How to Grow and Care for Pansies

Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are vigorous, fast-growing, colorful flowers that are a great choice for early and late-season containers or garden beds. In the violet family, Violaceae, the flowers have almost heart-shaped, overlapping petals in bright colors or bi-colors, often with face-like center markings. 

Pansies are hardy annuals, even if they are technically tender perennials grown annually. Hardy to USDA zones 7-11, they can stand up to the cold but are not heat tolerant, growing best in temperatures between 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In some climates they act as short-lived perennials or biennials when they reseed, lasting only a few seasons. 

Flower colors include white, yellow, purple, blue, red, pink, and orange, providing a seasonal palette full of options. When planted in fall or spring, pansies continuously bloom all season. In warm regions, fall-planted pansies can last from winter to spring.

Planting Pansies

Pansies are easy to grow in containers or garden beds. When buying nursery plants, choose pansies that are stocky, bushy, and have plenty of buds. Avoid plants full of open blooms, because they will be stressed to near exhaustion from working so hard in a tiny pot.

Since you can plant pansies in the early spring or fall, you'll find established pansy plants available in the garden center from August through March or April of the following year, depending on your climate. In the garden bed, plant pansies at the same depth as their nursery pot in well-draining soil. Leave 6 to 12 inches between each plant to give them room to grow and breathe. For containers, avoid crowding the plants so consider three to four pansy plants in a 10- to 12-inch pot.

Pansies Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing pansies:

• Plant in partial shade and rich soil to give them the best chance at thriving.
• ​Shear the plants back when they start to set seed to encourage new growth.
• Water regularly but not to the point of oversaturating the soil.
• Feed monthly with a balanced fertilizer.
• Allow your pansy plants to remain in your garden and rest during the hottest months. They will probably begin blooming again in the fall.
  

Light

Pansies will bloom best in full sun to partial shade, but they will stay fresh-looking and keep blooming longer if grown in partial shade. 

Soil

Although pansies are not fussy plants, they will grow best in loose, rich soil with a slightly acidic pH (6.0 to 6.2). They are heavy feeders, so amend your soil with mushroom compost to give them a good start.

Water

Regular watering will help them hang on a bit longer as weather warms, but don’t expect your pansies to last all season. Pansies prefer moist—but not soggy—soil. Use containers with drainage holes or if planting in the ground, make certain the soil drains well.

Temperature and Humidity

For strong and healthy pansy plants, a temperature range of about 40 degrees Fahrenheit at night to 60 degrees Fahrenheit during the day is ideal. They can be grown at some point in the year in all zones in the United States and as biennials in zones with mild winters. In areas without long periods of frost, strong pansy plants will continue to bloom through the fall and into winter. Pansies do not like extreme heat or high humidity at all and will begin to decline as the days warm up in areas with very hot summers.

Fertilizer

As with any long-blooming annual plant, pansies appreciate some fertilizer. However, too much food will just make them leggy. They respond well to monthly foliar feeding. Use a balanced fertilizer according to the product label's directions.

Types of Pansies

If you like the variety of colors but still want a sense of cohesion, select plants from the same series. They’ll be similar in size and markings, regardless of the color.

• Bolero Series: Large, ruffled, semi-double flowers; does well in both spring and fall
• Bingo Series: Large-flowered in 14 colors from pale blue to burgundy; blooms earlier than the popular Majestic Giants series
• Cool Wave Series: Fast-growing with vigorous bloom; plants have a spreading habit, like Cool Wave petunias. Good "spillers" for containers and hanging baskets
• Freefall Series: Day-neutral, trailing plants; great for containers
• Joker Series: Very pronounced faces; bicolored in complementary colors
• Princess Series: Compact growth habit and dainty flowers; monochromatic tones from cream to deep purple, with yellow centers

Pruning

Pansies can be fast growers and pruning helps them to flourish. Although cutting back a plant to encourage growth may seem counterintuitive, it will actually keep a pansy plant full. Pansy stems may become too long and lanky creating gaps between foliate and flowers. Removing some growth as needed will prevent this leggy or straggly look and keep them in their optimal compact form.

Pansies are best trimmed back in the spring to remove dead growth leftover from winter. Additionally, sections that are too long or leggy can be cut back as needed. Check the plants midsummer to see if they've become overgrown.

Propagating Pansies

Pansy plants from the previous spring season can be propagated by dividing into smaller clumps. This method is relatively straightforward but it's important to note that plants resulting from this method may not be as hardy as those grown from high quality seed. Here's how to propagate pansies through division.

1. Lift old plants gently about 6 weeks before the first frost.
2. Break the plants into clumps ensuring each plant retains a bit of new growth and some root.
3. Use a coldframe to strengthen them for 3 to 4 weeks.
4. Move them to the spots where they will be permanently planted.
   

How to Grow Pansies From Seed

If the plants are not deadheaded, pansies will drop seeds that readily take root. However, most pansies are F1 hybrids, and the seeds they produce will not grow into plants that resemble the parents. You will likely get flowers that have reverted to one of the genetic parents of the hybrid. For example, a patch of pansies planted one year may self-seed into a group of volunteer Johnny-jump-ups (Viola tricolor) the next year, since V. tricolor is one of the parents of many hybrid pansies.

