Seed drill
If you want winter pansies then now is a good time to sow them from seed, writes David Overend.
It pays to plan ahead, which is why, if you want to grow winter pansies from seed, late July is as good a time as any to do the deed.
Some gardeners prefer to wait a bit longer, particularly if the flowers in question are going to be in pots, but sooner or later sowing those tiny seeds is going to have to be done.
Pansy seeds should germinate within two or three weeks before they need transplanting into trays 5cm apart.
So fill plant trays with seed compost, and cover the surface with a thin layer of vermiculite to help drainage.
Then sow the pansy seeds onto the surface and pop the trays into black plastic bags to keep out all the light – to encourage germination. Place the trays in a cool spot and check for signs of growth every couple days.
Over the last few decades, the happy, smiley faces of pansies have changed the face of winter – there is now no reason not to have long-lasting colour throughout the darkest months of the year because these pansies (and violas) laugh off the cold and wet and remain blooming beautifully whatever the weather. Standing just a few inches tall, they can start to bloom as early as October – and still be going strong the following April. Grow them in beds, borders, for edging, although most people choose to pack them in pots and containers where they can be appreciated close-up.
Pansy and viola flowers don’t need a lot of light, but they do like to make the most of any winter sunshine. Both appreciate a decent soil, so it pays to give them the best; they’ll grow stronger and flower better. Regular dead-heading will encourage even more flowers and help keep the compact plants tidy. In the spring, when the weather warms up, pansies will start to grow more straggly and then it’s a case of pulling them up and replacing them with summer bedding, or clipping back the plants to a couple of inches from the soil.
Give them a bit of fertilizer and in a month the plants should have taken on a new life and start to flower all over. Even if you rip them out, leave a few to run to seed, they’ll produce numerous seedlings which can be left in situ or lifted, potted and grown on.