Autumn is a great time to plant pansies (Viola x wittrockia) which need a cool season to bring their large and colourful blooms to full beauty. Pansies are completely oblivious to freezing cold nights and early morning frost and will flower throughout a cold winter.
Pansies are best planted in full sun under deciduous trees during autumn and winter. As the trees have no leaves, the warm winter sun will make sure that they thrive. As the hot sun of summer arrives, the trees will burst into leaf and provide shade for pansies that bloom well into summer.
When it comes to choosing pansy seedlings for your garden, remember that big is not necessarily best. Grandiflora pansies have the largest flowers and are best used in small gardens or near patios, where their blooms can be admired and appreciated. Multiflora pansies have slightly smaller flowers, but have more flowers per plant and are excellent for massed displays. Multiflora pansies also hold up better in heavy rain, heat or extreme cold.
Many of the new pansies in garden centres have been created by hybridisation with their smaller cousins – the violas – to create hybrids that combine the best attributes of both pansies and violas. The “Chameleon” pansies are the best known of the viola-pansy hybrid with Multiflora pansy-size blooms.
Where should you plant pansies? Sunny winter borders offer a great spot for pansies, especially in massed plantings, with a designer mix of a particular shade. Pansies will also be a colourful edge to flower beds and are great in pots, containers and window boxes. They can also be used as filler plants with spring flowering bulbs.
Consider these tips for seedling success this autumn:
* Plant your pansy seedlings in a sunny to semi-shaded position in well-drained soil. Avoid replanting in an area planted with pansies last year.
* Sprinkle one handful of superphosphate and one handful of general purpose granular fertiliser over each square metre and dig in. Add an extra 30dm bag of kraal manure to poor soils.
* Transplant seedlings in the late afternoon to miss the noon heat. When removing seedlings from the tray, press the root-ball from below and let the seedling pop out completely before handling it.
* Plant pansies about 20cm apart and violas about 15cm apart. Plant the seedling at the same depth as it was in the tray. This will prevent loss of seedlings due to stem rot. Firm the soil around each seedling. Water thoroughly with a fine sprinkler.
* Keep the soil moist until the plants have established themselves. If it is very hot, apply a mulch to keep the roots cool. Thereafter, water them when necessary.
* Foliar feed pansies with a weak solution of liquid fertiliser for spectacular results. - Saturday Star