A Note About Pansies - March 2020
With so much news about the Corona virus, I became literally distracted from everything. Also, because I live in Wisconsin, we are now on a mandate called Safer At Home which asks everyone to stay home until late April unless going out for essential items. The mandate also requires non-essential businesses to shut down for 30 days. Although, there really seems to be a lot cars going by my house for a lockdown in place.
All we can do right now is be compassionate towards others, try to find something uplifting to do while at home (I’ve been watching Schitt’s Creek on Netflix / it’s funny) and isolate yourself / wash hands / groceries. And…with all the anxiety we are feeling, I want to concentrate on a more magical flower - the pansy.
I hadn’t really thought that I would grow pansies for bouquets, but changed my mind after researching them for cooking and baking. Pansies from the store could be sprayed with pesticides so I decided to raise my own. Also, after looking at many pictures of Pansies and Violas, I definitely wanted to start raising them in my garden beds and use them for small bouquets. Pansies may be a little shorter than the average cut flower, but they are extremely beautiful and and can last a week in a vase. I may have started my seeds a little late this year, but hope to be able to harvest a few pansies for use in salads and making cupcakes / cookies.
If you want to grow Pansies from seed, keep in mind they can be finicky to start and can take 1 to 3 weeks for germination and 85 days to 100 days to mature. Here are some extra tips for starting pansies:
Start Pansies early indoors - 10 to 12 weeks before the frost date. The frost date in Wisconsin is in early May.
Press Pansy seeds into the surface of the potting soil and cover lightly. Darkness is required for germination. Once the seedlings come up, they can be planted out after the frost date.
Even though pansies are cold-tolerant, be mindful of not planting too early. Pansies can tolerate a light frost after planting but don’t plant out until the night time temperatures are generally above freezing. The soil temperature should be between 45 and 65 degrees. If it’s too cold, the roots could become damaged, the plant stunted, and you could have smaller or reduced flowers.
Pansies enjoy direct sunlight (6-8 hours per day).
It is the sweet simple things in life which are the real ones after all—Laura Ingalls Wilder.
If you haven’t grown Pansies before, it may be fun to experiment with them. Planting Pansies closer together could encourage them them to grow taller and leggier, which would be more suitable for a bouquet. For garden beds, the Pansies look better if they are occasionally trimmed back for a stockier, bushier look. When you trim the plants back, this is a good time to harvest your flowers and leaves for salads, baking and dehydrating.
Pansies are high in mineral salts, mucilage (relieves irritation of mucous membranes by forming a protective film) and carotenoids (beneficial antioxidant). Pansies also have a trace of Vitamin C.
Oh…and one more thing…..
