Container Grown Pansies Are Wonderful For Filling Gaps In The Gardening Calendar
Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By ROY NICOL
Roy is a Professional Gardener and Horticultural Consultant, specialising in large garden year-round maintenance and garden development. He is an RHS Master of Horticulture and uses his research in the application of no-dig methods in ornamental garden settings. Roy has been a Professional Gardener for more than six years and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, Professional Gardener's Guild and Association of Professional Landscapers (Professional Gardener).
Contributions From EMILY CUPIT
Emily is a Gardening Writer, Photographer and Videographer from Derbyshire, UK. She is the Founder of Emily's Green Diary - a community of more than 75,000 people who share in her gardening journey.
IN THIS GUIDE
Pansies, otherwise known as Viola x wittrockiana, are extremely popular plants to grow here in the UK.
These cheerful and easy flowers are wonderful for filling gaps in the gardening calendar and for making sure that you have blooms throughout as much of the year as possible.
Often they can be grown in a wide range of different settings – in the ground, or in containers.
Can You Grow Pansies In Pots?
Pansies are, of course, a great choice for those growing in containers, as well as for those growing in raised beds or in the ground.
They can be grown simply in pots but they can also be grown in more elaborate containers – in hanging baskets or even vertical garden structures.
If you choose the right cultivars, you can potentially grow pansies in pots all year round.
You can grow your own pansies from seed, or purchase plugs or bedding plants if you do not have the time or energy to do so.
One of the first decisions that you will have to make if you want to grow pansies in pots in which specific pansies you would like to grow.
Choosing Pansies For Containers
When choosing pansies, you can think about whether you want them to bloom in the spring/summer, or in the autumn/winter months.
You can also think about the size and colour of the flowers, as pansies bloom in a wide range of vibrant hues.
There are, of course, a wide range of options to choose from.
There are typical clumping plants and also trailing types that you might want to consider if you are growing in hanging baskets or other containers up off the ground.
Choosing A Container
There are not only many pansies to choose from, but also many different container options to consider.
With this in mind, pansies can be planted into containers of a range of different sizes, depending on your goals and how much space you have available in your garden or outside space.
One great thing about pansies is that they have fairly shallow roots, soo they don’t need a particularly deep container.
An important thing to remember when choosing a container is that pansies need moist yet free-draining conditions.
Make sure that the container you choose retains some moisture, but that it has holes at the base to allow excess water to drain away freely.
Since pansies can be eaten by slugs and other pests, growing them up off the ground in containers against a vertical surface, in a planting tower, or in hanging containers can be a good idea.
Thinking about vertical gardening can also help you make the most of a smaller space.
Choosing Your Growing Medium
Any general multi-purpose peat-free compost, either one you buy or one you make yourself at home, should be absolutely fine for growing pansies.
As long as the mix is moderately fertile and moist yet free-draining, you cannot go too far wrong, as these are extremely happy-go-lucky and tolerant plants that are quite flexible about their growing conditions.
Potting Up Pansies
When potting up pansies in whichever container you choose, whether you have grown them yourself from seed or purchased them from a garden centre or plant nursery, make sure that you plant them so they sit at the same level in the growing medium that they sat at in their previous pot.
Place a little of your growing medium into your chosen container, place your pansies, then fill in the growing medium around their roots, firming it gently into place.
How Many Can You Plant Per Pot?
As a general rule, pansies should be placed around 15cm apart.
However, pansies don’t mind a little crowding so spacing is not as important for them as it is for many other plants.
They are generally clump-forming rather than spreading, making them a great choice for mixed containers as they will ‘play well’ with other plants, mingling happily with a range of different companions.
“Often pansies will self-seed when the odd bit of deadheading has been missed and a seed pod forms, they will pop up in unexpected places such as gaps in paving or previously used containers as free bonus plants,” shares Roy Nicol, a Master Horticulturist.
How many pansies you should plant in a given container will of course depend on the size of that container, and which other plants (if any) will be placed within it.
Companion Plants
Pansies pair well in containers with a wide range of different plants.
When choosing companion plants for your pansies, think about when the pansies you have chosen will be in flower and choose companions that will bloom during the same period for attractive seasonal displays.
For example, pansies that flower in winter/spring can work well planted with a range of spring bulbs, such as tulips, daffodils, or grape hyacinths.
In mixed containers, you might also think about combining plants with different growth habits and forms, to ring the changes and add some variety in your container garden.
Combine trailing pansies (spillers) with fillers and thrillers in a hanging container display, for example, or use other pansies as fillers, depending on their characteristics.
Pansies can bring in pollinators and help protect your crops against pests, making them a great choice for home growers to place in mixed containers in a small-space kitchen garden alongside a huge range of fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Potted Pansy Care
Pansies are very easy to care for – even when growing in containers.
The main thing to think about is making sure that they receive enough water through any dry periods. To do this:
- Place containers with pansies in full sun to partial/dappled shade. Though pansies are unfussy in general when it comes to conditions, they will not typically bloom well in deeper shade. A sheltered position is best, and when growing in winter, frost pockets should be avoided.
- Water well during any dry spells, especially when growing in summer. Remember that plants growing in containers will typically have to be watered more frequently than those growing in the ground.
The larger the container, the less frequently you will need to water, as a general rule.
Try to water from below by watering the growing medium and not the leaves, as avoiding wetting the foliage reduces the incidence of fungal problems taking hold.
You can, if you wish, feed pansies in containers every couple of weeks with a liquid, organic fertilizer from spring to autumn.
A potassium-rich feed such as comfrey tea to promote good flowering can be ideal.
Avoid excess nitrogen fertilisation and non-organic options, as too much nitrogen can encourage leafy growth at the expense of flowers.
