Winter Pansy Care Guide: How to Grow This Cold-Hardy Flower

When autumn colors fade and seasonal plantings die back, dedicated gardeners are already thinking about bringing life back into the landscape, but you don't have to wait until next spring. Consider planting winter pansies for some cheerful color throughout the off-season.

Winter pansies (Viola hiemalis) are the most cold hardy members of the Violaceae family, gracing the garden autumn through spring with a broad variety of colors and bi-colors showing the classic blotch marking common to pansy flowers.

The flowers on winter pansies are slightly smaller than other pansy types. Winter pansies grow best in cool weather and can withstand both freezing temperatures and snow cover.

How to Plant Winter Pansies

Winter pansies are grown in the ground and in containers. You may find plants at nurseries and garden centers as early as August, but wait to set them out until late September and October when daytime temperatures have cooled to around 60°F.

Plant pansies 7 to 12 inches apart in moist, loamy, well-draining soil. Amend garden soil with aged compost, though standard potting soil works fine for container grown plants. Choose a pot 12 inches in diameter so that you can move it easily when temperatures begin to heat up in spring (they will last longer if moved to a cooler location).

Winter Pansy Care

The more attention you give your winter pansies the better they will do. These off-season bloomers are not difficult to care for, but regular watering, fertilizing, and pruning increases the number and vibrancy of flowers.

Light

Winter pansies need about 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. In autumn and spring when temperatures are a bit warmer, locations that receives morning sun and afternoon shade work best. This pansy type will grow in part shade but flowers may be fewer and smaller.

Soil

Moist, humus-rich loam that drains well is ideal for winter pansies. They require an acidic pH between 4.8 and 5.8 so make necessary adjustments prior to planting.

Water

Winter pansies require regular watering so that soil stays consistently moist. It's a good idea to do a moisture check if your area comes up short on rain and snowfall. If plants start to look gray and wilted, they need water.

Insufficient watering is a common mistake and may seem counterintuitive. Depending on your growing zone and climate, your plants may need to be watered as often as twice a week. Container plants need more frequent watering than in-ground plants.

Temperature and Humidity

Winter pansies grow best at temperatures between 40°F and 60°F. They can withstand a freeze, snow cover, and temperatures as low as 25°F. Plants may look wilted in those temperatures, but they will rebound once they receive enough sun exposure.

If your area experiences extended periods of freezing or below freezing temperatures, add a layer of pine straw mulch to your garden pansies, and move potted plants to a sheltered area indoors when possible.

Fertilizer

Feed your plants every two to three weeks with an all purpose fertilizer with a greater amount of phosphorous. An water-soluble product with an NPK 15-30-15 works well. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers which produce more foliage and fewer flowers.

Potted plants can be fertilized every two weeks while pansies grown as bedding plants should be fed monthly throughout their growing season.

Types of Pansies Best For Winter

Winter hardy pansies offer plenty of choices when it comes to color and variety. Here are a few popular types to keep your garden alive during the off-season.

• Viola cornuta 'Admire Cream': Ivory blooms with deep yellow centers are a standout planted with evergreens. This variety adds a touch of elegance when combined with other vibrant colors of the holiday season.
• Viola cornuta 'King Henry': This variety resembles tiny orchids with bright violet petals, purple throats and yellow and white centers. 'King Henry' adds vibrant color to the winter garden.
• Viola cornuta 'Penny' series': At just 4 to 6 in. tall, the 'Penny' series is a excellent filler plant for off-season container gardening. The series offers plenty of colors and bi-colors from which to choose.
• Viola cornuta 'XP' series: Another compact variety at 6 to 8 in. tall, this cool weather bloomer comes in solid colors and bi-colors ranging from orange to lavender to red.
• Viola x Wittrockiana 'Matrix' Series: This winter pansy series produces larger flowers in both solid and bi-colors ranging from deep reds to orange to yellow. Blooms autumn through spring depending on your USDA growing zone.

