Looking for a few secret tips and tricks to keep your pansies blooming longer, brighter and bigger than ever this year?
Pansies are the ultimate “cool weather” annual. Not only can they survive in cooler temperatures, they actually thrive in it. In fact, pansies are one of the few blooming annual flowers that can handle a light frost, freeze, or even a snowfall – and still keep on blooming!
Because of their fondness of cool weather, pansies are usually the first choice of gardeners when it comes to getting a little late winter or early spring color into their landscape. After all, you can plant them when temperatures are in the 40°’s (F) – which is more than enough to take out most other flowering annuals.
But if there is one drawback when it comes to growing pansies, it’s that many gardeners struggle to keep them in bloom as soon as spring begins to warm up. Unfortunately, as soon as temperatures soar, pansies usually begin to struggle.
Although it’s true that pansies do not perform well in high heat, the truth is, with just a little extra care, it’s actually quite easy to keep them blooming not just all the way through spring, but even well into summer too!
How To Keep Pansies Blooming Longer Than Ever!
When it comes to getting your pansies to continue flowering longer, success all boils down to taking care of three simple but key tasks.
The first is to deadhead and prune your plants back to make way for new growth and blooms. The second is to give them a big boost of power to rekindle their growth. And last but not least, you need to give your pansies some shade once the heat arrives!
Below is an in depth look at each of the 3 specific steps – along with a few extra tips to keep your pansies alive and blooming big for far longer than you ever thought possible!
#1 Deadheading & Cutting Back – How To Keep Pansies Blooming Longer
One of the easiest ways to help pansies flower stronger and longer is to deadhead them on a regular basis. Deadheading is the process of removing spent blooms from the plant as they die off. And can it ever spur pansies on to quickly generate new buds and blooms!
When decaying flowers remain on stems, they not only look unsightly, they also continue to take valuable energy from the plant. As long as the old blooms stay connected, the plant will burn energy trying to heal or “fix” them.
But as soon as you remove the dying flowers, that energy loss stops. And instead of wasting nutrients on old blooms, the plant will redirect that energy to producing new buds and blooms. See our article: How To Deadhead Annuals & Perennials For More Blooms This Year
Cutting Plants Back In Late Spring
In addition to regular deadheading, you can also prune your plants back once they begin to get leggy and weak. After growing all spring, the stems and foliage of pansies begin to show serious signs of wear and tear.
But by simply cutting the plant back to within a few inches of the soil, you can help it regenerate all new growth. Growth that will be strong and bright – and able to produce much more prolific blooms as well.
As soon as your pansies start to show permanent wear in late spring, prune them back. And as soon as you do – it’s then time to fertilize them to get them growing fast once again!
#2 Fertilizing For Success – How To Keep Pansies Blooming Longer
Along with deadheading and pruning back pansies to spur new growth, pansies also need a boost of energy to promote more blooms and flowering. But what you feed your pansies can be a huge factor in just how many new blooms they produce.
Unlike many flowering annuals that require a fair amount of phosphorous to power blooms, pansies are different. Instead, as a more acid loving plant, they require equal amounts of nitrogen and potassium for blooming – and a much lower dose of phosphorous.
How low? For optimum blooming, it’s best to use a liquid fertilizer with an N-P-K (Nitrogen, Phosphorous & Potassium) ratio of near 20-10-20. The good news is that many manufacturers actually make fertilizer just for pansies (this works great for petunias too) to make it easy! Affiliate Link: Jack’s Classic Petunia & Feed – Great For Pansies Too!
The ratio of Jack’s bloom booster is ideal at 20-6-22 to green up your pansies and have them blooming big quickly. Especially since it is in a liquid form plants can absorb fast.
One final secret on fertilizing, it’s far better to give your pansies more frequent but lower doses of power than large doses far apart. For best results, use half of the recommended dose every seven to ten days. This will keep a steady supply of nutrients to optimize growth and blooming.
#3 Relocating Your Pansies To Handle Heat – How To Keep Pansies Blooming Longer
Last but not least, if you happen to grow your pansies in pots or containers and are able to move them as the summer heat arrives – it can make a huge difference in just how long you can continue to keep them flowering!
In late winter and early spring, when the weather tends to be quite cool, it’s best to have pansies growing where they will get the most sun possible. At this point of the growing season, the sun’s arc is still far away. Because of that, a full sun location gives them just enough warmth to thrive.
But that all changes in late spring and early summer. And if pansies stay in that direct sun – they will quickly begin to fail. For those that grow their pansies in pots or containers, this is the time to get your plants to safety!
Once the heat arrives, select a location that gets only a few hours of direct sunlight each day. It’s even better if that sunlight can be in the early morning or late evening. Even though the temperatures may soar, by simply providing them with more shade, you can extend their life well into summer.
Last but not least, don’t over water your pansies. Pansies are one plant that actually bloom more when watering isn’t overdone. Check your soil before watering, if it’s still moist, hold off on the water!
Here is to getting the most from your pansies this year. And to getting them to bloom stronger and longer into the season than ever!
Simple Garden Life
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