.  But, containers can be moved for protection.  Therefore, you can move a pot of pansies into the shelter of an enclosed patio, garage, or storage room with windows.  They do still need exposure to the sunlight.

Be sure to remove dead flowers to encourage more blooming.  You can also pinch back the stems to the first set of leaves to reduce the leggy growth so common to pansies.

 

Pansy Seeds Available to Buy Online

 Outsidepride 15 Seeds Viola Spreading Pansy Cool Wave Purple Spreading, Trailing Flower Seeds for PlantingCheck Price Mix Pansy Seeds for Planting – 200 Non-GMO Heirloom Flower SeedsCheck Price Seed Needs, Rococo Pansy Seeds – 600 Heirloom Seeds for Planting Viola GermaniaCheck Price Swiss Giants Mix Pansy Seeds – 1,000+ Non-GMO Heirloom Flower SeedsCheck Price

Shopping online is often easier than running from store to store searching for exactly what we want. These seeds should be started indoors and transferred outside when they are about eight to twelve weeks old. As soon as you see the seedling start to sprout, move them close to a window for sunlight or provide fluorescent plant light for 16 hrs. a day. You will also need a plant food that is safe to use indoors, like the one featured below.  A week before you want to plant, set your seedlings outside in shade. This will give them time to adjust to the outdoor climate before they are planted.

 Extra Strength 72 Cell Seedling Starter Trays, 5 Pack, for Seed Germination, Plant Propagation, Soil & Hydroponics, Growing Trays, Planting Starter Plugs by Bootstrap FarmerCheck Price FECiDA Clip On Grow Lights for Indoor Plants 1000 Lumen, 2024 Newest Brightest LED Plant Grow Light for Houseplants, Bonsai, Pot Plant, Full Spectrum Growing Lamp with 4,8,12 Hr TimerCheck Price Voluntary Purchasing Group 10728 Fertilome Geranium Hanging Plant and Pansy Water Soluble Plant Food Fertilizer, 8-OunceCheck Price

 

*The flowers above are planted in one of the concrete containers that I painted.  You can learn how to paint your own concrete planters right here on Easy Backyard Gardening by clicking here:  How to Paint Your Own Garden Figurines & Decor