Photo Description I learned a lot from this little endeavor. I think the two most important things I learned was that pansies thrive on being transplanted. Two or three times is even better. The second thing I learned was, the sooner the seed are planted the better. I lost a lot of my pansies. I started planting seed in mid August. I did three more plantings at 3-4 week intervals. I lost none of the first planting, a few of the second planting, more of the third and a lot of the fourth. I'm thinking the plants need a lot of time to develop a strong root system to carry them through the winter. And while the hot summer months will kill a mature pansy plant, it seems to have no effect on seedlings as long as they are protected from direct sunlight. This summer, I will start all my pansy seed no later than the third week of July. Hopefully, my losses will be at a minimum. What's a pansy worth? The above picture will become a keepsake. I hope to photograph a mate for this one, have them both enlarged and frame them. To me, priceless!
What's a pansy worth? Well, I suppose that depends on who you ask. If you ask me, I'd say a lot. I put a lot into pansies this and last year, my first time to grow them from seed.
Photo Location
My garden.
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Mum loves these. In Japan, we call them sanshoku sumire (three coloured violet) :)
More than one time, I've had to retract advice or statements I've made on ThriftyFun. Here I go again. Not an actual retraction, more a clarification.
I want to address my previous statement that transplanting pansies invigorates them and causes them to grow faster and larger. While this statement is true, it's misleading. And even if it is true, who would want to transplant them more than once, that being from the grower's 6 cell pack to their permanent home in the garden?
Here's what I believe. It's not the actual transplanting that starts the pansies into a surge of new growth. Rather, it's the damage done to the root system while doing the transplanting.
It is a well known fact that some plants benefit greatly from having their roots pruned. The wisteria is one. I know this to be true from personal experience.
When I remove pansies from the growers 6 cell pack. I remove at least a fourth of the root system from the bottom of the root mass. Since I started doing this, my pansies have grown much better than before.
Today, I transplanted pansies from large 'holding containers' to their permanent place in sunken tubs. They had massive root systems. I removed half of the roots before putting them in the tubs. Past experience has taught me this will be beneficial. It shocks the plants into a new surge of growth.
How this happens is something I don't know. I just know that it does. I have seen videos on the subject, (though not for pansies), and horticulturists and crop scientists can explain it all. If I can find this information again, I will share it with you.
In the meantime. when transplanting pansies grown in 6 cell packs, do remove at least a fourth of the root mass. And should you have a need to transplant established pansy plants, do so while being assured it will not harm the plants but will actually be beneficial.
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