Spring pansies

Adding immense beauty to spring gardens through colorful blooms.

So popular!

Pansies are attractive and popular spring flowers. This flowering plant adds tremendous cheer to ordinary gardens. They are suitable for planting in the ground and in container gardens.

You can eat them!

As a bonus, these beautiful plants are edible. Many people enjoy putting pansies in salads or adding candied pansies to desserts. Mainly, they have a mild taste, so they often serve as a garnish. Per savvygardening.com, all parts are edible, but do make sure they are totally free of chemical pesticides.

Why spring?

Pansies grow best when soil temps range from 45 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The plants particularly enjoy cool spring temperatures in northern gardens. Additionally, pansies are considered a long-flowering plant, so they are highly desired in many spring garden landscapes.

Best planting time?

Officially called Viola x wittrockiana, the flowering beauties can be planted in the fall or in early spring.

Seeds or plants – what’s the best way to go?

Buying established plants is the easiest way to go, as planting from seeds can be challenging and seeds are slow to germinate.

Are they annuals or perennials?

Pansies are considered an annual or short-living perennial that grow about 6 to 12 inches tall.

What do they look like?

They have heart-shaped or rounded leaves that sprout from the base, and oval leaves that grow from the stems. The flowers generally have five petals, three that extend horizontally, and two vertically. Blooms are generally 1 to 3 inches in diameter.

What colors are they?

Pansies typically grow in combinations of purplish blue, yellow, and white, however due to hybrid and wild varieties, flower colors widely vary.

What weather conditions do they enjoy?

Pansies like full or partial sun – mainly thriving with some morning sun rather than full-day or strong late afternoon heat. They enjoy moist yet well-drained soil. Pansies also require some space between plants, about 7 to 12 inches, to optimally grow.

Care instructions?

Caring for pansies is straightforward. They thrive from regular watering. A balanced fertilizer may be beneficial for producing more flowers and foliage.  Per Sixteen Acres Garden Center, “Be wary of using a nitrogen-heavy fertilizer, though, as this can result in more foliage instead of flowers.” To get new flowers to come up on new stems, Almanac.com suggests pinching off the expired flower or cutting it just below the faded bud.

When do they bloom?

Pansies can bloom throughout the summer in cooler northern regions and during spring and fall in other areas. And their bloom time can be extended by planting them indoors.

More good news!

Per Gardeningknowhow.com, “Pansies still liven up the flower garden all summer long…” That’s because new types of long-lasting pansies have been developed with blooms that can last the whole year through.

The recap

Spring pansies are desirable plants for the outdoors for both garden beds and containers. Not only are they easy to grow and care for, but the colorful flowers add high impact to any spring garden. Consider planting pansies today!