Gardening by Judith Adam Pansies: sweet faces, tough characters Is any flower more emblematic of spring than a bright and jolly pansy? Pansies are sold for early containers and shady border planting. The classic whiskered faces are produced in a full palette of colours and will bloom for six to eight weeks in spring through early summer. They prefer moist, cool conditions and are unfazed by a light spring snow, but will collapse in summer’s high heat. Spring containers planted with pansies are often emptied, the plants discarded and replaced with summer annuals for the hot growing season. But summer annuals can become exhausted in late summer, and finding a replacement to freshen containers through the autumn months isn’t always successful. If the pansies can be retained and brought back in late summer, they will make a fresh display lasting until hard frost. Lift the pansies from spring containers and plant them in a shady and cool section of the garden. Lighter-weight containers with pansies can simply be moved to shady corners. Trim back trailing stems and damaged foliage and be sure to provide water throughout the intense summer weeks. As soon as nights are cool, the pansies will put on new growth and begin to look like their spring selves. Replace exhausted summer annuals with the rejuvenated pansies, and the new display will thrive in the cooling air. In the case of a light snowfall, cover the pansies briefly and they’ll be willing to carry on through late autumn weather. CSANews | SPRING 2023 | 43
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