Pruning

Deadheading spent blooms is important if you want to keep your winter pansies going throughout the cool season. As soon as a flower begins to droop, pinch it off with your thumb and index finger or use a snipper to remove the flower at its base.

Potting and Repotting Winter Pansies

Growing winter pansies in containers is an easy way to maintain them during the winter season. Pansies will grow in almost any type of container, including everything from a teacup to an old boot. The container must have drainage holes, so if you choose an unconventional planter, be sure to add holes in the bottom.

Gather together your preferred container, pansy plants, and good quality potting soil and follow these directions.

1. Fill the container to within an inch of the top rim with potting medium.
2. Grasp the plant at its base and gently pull while pushing up from the bottom to release the plant from the container, taking care to preserve the roots.
3. Make holes 1 to 8 inches apart in your planting pot (pansies don't mind being crowded).
4. If the plug is tightly compacted, gently separate the bottom in half and feather out the roots.
5. Place each plant in a hole, keeping the crown at the same level as in its original container.
6. Backfill in with soil, and avoid mounding potting soil up over the crown.
7. Tamp soil down to keep the pansy plant in an upright position.
8. Water well and place in a location that receives 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.

Winter pansies are either biennials or short-lived perennials, but they are most often grown as annuals. When cared for properly, these hardy plants die back in the heat of summer but may rebound in autumn for as many as three years. Repotting isn't necessary.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

Blooming in the off-season, winter pansies have the advantage of fewer pests and weather related diseases. Pests include sap sucking insects like aphids, whitefly, and spider mites. Slugs and snails also are attracted to your pansy plants.

Apply insecticidal soap to discourage insect pests. A gritty mulch such as coffee grounds or broken eggshells will deter slugs and snails.

Common diseases to watch for include powdery mildew, root rot, gray mold, and anthracnose. Discourage these problems by watering correctly, and avoid exposing your plants to excessive bright, direct sunlight.

How to Get Winter Pansies to Bloom

Winter blooming pansies benefit from regular watering and fertilization, especially when grown in containers. They are most often planted in autumn for winter color but can also be planted in very early spring for first color in the spring garden.

Bloom Months

In climates with mild winters, many varieties of winter pansy bloom from November through May. In areas with harsher winters, autumn planted winter pansies may not flower until March. Moved to a cool, shady location when temperatures start to rise, spring bloomers may continue to flower until July.

What Do Winter Pansies Look and Smell Like?

Winter pansies can be found in all the colors and bi-colors although flowers are a bit smaller than traditional pansy types. The palate is broad including white, orange, red, pink, purple, violet, lavender, and yellow. Single colors often have contrasting centers, and bi-colors feature the well-loved pansy blotch.

Flowers have a delicate perfume-like scent most noticeable in the morning and evening. Yellow and blue varieties are said to have the strongest scent.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Pinching out faded flowers is critical for keeping you winter pansy blooming. Use your thumb and index finger, or you can opt for a snipper and remove the spent flower at its base.

If your plant becomes leggy as the weather warms, cut back the main stem leaving a couple leaves. Keep soil moist and feed your plant with a balanced liquid fertilizer to help it regrow. Move potted plants to a new location that receives afternoon shade.

Caring For Winter Pansies After They Bloom

Winter pansies are often grown for a single season. However, you may be able to get several seasons from your plants if you cut them back to the crown and apply a layer of mulch during the summer months.

Common Problems With Winter Pansies

Yellow or Stunted Leaves

Foliage problems are often the result of incorrect pH. Winter pansies need an acidic soil with a pH of 4.8 to 5.8. Planting in alkaline soil results in nutrient deficiencies that adversely affect leaves causing stunting, deformities, yellowing and premature death. Test your soil before amending it.

Few Flowers

When winter pansies fail to bloom or cease blooming its usually due to a maintenance error. It's critical to keep these plants deadheaded through fall, winter, and spring; fed regularly with a high phosphorus liquid fertilizer; and kept consistently moist with a regular watering schedule.