Top 10 Reasons to Plant Pansies
With cooler weather finally here and summer annuals looking a little worn from lack of rain, it’s time to think about fall color, specifically pansies, violas and panolas. Never planted fall color before? Here are the top 10 reasons to plant pansies this year!
1 Plant now and enjoy easy care, blooming color throughout fall, winter and early spring.
2 There are great color options to choose from; a little something for everyone! Blue, white, red, yellow, purple, orange… and of course, there are all the mixes and different wing colors!
3 Pansies have large, eye-catch blooms that don’t require deadheading (although deadheading will lead to more profuse flowering).
4 Violas are the smaller bloomed cousins of pansies. Despite the more diminutive bloom size, they often provide a more dramatic display than pansies, especially in the spring.
5 Panolas offer the best of both worlds, with a bloom size in between that of a pansy and a viola. The Color Max series is considered a viola but the bloom size is that of a panola!
6 Pansies, violas and panolas work well both planted in the ground and in containers.
7 Fertilizing pansies (and cousins) is as easy as quick applications of Ferti-Lome Premium Bedding Plant Food, which provides time released fertilizer for up to four weeks. During warm spells, you can also use our favorite water soluble fertilizer BR-61.
8 These cool season annuals pair well with spring bulbs such as tulips and narcissus.
9 There are sizes available for every budget; 6 pack flats contain 36 individual plants, and flats of 4″ pots contain 18 plants. While the 4″pots are more expensive, the plants are more mature and have a more established root system. Either way, plant 6-10 inches apart, center to center, and offset the lines in a triangular planting pattern. In containers, pansies can be planted right next to each other. Not sure how many you need? Visit our online spacing calculator or spacing charts here at the store.
10 Last but certainly not least, there are trailing pansies (pictured above)! They are perfect for cool season, blooming color that spills over edges of container plantings and hanging baskets! When planted in the ground, they spread out. They are in 4.5″ pots and are more expensive than buying flats but they cover a lot more ground, and less labor to fill spaces.
Bonus 11th reason… they are BEAUTIFUL and such a cheerful sight all winter and into the early spring. For more information on how to get your landscape beds ready for seasonal color plantings, read this blog post. And of course, come see us at The Good Earth Garden Center if you have any questions!