Pansy
Deadhead relentlessly — a viola or pansy left to set seed will slow and eventually stop flowering, while regular deadheading can keep the display going for months, sometimes almost year-round with winter-flowering strains.
Care
Regular watering, especially in pots and containers, which dry out fast; don't let the compost dry out completely.
Fertile, moist but well-drained soil or compost.
Deadhead regularly (pinch off spent flowers along with the seed pod behind) to keep flowering going for months. Trim back leggy plants by around a third mid-season to encourage fresh, compact growth.
A dilute balanced liquid feed every couple of weeks keeps a container display going; in the ground a spring feed is enough. A fed, deadheaded viola flowers for months longer than a neglected one.
Softwood cuttings from non-flowering shoots in summer root quickly, and many perennial violas can be divided at the same time. Bedding pansies and violas are bought as plants and treated as one-season plants.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchDeadhead regularly as flowering ramps up in spring. how ›
- JuneTrim straggly plants back by around a third to refresh flowering. how ›
- OctoberPlant winter-flowering strains now for colour right through to spring.
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchDeadhead regularly as flowering ramps up in spring. how ›
- JuneTrim straggly plants back by around a third to refresh flowering. how ›
- OctoberPlant winter-flowering strains now for colour right through to spring.
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryDeadhead regularly as flowering ramps up in spring. how ›
- JuneTrim straggly plants back by around a third to refresh flowering. how ›
- OctoberPlant winter-flowering strains now for colour right through to spring.
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryDeadhead regularly as flowering ramps up in spring. how ›
- JuneTrim straggly plants back by around a third to refresh flowering. how ›
- NovemberPlant winter-flowering strains now for colour right through to spring.
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Fewer flowers, stretched stems.
What to do. Trim back hard by about a third and feed — usually reflowers within a few weeks.
How to spot it. Ragged holes in leaves and flowers, especially on young or newly planted specimens.
What to do. Protect small plants until established.
How to spot it. Pale patches on the upper leaf surface, fuzzy grey growth beneath, in damp, crowded conditions.
What to do. Improve spacing and air flow; remove badly affected plants.
Questions
Pansy: is it hardy?
H5: Hardy in most of the UK, but can struggle in the coldest inland or upland spots. It survives down to −15 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
One of the most popular bedding plants for pots, hanging baskets and window boxes.
Pansy: when do you prune it?
Deadhead regularly (pinch off spent flowers along with the seed pod behind) to keep flowering going for months. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in June.
Pansy: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in September–May.
When do you feed it?
A dilute balanced liquid feed every couple of weeks keeps a container display going; in the ground a spring feed is enough. A fed, deadheaded viola flowers for months longer than a neglected one. Feeding months, UK: April, June, August.