Plant pansies for a bright winter

Plant pansies for a bright winter

One of the favourite plants for many people is the pansy.
The patterns on the flowers often resemble little faces. It is a versatile plant and during the cooler months they thrive in sun or shade and wet or dry. This adaptability means they are used in so many situations. They are grown en mass in traffic islands and public parks. Our own council often has them planted in parts of our main street. On a smaller scale many will buy just a few and grow them in pots, where the intriguing and varying patterns of each are individually appreciated. These plants bring much joy to many people.

With autumn here we are in the midst of the main time for pansy planting. The garden centre is full of these garden delights in options to suit everyone. They come in six-pack punnets, 24-pack bulk lots, single pots in flower to give instant appeal. There are hanging baskets already well established ready to be taken home and hung up, looking the part immediately. There are also bowls of flowering pansies — perfect to place by the front doorstep on your way in and leave there to greet guests and offer cheer.
This happy, easy-going flower is easy to grow, so much so that if left to their own devices will often self sow and come up by themselves year after year. They will naturalise themselves into an area coming up between cracks of paving or concrete, popping up throughout a garden, self sowing into containers or pots nearby. They seem to survive in the toughest of spots with little water or sun as well as thriving in well watered, fertile, sunny areas.

Pansies establish quickly, reaching flowering stage from first seedling appearance or planting in a matter of weeks. They then proceed to flower prolifically for six months or more. It is little wonder the pansy is such a popular plant. They thrive through three cooler seasons of the year, but dislike the hot intense sun of summer. The cooler weather, while slowing the speed of establishment a little, doesn't seem to slow the flowering. The pansy is an excellent plant to grow for colour during dull winter months.
The versatility of uses and tolerance of such a range of conditions has allowed this plant to gain popularity through all generations and ages of gardeners and non gardeners.
There are a number of ways you can use these cheerful, easy to grow colourful plants to brighten up your winter abode and capture the imagination of others.

Pansies in hanging baskets
They are excellent for growing in hanging baskets. Planting both the top and sides of the basket will create the appearance of a ball of colour which will look spectacular where ever you hang them. Using a wire basket with a coconut liner will allow you to be able to put a slit in the sides with a craft knife through which the seedlings can be planted. When growing in hanging baskets, watering needs to be watched more carefully as given they are suspended and they tend to dry out quicker than pots on the ground. The addition of saturaid to the potting mix, if it does not already contain it, will help dramatically with water retention.

Brighten the front entranceway
Nothing is more welcoming that a colourful floral display by the main entranceway, whether it is a home, shop, business or community building, a display of pansies will provide a most eye catching and colourful display for winter and spring in garden borders and pots. Colours include purple, white, blues, black, scarlet, yellow, gold etc and mixed colours.
All are vibrant and produce a bright mix of colourful cheerful flowers on strong compact plants for a long period of time.
When growing in pots don't be tempted to reuse old potting mix — tip this into the compost heap and start again. More than half the success of any plant depends on the soil it grows in. Select a decent potting mix and you're on your way to success. In the garden centre we recommend (and use ourselves) Natural Bark Potting Mix.

Pansy or viola?
What is the difference between these two similar but slightly different flowers?
Plants considered to be pansies have four petals pointing upwards, and only one pointing down. Violas have three petals pointing up and two pointing down. I think the common description that most of us generally use is simpler; with the term "pansy" for those multi-coloured large-flowered hybrids that are grown for bedding purposes every year, while "viola" is usually reserved for smaller, more delicate annuals and perennials.

Slugs and snails
The biggest pest for pansies as with most annuals and bedding plants is slugs and snails. These critters seem to disappear during the day and come out at night when no one is watching and devour young seedlings. When planting it is prudent to spread slug pellets around to protect your winter colour display. The only other problem that is some times encountered when growing pansies is mildew. This shows up in the form of violet grey powder on the tops and/ or undersides of the leaves. It is a sign of humidity and in Whanganui it usually only shows itself in late spring at the end of "pansy season" when the plants are best removed to make way for summer plantings of annuals.

Pansies — the secret food for success
The little known but favourite food of pansies is dried blood. This is not a fancy trade name but the name of the actual product, 100 per cent organic from the meat works. It comes as a powder in a 300gm sachet which can be sprinkled around the plant and watered in. It is high in organic nitrogen and iron and if applied regularly as a side dressing it will help prolong the flowering season and improve the health and strength of your pansies. This is quite different to blood & bone which contains phosphate at a relatively high level which promotes more root establishment than top growth and flowering promoted by dried blood. Use dried blood for pansies in baskets, pots or in the garden — you'll be pleased with the results. Have a good week.

Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre