If you live in the South, now is the perfect time to get pansies and violas planted so they’ll have plenty of time to settle in before the frosty mornings begin.
Pansies and violas thrive in cool temperatures, so once you see the 80s disappear from your weather forecast it’s time to shop for everything you’ll need to make your winter garden colorful.
If you’ve not amended your soil, this is a must for winter annuals. Add 3-4 inches of compost if your soil tends to be on the dry side, or 3 inches of soil conditioner (which is actually ground bark) if your soil tends to be damp, and work this into your planting area along with some organic fertilizer.
Plant your annuals in staggered rows, 8 or 9 inches on center (measuring from the center of one plant to the center of its neighbor). This will ensure that you’ll have just the right spacing as the flowers mature in spring.
Don’t forget to water your flowers to help them settle in. Pansies and violas don’t like to sit in soggy soil, so let your bed dry out before watering again. Young plants will need very little water for the first few weeks. Check the soil every few days to see if you need to water. If plants wilt, they’re telling you they need moisture, but don’t panic–they’ll recover quickly.
(I’ll give you some tips about maintaining your pansies and violas through the cold weather in future posts.)
Want more drama?
You might think about adding some accent plants to frame your pansies or violas. Accent plants available this time of year, such as euphorbias, snapdragons, dianthus, foxgloves, and poppies, will “sleep” through the coldest weather and then bloom in spring or early summer.
Some of these plants, such as dianthus, may bloom a little over the next few months, but they’ll stop growing as the days shorten and will “go dormant” until spring arrives, when they’ll reward you with lots of showy flowers.
If you like the idea of tulips for your garden, now is the time to order them! While you’ll see these bulbs for sale in your local garden center, you’ll have a better display if you order them from a company that will ship pre-chilled bulbs to you, such as Brent and Becky’s.
Pre-chilled bulbs are the key to a good display in Southern gardening zones, because without a period of cold they simply won’t perform well. If you’ve already purchased bulbs from a local store, put them in your refrigerator, away from ripening fruit (which can make them spoil), until you are ready to plant in late November or December.
Daffodils and many other bulbs, such as hyacinths, do not need the same chilling period as tulips. In late November through December, you can carefully plant the bulbs (with a bulb planter) between your pansy plants. (This is how the professionals do it, so think about giving it a try this season!)
I hope I’ve given you a few ideas to add color and interest to your garden now and for months to come.