COMMON NAME:
► Pansies and Violas
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
► Viola
GROWER HINTS:
► Pansies and violas are both in the viola family. Pansies have the bigger flowers and faces. Violas are smaller with more flowers. They both grow the same way. Pansies are actually perennials but usually are treated as annuals. They are one of the best of the winter blooming plants. Your pansies should bloom all the way through spring (summer if it is cool). Then tear them out and come back to us for something new.
GROWTH HABITS:
► Can get leggy over time and benefit from cutting back. Try cutting just one or two branches each time so that your overall plant is still full of blooms. Evelyn says cut one or two branches for you (to bring inside and enjoy in a short vase) and one or two for the plant (to keep it compact and full of blooms). Picking off dead blooms (deadheading) keeps them blooming longer.
SHADE/SUN:
► Pansies grow in bright shade or full sun. Inland – protect pansies from hot afternoon sun.
FEEDING AND WATERING:
► Pansies like good, RICH soil. Don’t forget to fertilize them at least once a month with a balanced fertilizer.
FLOWER/FOLIAGE COLOR(S):
► Range of colors and “faces”. Watch for new ones.
SEASON(S) CARRIED AT WEIDNERS:
► Winter through late fall.
CONTAINER OR GROUND?
► Wonderful in a container, in a basket, or in the ground.
PARTICULAR PESTS:
► To keep pansies at their best, use snail bait and pick the dead blossoms off. Oh yes, rabbits love pansies! A customer told us that blood meal fertilizer keeps them away. Try it and let us know. Deer Defeat works amazing too.
