Our cool spring has kept pansies behind schedule, but the drier weather we experienced over the past week has pushed most pansies into full bloom. It's always hard to wait through winter for pansies to come out of hibernation, and this year the wait was even longer than usual. Fortunately, the bloom is now developing well.
Pansies are very cold-hardy, so the cold February did not damage them, it simply delayed their spring bloom. However, while they tolerate cold well, the consistently wet conditions typical of winter often lead to disease. This issue is most prominent in poorly draining, shady beds and in areas where pansies have been planted year after year. Despite these challenges, pansies remain the only flowering annual that reliably survives the winter, making them the only real choice for winter seasonal color in our area.
Our Professional Pansy Program
Soil Preparation
We supplement each planting with fresh, sterile potting soil and disease-preventing organics each fall to create the optimal growing environment.
Preventative Care
Monthly fungicide treatments throughout the winter help prevent disease and ensure healthy plants by spring.
Soil Renewal
We've found that complete soil replacement approximately every five years is necessary to prevent disease build-up in beds with repeated plantings.
We've developed a planting and maintenance program that helps reduce the impact of these diseases. While diseases are difficult to control, our program has proven effective in most situations. This increases the cost of our pansy program, but it has become a standard practice. Without these steps, pansies often fail, as is commonly seen with other contractors.
Brand 'X' Diseases Pansies
The pictures above are examples of plantings by other contractors that we've seen recently, which have fallen victim to disease. These plantings did not receive the maintenance we provide and have completely failed as a result. We see this happen year after year and continue to wonder why these properties keep hiring Brand 'X' to plant pansies that always fail.
Without Proper Care
- • Poor soil preparation
- • No disease prevention treatment
- • Minimal winter maintenance
- • Unreliable spring flowering
- • High rate of plant loss
With Pacific Landscape Management
- • Enhanced soil with disease prevention
- • Monthly fungicide treatments
- • Proactive maintenance through winter
- • Beautiful spring flowering
- • Healthy, vibrant plants
We Are Proud of Our Pansies, Please Enjoy
Enjoy your pansies this spring, as it's a special one. As with all good things, they will begin to fade when the weather warms later this spring. We're already in the planning stages for summer flowers, which we'll begin planting in May.
Past Years
Pansy Care Tips
Spring
- Enjoy peak bloom period
- Deadhead spent flowers
- Water during dry spells
- Apply light fertilizer
Summer
- Replace with summer annuals
- Plan for fall planting
- Consider new color schemes
- Prepare soil for next season
Fall/Winter
- Plant fresh pansies
- Use quality soil amendments
- Monitor for disease
- Maintain with our treatment program