Winter pansies take a break when too wet
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Q: My "winter" pansies aren't blooming much; any ideas?
A: "Winter" pansies give Western Washington gardeners a chance at vivid color throughout the fall, but they often slow down during the soggy, dark days of late November and December. (Don't we all?)
Be sure that they are planted where drainage is good. If they are in pots, check the water accumulation. Remove any attached saucers that will hold water, which can damage the roots. The roots require drainage for health.
If, like many of us, you leave your garden in the morning's murk, and return to it in the evening's even darker darkness, it's worth taking a flashlight out to investigate the state of the container plants. You may find them attempting to swim in spite of the fact that plants can't manage the Australian crawl. Clear drainage holes with a screwdriver if necessary.
If the pansies have been planted in garden locations with water accumulation, they may develop leaf-disease symptoms such as powdery mildew, or root rot that causes the entire plant to decline.
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The best cure for these problems is replanting in spring after improving the drainage conditions.
After days of rain, this is a good week to look for spots in the landscape where water stands. Plan to "berm up" winter annual plantings if their favored location is low and sopping. This means planting up on a low hummock of additional soil, piling it gently so that it forms a raised bed and planting on that. It's also advisable to get winter pansies into the garden before mid-October to allow their roots to grow well and their buds to set while the weather is still somewhat mild and day length is still a bit extended.
These winter pansies were selected by plant breeders for particular hardiness and winter sturdiness. But the name "winter pansy" does not mean that flowering is intense during each month of winter. In December, and into January, the pansies will resemble small green blobs with healthy leaves but little new color. What often occurs as days grow dismal and short is that the pansies have opened their existing buds but do not form new ones. They require mild, sunny days to set new flowers.
In effect, the plants are somewhat dormant during these wet days, though they aren't dead or dying. They will take cold temperatures down into the high 20s Fahrenheit without being killed, but they will die if temperatures drop below about 25. Wet, heavy snow doesn't kill them (which should be a relief to gardeners in Bremerton and the Olympic Peninsula who have already experienced a sopping slushy snow.) The snow provides a bit of insulation and the pansies are still alive under it, though somewhat flattened by the slushy weight.
One way to help them thrive is to keep old flower buds picked off. They will go to seed, forming bright green football shaped capsules of seeds after the flowers wither. Remove these, because they will send signals to the plant that no more flowers are needed. If the pansies avoid freezing and stay healthy throughout winter, they will start to set buds and grow again in February and into March, being full of color and bloom again in early spring.
So don't be surprised by the quietude of the winter pansy during November and December. If you need or crave lots of winter color, check nurseries for new plants of bright primroses, fresh pansies, and forced bulbs, which usually appear just at the new year. Garden centers and nurseries satisfy the color-starved gardener by growing winter color spots under ideal conditions in greenhouses (with plenty of warmth and light) and providing them to us to plant out in less than ideal winter conditions.
Now if there were only greenhouse conditions for humans — ahh, that's why we long for the tropics. A nursery greenhouse is a pleasant substitute for a tropical vacation.
Mary Robson is area horticulture agent for Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension.