As A Wandering Botanist, Kathy Keeler has traveling the globe searching for exotic plants and their stories. From Tierra del Fuego in Argentina to the Atacama Desert in Chile, she’s seen plants living in extreme environments.
But it was a clump of pansies she spotted on a walk through her neighborhood that most recently captured her imagination. There was nothing special about the flowers growing near a street corner in northwest Loveland, except they were in flower from November through February.
“I made an effort to go back to see them over the months,” she explains. “I didn’t expect anything to flower in December or January.”
Keeler says she’s always been attracted to pansies because they’re bright, multi-colored and easy to grow. “Plus, they smile at you.”
The winter-blooming pansies that caught her eye are in a gravel bed, nearly under a tree. No doubt the sun warming the rocks helped provide a comfy microclimate.
The plants survived being buried in snow and consecutive days of freezing temperatures. But it took only a few days of warmer weather for the leaves to look lively and then a few more days for plants to start flowering again.
Because these pansies have small faces, they are most likely Viola hiemalis (winter flowering or ice pansies). This low-growing species probably originated in the mountains of Eurasia to be so adapted to the cold. Plants are able to bloom in chilly soil and temperatures to 6 degrees.
“These guys are hardy and quick to come back into flower. They don’t have huge flowers, but they look like pansies,” Keeler says.
The more familiar garden pansies are Viola wittrockiana. These pansies are also fall-planted and can overwinter to bloom again in spring.
“The ordinary pansies started as Johnny Jump-Ups, but they’ve been hybridized over the last 200 years to get them big and colorful,” she says. Johnny Jump-Ups are the self-seeding biennial plants with small purple and yellow flowers.
Pansies that show up at garden centers in spring provide a much-needed service for gardeners and their gardens. Not only do they add color to empty flower beds and containers, but they provide an early food source for any insects that are out and about.
The pansies available for spring planting have a wide range of colors and markings that make them perfect for planting in attractive masses along borders.
Pansies will grow well in full sun, although they may continue to bloom into summer if planted where they can get some shade. To keep flowers smiling, clip them frequently and deadhead faded blooms.
Keeler says the corner patch of pansies was still going strong when she stopped watching them in February. That’s when the crocuses and snowdrops started popping up, and the winter-flowering pansies lost their blooming appeal.
Plant a Pot of Pansies
Pansies are a cool-hardy plant for colorful patio pots to get a jump on the season, says Tanner Wheat, garden center manager at Lafayette Florist, Gift Shop and Garden Center. A container of pansies adds color that will last until the temperatures heat up and other flowers take their place.
Pansies are such a good-looking flower, it doesn’t matter whether they’re planted in bunches of mixed colors or in a single color.
“The pot is a blank canvas and you can paint it with whatever colors you like,” Wheat says. “Use a good container potting soil and plant them close together for the full effect.” Pansies will coexist nicely with other cool season plants, like ornamental kale and violas.
When planting, carefully remove each plant from its container and stretch the roots out a bit to give them a good start. Then simply plant “dirt side down and color side up,” he says.
Even though plants like cool weather, watch for nighttime temperatures that dip into the teens and single digits. When it gets that cold, water containers to insulate plants and cover flowers with frost cloth fabric or cover the patio pot with a bucket.
Pansy Planters are Easy Alternative
Pansy bowls make spring color easy, especially when someone else does the planting. Garden centers get to work early in the season so gardeners don’t have to.
Kim Jackson, annuals greenhouse manager at the Flower Bin in Longmont, says when choosing pansy bowls make sure the top of the soil looks healthy and shows no signs of mold. Also, look for plants that are in full bloom with lots of flower buds ready to open.
“Pansy bowls have been grown in a nice warm greenhouse, so to put them outside during cold nights would be cruel,” she says. Take time to harden off plants so they get accustomed to cool nighttime temperatures. Expose them to the outdoors for short periods of time over three days and bring planters in at night.
Pansies are tough plants that can take a frost and even a light freeze, but Jackson advises either covering planters or moving them into the garage if a hard freeze is predicted.
There’s no set schedule for watering containers at this time of the year, just be sure to check the soil daily and water when it’s dry.
Fertilizing is important, too, she adds. Use a water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks so pansies continue to flower. As temperatures warm up, move planters into shade for a longer display of flowers.
