Lynda, you mentioned here that you were sowing pansies. This surprised me, as I normally don’t start pansies until the first week in March. When do you plant them out?
About Kathy Purdy
Kathy Purdy discovered the joys of writing in fourth grade, when she started corresponding with a former classmate. She's been writing letters ever since, first on looseleaf, then electronically, and now as weblog entries. That makes you, the blog reader, her pen pal. Her first independent (though frustrating) attempts at gardening were made in high school, though the gardening bug didn't bite hard until her mid-thirties, when she found herself mistress of a rural home on 15 acres. • USDA Hardiness Zone:4 • AHS Heat Zone: 3 • Location: rural; Southern Tier of NY • Geographic type: foothills of Appalachian Mountains • Soil Type: acid clay • Experience level: intermediate • Particular interests: colchicums, narcissus, cottage gardening, NY native plants, gardening with/for children
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Pansies need cool, moist summers to do well, but my experience is that even when they get what they want, they don’t last more than a year or two. In zones warmer than 4, they are traditionally planted in the fall, and they bloom that fall, winter over, and bloom the following spring. Then the summer heat and drought kills them. In zones 4 and colder, most kinds will die over the winter, though they love our spring, summer, and fall. That’s why the hunt is on for a hardy pansy (see the recent April 2003 posts on this blog). Sometimes, if you’re lucky, some seed germinates in early spring, and it seems like they winter over. Smaller flowered violas such as Johnny-jump-ups seem to be better perennials.
I would like to know how to keept pansies as a
perennial. I live in Massachusetts.
Thankyou, kkritters@attbi.com
It depends–if they were hardened off by the grower, they should be fine. You probably know by now! Mine in the unheated greenhouse freeze nearly every night and they are budding–spring cool weather is their favorite. If you are unsure if plants have been hardened off when you buy them, you can set them in a sheltered place outside for a few days/week to get them acclimatised before setting them out for good.
Good luck!
I PLANTED SOME PANSIES THIS WEEK-END ”EASTER” IT GOT DOWN TO 27 HERE LAST NIGHT,,THEY LOOK FROZE WILL THEY JUMP BACK OR ARE THEY DONE FOR?
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