Pansy flowers

Pansy flowers are spectacular bloomers which show their flowers in early spring. Gardeners from all over the world choose these plants to decorate their gardens, and no wonder – the verity of their colors are amazing, it includes the most incredible shades, for example black.

Only the blue color is represented in a palette of stunning shades. Pansy flowers are native to Europe, and they come from the violet family.

They start blooming in the beginning of spring, bringing the burst of color to your garden much earlier than many other plants.

And what is extremely important – it is almost effortless to grow these plants, and Pansies care will not keep you occupied in the garden all the time.

That is why even inexperienced gardeners choose these plants for their flowerbeds. Pansies look great in windowsill pots as well, and also in baskets and all sorts of containers.

Planting Pansies

Pansy flowers usually grow from seeds. Pansy seeds can be sown directly to the soil of the location you have chosen in your garden, but it is highly recommended to start indoors if you want them to bloom earlier in spring.

Seeds take a long time for germination, typically from ten to twenty days. That is why they should be sown early, sometimes it is even advisable to do that before the last frosts.

After the last frosts in your area the plants should be transplanted. Keep the distance between them around six centimeters, though they do not mind to be crowded.

Growing Pansies

These plants prefer full sun: a light shade is acceptable too. Cool climate works better for them than warm warm weather conditions. They hardly tolerate the heat in the middle of summer.

In southern regions they often grow in winter months when the weather is cooler. There are even special varieties available called winter pansies.

Pansy flowers are not very demanding to soils as well. The only requirements is to keep soil loose and moist. The plants really need a lot of water to ensure growing fast. A reasonable amount of ordinary fertilizer should be added when planting Pansies.

You should plant your flower bed in advance: with a wide range of colors it is possible to create something exceedingly beautiful. Flower beds with a few layers look especially beautiful.

Do not forget about the procedure of “dead heading”, which means you should remove the faded flowers – simply pinch off the spent blooms. It will make the blooming period longer by encouraging the new flowers to grow.

Care for Pansies - Insect and Possible Diseases

It is not common for these beautiful plants to have any diseases or insect related problems. The most typical problem for pansy flowers is to be attractive for the slugs. But it is relatively easy to deal with this creature – just use slug pellets.

Occasionally they can be attacked by aphids. In this case using an insecticide or fungicide would be enough to get rid of unwanted insects.

Pansy flowers will make a wonderful spring gift for somebody you care of. Beautifully arranged in a little basket, they will bring joy to the people you love and will remind about your kindness by their cheerful beauty. Their fragrance is not that strong, but it compensates with the variety of bright colors they have to offer.

Summary

Pansy flowers are very easy to grow, plant and care for. I think it is one of natures greatest under-appreciated flowers. Not only are they beautiful and fragrant, there is a warm feeling that takes you back in time. This was one of my mother's favorite flowers.

The thing about shade gardening is the many flowers requiring sun to bloom which will do fine before and after the leaves come and go. These need sun to flower so when the leaves fall it's time for planting. You can grow them from seed if you want or purchase them from your garden center.

Once in the ground or your favorite container they will require a fair amount of water, perhaps twice a week. This is a great time to buy a soaker hose, unless you are like me and like to see each and every plant in the garden when watering.

Mulching will keep the moisture in and lesson the need to water. Feed the soil with compost and plenty of organic matter and you can forget about commercial fertilizers.

These are hardy plants. They can take the cool weather but not the heat. When it gets too cold they'll go into hibernation for a short while and one day you'll see their little faces smiling back at you.

Deadhead the spent flowers to promote new ones. Here in zone seven I've seen these little faces do great through June in partial shade.

Don't worry -- they are not bothered too much by disease or insects. Keep your plants healthy and avoid problems.

Have fun!

Pansy Flowers Pictures

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