Pansies

Now is the time that all gardeners are looking toward putting their gardens to bed for the winter and not thinking about planting flowers. However, fall is an ideal time to plant pansies for glorious late fall and early spring flowers. As Rebecca Kolls of Rebecca’s Garden states so well, "don’t be fooled by the name - pansy - as they are one of the hardiest flowers of the bunch!" Pansies are tough plants that are cold tolerant and able to survive outdoors during most winters in mid-Missouri.

Pansies are cool weather plants and prefer nighttime temperatures of 50 degrees and daytime temperatures around 60 degrees; thus, they are ideal for fall color and provide a terrific complement to bulbs in the springtime before perennials start blooming. Getting pansies started in the summer is difficult since they have this tendency to prefer cooler weather, so fall and early spring are ideal times to plant pansies. Many times, pansies seeded in the fall will even bloom all winter long. Last year I planted my pots with pansies in October, and they bloomed wonderfully throughout the winter. But, once daytime temperatures start hovering over 75 degrees, pansies begin to die out, and it is time to remove them and to plant summer material.

Perhaps the most attractive quality about pansies is that they come in almost every color and combination of colors. The pansy ‘Ultima Morpho’ was selected as a 2002 All-America Selection Flower Award Winner. Ultima Morpho has the bicolor design which is unique in pansies. This particular variety was named after the Morpho butterfly which is blue and yellow, as is this flower. There are many excellent varieties of pansies available that produce large flowers and vigorous plants, and some varieties are showing improved heat tolerance and will survive longer into the summer months. Pansies work well planted into flower beds with well-drained soil and are wonderful grown in containers. Plants can be rejuvenated by cutting them back, resulting in a new flush of blooms. Pansies also do well when fertilized in the springtime.

Ultima Morpho was a 2002 All-America Selection Award Winner

Mary Kroening, Missouri Master Gardener Coordinator and UMC Horticulturist, (573) 882-9633