I love pansies. We have planters full of them every spring and a new batch every fall. So from the first weekend in April through June and from mid-September to November, our deck is full of pansy color. Over the years, I’ve learned the secret of how to grow pansies.
It took me a few years to really figure this out, but there is a secret to getting small pansy bushes exploding with color in your planters that goes beyond just using the right potting mix.
The best part is that it is not difficult and takes no extra tools. It costs nothing extra.
The Secret of How to Grow Pansies
Here is the simple but profound secret.
You must prune back all the flowers as soon as you plant them.
It is the hardest thing in the world to take off all the flowers when you’ve been waiting for months and months through the long, cold winter (or depressingly hot, humid summer) to see your lovely flowers again. But it works.
After David puts them in the planters and pots, we’ll leave the flowers on for a day or two at the most just to enjoy a bit of color. Then all the flowers get pruned back so there are no flowers for about a week to ten days.
But after that?
It’s a colorful explosion that continues for weeks.
Pruning Pansies for More Flowers
Why does it work? Because all of the energy in the plant goes to growing the plant, not keeping the flowers alive. It makes for very hardy pansy plants that give off tons of flowers for weeks to come.
Pruning can be painful, but worth it in the end.
And that, my friends, is the secret to gorgeous pansies.
All Things Pansies
For all my fellow pansy lovers!
Painted Pansies Spring Garden Flag
Tervis Watercolor Pansy TumblerPansies in Pink & Blue Glass Picture Earrings Silver PlatedCustom Decor Pansy StepsVictorian Pansies Notebook: Pansy Flowers Botanical Notebook JournalMadelaine Chocolate Pansies Solid Milk ChocolatePansy Flowers Chrome Metal License Plate FramePansies Casual SocksPansies Flowers Heart Dangle EarringsRegal Hound Designs Dog CollarPansy Real Pressed Flower Vintage Pendant Necklace
Dear Sallie … I love pansies as well. My very favorites are the ‘Johnny Jump Ups’ … such a sweet little flower. Thank you for sharing. Homespun Hugs ♥ Teri
Hi Teri,
I love the little Johnny Jump Ups too! They are so sweet. Caroline has a planter of those this year. 🙂
Sallie
Sally do you just clip the flower portion off at the top then or do you go a bit further down?This is my first year with pansies and at first they looked lovely but now they are looking long and starting to lose color despite me feeding them weekly.Do yours last through the hot months of July and August? Thanks for the information!
Joslyn
Hi Joslyn,
We pinch the entire stem off down to the bottom. I’m not sure where you live, but once it starts to get hot the pansies will get long and fade. There is nothing you can do at that point. How long pansies last is highly dependent on the weather. I’ve had them fade in early June and I’ve had them last well into July. It all depends on the weather.
Once the spring ones are done, we dump it all into the woods. I don’t reuse the soil in the fall. We then plant fresh flowers in the fall in fresh soil. I’ve tried putting petunias in the same soil after the pansies died off in the summer and it went horribly. I’d rather spend a few dollars on new soil and know that they will do well. We always wash out the planters thoroughly when we go from one planting to another.
The fall pansies will last until we get a really hard freeze. They do well with a dusting of snow that melts and chilly temps. But a heavy snow or hard freeze will finish them off.
I hope that helps!
Sallie