Grow Your Own Pansies

The Pansy is of easy culture, blossoms profusely for months, and may be had in many colors from delicate pastel shades to rich, dark tones, some solid colors, others blotched, penciled or veined. There are varieties so ruffled that they appear almost double. Those with “faces” seem all the more friendly and amiable.

Fresh, new crop seed is generally available in late July and early August which is the time to plant the seeds to insure months of beautiful blossoms. Seeds planted as late as early September produce plants large enough to winter over safely, but they do not bloom as soon as seeds sown earlier. It has been stated that pansy seeds do not germinate unless the nights are cool, but I have no trouble if I prepare the seed bed frame carefully and shade the young plants during hot weather.

A few seeds planted in plastic pots or in flower pots sunk into the ground. A seed flat with soil is all that is required space wise for any number of seed packets.

The soil should be light and loose, of a spongy texture, free from lumps. Heavy soil can be mixed with sand, and a generous amount of humus in some form such as peat or compost added. The soil should be moist to a depth of several inches. Water the bed repeatedly until the moisture has soaked down five or six inches. This is very important. Let it dry until the surface can be worked without caking.

Sowing the Seeds

The seeds may be broadcast if planted in pots, or a very seed flat. A larger area ought to be marked off in rows to make weeding and cultivating easier. Press a narrow board down lightly to mark the rows which should be four or five inches apart. If several kinds of seeds are planted, label each row carefully. Plant the seeds as evenly as possible and press them into the soil. Sprinkle a little soil over them… just enough to barely cover the seeds from sight. Water very gently, but well, to settle the seeds snugly. Open a burlap bag out flat, or use newspapers, to lay over the planted bed. Cover the seed flat with a second burlap bag.

If the pre-planting watering was done thoroughly and the bed watered well after planting, there should be no danger of the soil drying out if it is kept carefully covered, but it is advisable to examine the planting every day to see that all is well. It would be fatal to let the bed dry out even once during the period of germination. The two main reasons for pansy seed planting failures are planting the seeds too deep and permitting the seed bed to dry out during the critical germination period. If the weather should turn very hot during this time, it makes for cooler temperatures to sprinkle the burlap several times each day.

Ten days is usually given as the time it takes for pansy seeds to germinate but under very favorable conditions the most energetic seeds may be up in six days. It will take 11 or 12 days for the lazy ones. The lower cover directly over the seeds must be removed as soon as there are any signs of germination or the little plants will grow right through the burlap and be pulled up when the cover is lifted. The young plants should have protection on windy days or when the rays of the sun are hot.

Thin the plants to stand three or four inches apart when they get their fourth leaf. The soil must be kept nicely moist but never soggy wet for any length of time. Let the surface dry between waterings. Keep the weeds pulled and cultivate occasionally between the rows. The plants may remain in the seed flat until spring or be moved to their permanent places in late September or early October. For the best fall growth and for early spring blossoms, they should be in a sunny location. The north side of a foundation is too shady at any time unless they are set far enough out to get several hours of morning and afternoon sun. An east location in the morning sun is ideal. Wherever they are set, they should have a soft, spongy soil in which the mass of fragile, white thread-like roots can crawl and grow unhampered.

Winter Preparation

Pansies require moist conditions until the ground freezes. Dried leaves or half-rotted straw can be placed around and under the plants to conserve moisture, to keep the soil cool, and later to prevent the ground from heaving. A light, loose covering like evergreen branches is placed over the pansies in December. Because the plants remain green all winter, one must avoid any top covering that would pack down or smother the plants. If the seeds were planted early and the season favorable, the plants will be budded and even blooming when winter comes. They winter over easily and will be among the first plants to show growth and blossoms in late March.

When I first began to grow pansies, I was told that it was absolutely necessary to keep every blossom picked or the plants would cease to bloom. It is true that the more I picked the more they bloomed, but the blossoms became smaller and smaller on shorter and shorter stems. Every available container from small vases and odd jars to sugar bowls and cream pitchers was crowded with pansy blossoms, but no one could say they were lovely.

In time I learned if the blossoms were not picked they became larger by the third or fourth day after opening. I discovered that it was only necessary to remove the FADED blossoms to prevent seed formation. With this treatment the plants continued to bloom… they were a joy to behold. When flowers were wanted for the house, the blossoms were cut with stems long enough to include plenty of foliage. A few such stems arranged loosely in a low container is truly lovely. Cutting part of the foliage has the same effect as pruning and promotes new growth with more buds and flowers.

If you have been buying a basket of pansies in full bloom in May, you are cheating yourself out of months of delightful blossoms. You will be amazed at what you have missed by not planting your own selection of pansy seeds in August.

by OR Tiemann

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