Pansies are cool weather flowers that are usually planted in the fall. They provide some color for your garden when other plants are going dormant. Most people buy flats of pansies to plant, but they can grow from seed. The advantage of buying plants is twofold: you can see what color the flowers are and you can plant them and have instant beauty in your flowerbed.
Pansies grow to be six to nine inches tall and nine to twelve inches wide. They need to be spaced seven to twelve inches apart if you will be leaving them there. Some people place flats of pansies very close together to form a mat of color, then remove them when the blooms fade and plant something else in their place.
Pansies will grow in any soil but prefer rich sandy loam. They do require full sun to bloom and look their best. When planted in partial shade, the pansy will not have as many blooms and the plant becomes spindly and ugly.
It is important to regularly remove spent flowers so that the plant will continue to bloom. If there are a lot of spent blossoms on the plant, it will produce seed. Most people want the pansy to spend their energy on blossoms, not seeds.
Pansies are vulnerable to the usual pests, such as leaf hoppers, aphids, crown rot, and grasshoppers. It is not wise to plant pansies in the same place more than three years in a row. Otherwise, disease and pest levels build up to the point that they compromise the plant.
Pansies are nice plants to add a highlight of color to your winter garden. They are relatively easy to grow and inexpensive to buy.
