If you’re anxious to see some early color in the landscape, and your tulips and hyacinths aren’t up and blooming yet, think about a pot of pansies. Pansies and violas work great for scratching the itch, both in ground beds and container gardens.
Pansies and violas are similar in appearance, available in a variety of colors, with the size of the viola’s bloom about a third to a fourth that of the pansy. They are well adapted to the cool weather of spring and fall, being able to resist light and sometimes even moderate frosts.
Planting pansies is similar to installing other bedding plants, with the difference that since they are not well adapted to hot weather, it’s reasonable to place them slightly closer together, realizing that they’ll probably wither and die before growing too closely.
A site that receives about 6 hours of sun a day is ideal, in that it prevents damage on an unusually hot spring day, yet provide the essential light that they need to grow robustly. Keeping the soil moist, not soggy is important for pansies and violas, making sure that the container has adequate drainage and ground bed is sufficiently amended with compost to avoid root rot. Light fertilization with traditional “flower mix” fertilizers will extend their life as long as the temperatures are cool enough.
As shown in the photos, they mix well with other cool season species such as flowering kale and snapdragons, mimulus, lobelia, dianthus and allysum. Light wood chip mulch application is recommended, especially for ground beds.