The best way to grow hybrid pansies from seed is to buy commercial F1 hybrid seeds, which are created by hand-pollinating one species with the pollen from another species.

Stratifying pansy seeds for two weeks helps improve germination. Then take the following steps:

1. Cast the tiny seeds over a tray of seed-starting mix and moisten the tray.
2. Pansies need dark to germinate. Keep the tray covered with black plastic until the seeds germinate (about two weeks).
3. Remove the plastic and transfer the tray to a bright location.
4. Keep the soil moist.
5. When the seedlings are a few inches tall and have at least two sets of true leaves, transplant them into small pots and keep them growing in a bright location until it's time to transplant them outdoors.
6. Harden off seedlings for two weeks, gradually introducing them to outside conditions before planting outside.

Potting and Repotting Pansies

With their upright habit and pretty colors, pansies are very popular flowers to plant in containers and window boxes. Plant pansies in a container with good drainage using potting mix and a slow-release fertilizer. For maintenance, regularly pinch off leggy growth and deadhead, and feed the plants with a balanced liquid fertilizer every few weeks.

Repotting pansies should be done every two years or when you notice they've outgrown the container. Repot them in the early spring, so they can settle in while it's still cool. You can use a larger container made of any material, as long as it has drainage holes since pansies don’t like soggy roots.

Overwintering

Though some varieties of pansy, such as the ice pansy, are bred to withstand light snows, expect the pansies to die away in winter. Pansies can go dormant when air temperatures dip below 25°F and may die back completely below 20°F but can survive an occasional frost when grown in temperatures between 40°F to 60°F. If you didn't deadhead the pansies in the garden, you might be surprised with volunteer seeds sprouting up when spring weather arrives.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

The most common issue with pansies is deer. You may have to add deer repellent to your pansies to save them.

Slugs can be a nuisance during wet seasons, especially if growing in partial shade. Use a slug bait or thin out the planting, so it’s less damp. Occasionally, aphids will attack pansies. Insecticidal soap should remove them, or you can spray them with a strong blast of water but use caution since pansies are rather small and delicate.

Pansies are prone to many health problems caused by fungi, including gray mold, root and crown rot, powdery mildew, anthracnose, and leaf spots. Fungicides should protect your pansies.

How to Get Pansies to Bloom

Pansies are such vigorous growers that they will almost always bloom well, even if their soil is lacking. However, you can encourage bigger blooms and more growth by feeding monthly, deadheading spent flowers, and cutting back leggy growth.

Bloom Months

In warmer regions, pansies can bloom well into September and October and even through winter months. In more seasonal climates, they will typically bloom in the late spring and summer months.

How Long Do Pansies Bloom?

Pansies will bloom for several months depending on temperatures and growing conditions. To make sure they bloom as long as possible, keep them well irrigated and fertilize regularly. Deadhead whenever necessary by snipping off the stem to the base of the foliage. If you can stay ahead of the fading flowers and seed pods, new flowers will continue to appear.

What Do Pansy Flowers Look and Smell Like?

Pansy flowers come in a multitude of patterns and colors covering nearly the full spectrum, including true blue. They carry five rounded petals and may have a pattern of black lines radiating from the center. They also can have a dark center referred to as a "face". They have a perfume-like fragrance that varies in strength depending on hue.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Applying a balanced liquid fertilizer once a month and switching to a bone meal fertilizer right before the blooming season will prepare the plant for consistent flowering. Cutting back any leggy plants will also help to make room for more bloomers.

Caring for Pansies After They Bloom

Most regions don't entertain year-round pansy growth and gardeners will simply plant new ones each year. In some areas, they will last until a new season. Once the flowering season has ended, you can pinch off the dead blooms and seed pods and allow the plant to go dormant.

In warmer zones, pansies may look a little tired in the peak of winter, but they'll perform beautifully when temperatures rise a bit, looking lovely in late winter and early spring.

Deadheading Pansies

Trim back pansy blooms as they begin to fade. This will promote continuous flowering for the entire growing season. This will also prevent the plants from becoming too leggy or straggly.

Common Problems With Pansies

Wilting Plant

The pansies may have root or crown rot, which results in a general droopy nature and possible blackening of the stem near the soil. Avoid overwatering and crowding pansies to eliminate this risk. A plant has little to no chance of recovering from this problem.

Brown, Shriveled Leaves

Check for powdery mildew, especially if you see leaves turning brown and shriveling up during hot, humid weather. Pluck off the affected leaves and make sure the plants have adequate air circulation.

Leaves With Spots

Pansies with leaves that have different types of spots on them could be suffering from any number of fungal problems, such as anthracnose, leaf spot, rust, or scab. Spots can range in color from pale green to tan to brown and purple-black. To relieve any of these issues, make sure you are correctly fertilizing and watering your pansies, as well as promoting good garden hygiene by giving your plants plenty of space for air circulation.