If left in situ, pansies will seed themselves and regrow the following spring. Also be sure to water the transplant promptly after repotting. Cover your seedbed or flowerpot with white plastic film (a cut open white garbage bag is a good alternative), aluminum foil, or moist burlap. Cast the seeds over a tray of seed-starting mix, moisten the tray, and keep covered with black plastic until the seeds germinate (about two weeks). You should water your seedlings every morning, but make sure the soil isn't too damp before doing so. Because there's no severe cold to push the plants into a dormant period, they can go to seed, drop their seeds and those seeds can grow the following year. Mix together your soil and compost. Once the pansies have developed 6-8 leaves, plant them 12 inches apart in a sunny spot in your garden. The seedlings will outgrow the seed tray in a couple of weeks and you'll either have to transfer them to pots or to an outdoor location. Pinch excessively long stems back to keep the plant shaped in a neat mound of foliage and flowers. For spring bedding, late April to mid-May is the optimum time, depending on the weather conditions. Because they have little freeze tolerance, most will die in sustained winters. A good location in your home to place your seeded pots is in a cool basement or closet. Can I transplant flowering pansies to another pot? Always follow the directions provided by your fertilizer when applying it to your pansies. However, deep infrequent watering encourages a deeper rooting system which develops healthier and stronger pansies. This article was co-authored by Maggie Moran. Before you grow pansies, make sure the last frost for the winter has passed before planting them. When starting pansy seeds indoors in late winter, barely cover the seeds with moist seed starting mix. Pansy seed should be sown early indoors and transplanted outside after frost. Take the soil's temperature twice throughout the day to get a better measurement. This keeps the moisture in and sunlight out. Modern horticulturists have developed a wide range of pansy flower colors and bicolors including yellow, gold, orange, purple, violet, red, white, and even near-black (very dark purple). This means if you have 12 inches (30 cm) of soil, you need at least 3 inches (8 cm) of compost material. Annual and biennial pansies can act like perennial pansies in consistently warm climates, such as those in zones 9 to 11. The water will usually dry before nightfall, preventing fungal diseases from developing overnight. Nonetheless, very helpful and better than anything else I could find from a quick search. Seeds . It probably has to do with the water you use, fertilizer, anything that enters the soil. Pansies can be grown in pots, but they do best in the ground. The main surge of sales of winter pansies is from early September to mid-October. They should be watered frequently and planted in a well-draining pot. But before you toss them on the compost pile spend a few minutes to save some seeds for the fall crop. I don't know of any pansies that don't produce seed, although the seed might not look like the original flower due to cross-pollination. There are no true perennial pansies that return year after year and flower. However, they are more commonly grown as annuals. Choose healthy, bushy pansies with unopened buds if you plan to plant mature pansies in your garden. Pansies are biennials, which means they take a season to mature before blooming and setting seed. Morning temperatures are usually low and watering in the morning prepares your pansies for the heat of the day. Then, plant the seeds in an indoor seed tray filled with watered soil. Dig up and discard old flowers or vegetation from the soil. Pansies thrive in full sun and partial shade. Pansies can grow up to 8 inches (20 cm) tall and spread as far as 10 to 20 inches (25 to 51 cm) across. Sow seeds thinly and evenly in seed starting formula. However, check the quality of your soil daily and water if needed. Note that they take a long time to mature, so you allot 10 to 12 weeks to start germinating before the last frost date. [1] This improves the likelihood of your pansies sprouting and creates a good foundation of healthy pansy plants. This article has been viewed 99,450 times. If you live in a mild climate with mild winters, you can expect to see your pansies blooming all throughout the winter. Very informative. Although technically a perennial, they often fail to survive hot summers. They're especially helpful if you're planting pansy seeds when temperatures are not ideal. Shallow and frequent watering causes water to evaporate quicker which causes pansies to develop a shallow rooting system. Please consider making a contribution to wikiHow today. Organic fertilizers have a slower release rate which releases nutrients over several months. They have smaller flowers and leaves than Pansies. Do this until you see your seeds sprouting which takes about 5 to 8 days. You can also choose to. Winter pansies are awesome in the garden or in a container. Every dollar contributed enables us to keep providing high-quality how-to help to people like you. by Cordobo. The Joker Series has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. If you're planting in a field or garden, you should take temperatures at several locations in the soil where you plan to plant your pansies. Will roses from cuttings be as healthy as one's I've bought? Pansies like full or partial sun, but need cooler temperatures to thrive. As biennials, pansies bloom twice and live for about two years, but are often just treated as annual flowers. So in most climates, the best time to plant pansy seeds is during the fall or after the frost in late winter. Approved. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, Division of the University of Georgia focused on research and community education, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/ad\/Grow-Pansies-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Grow-Pansies-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/ad\/Grow-Pansies-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid495895-v4-728px-Grow-Pansies-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"