Dr. Grow: Plan ahead for pansies to beat winter blues

Majestic Giants pansies.

A Bingo light rose pansy.

If you're like me, you think fall is the best time of the year. The color is usually spectacular. Leaves turn golden yellow, crimson red and shades of orange. Fall mums are planted everywhere and are in full bloom. It is hard to breathe it all in.

The home and lawn decorating season also begins in the fall. First are the hobgoblins, ghosts, scarecrows and pumpkins that are harbingers of Halloween. Then come the corn shucks, pumpkins, gourds, straw bales and cornucopias that remind us all of the bountiful harvest that God gives us. Finally our front lawns and houses are covered with Christmas lights, angels, nativity scenes, Santa Claus, reindeer and sleighs.

Then comes cold and dreary January. All the Christmas decorations are put away. No mums are blooming. Tulips, daffodils and crocus are still nestled underground preparing for spring. The sky is always cloudy. The cold, wet north wind goes right through you. What a letdown I have when all of the color and excitement of fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas is over. My body, mind and soul begins to wilt.

Do you get the winter blues like I do? My body is attuned to sunlight. When days are short and clouds hide the sun, I get so sluggish that I almost want to hibernate. Wouldn't it be neat if you could be shocked out of that sluggish stupor by looking out your front window on a cold, dreary and blustery January morning and see a breathtaking array of color from something blooming?

Believe it or not, you can get that brush stroke of color in January if you start planting pansies right now. Traditionally the fall planting season is limited to mums and fall bulbs. Very few people thing of planting that spring pansy right now. Go ahead and try it this year. If the winter is mild like it has been the last few years, fall planted pansies will bloom all winter long, really take on a growth spurt in the early part of next season and provide you with some outstanding early spring color.

So how do you get that January antidote planted? First go to your local garden center and ask for pansies. If they don't have them, go to one that does. Maybe they'll get the hint and have them in stock next year.

Then go home and decide where you want to place that palette of color. Be sure to plant them where you can see them from the part of the house you frequent most. You may also want to place them where your enlightened neighbors can see them. You'll chuckle when you hear them ooh and ah. In addition, it's best to plant them in a protected area in the event that we have a harsh winter.

Now get out the spade and work up the planting bed. Add peat moss in the ratio of one part peat to two parts soil. This amounts to placing a two inch layer of peat on the planting bed and spading it in to a depth of six inches.

Next plant the pansies. Be sure to space them at 6 to 8 inches on enter. If you plant them any farther apart, your brush stroke of color will only become freckles. You may have to make another trip to the garden center. Be sure you've got enough pansies.

After planting the pansies, water them with a solution of low nitrogen and high phosphorous fertilizer. Phosphorous encourages good root development after planting. The watering will also eliminate any air pockets in the soil that may have resulted from the planting process.

Remember pansies need water in the fall and winter just like they do in the spring and summer. They just don't need as much. If we get a lot of dry fall days, check the soil periodically and water them with the same fertilizer water that I mentioned above.

The 8 inch spacing ensures that the color display will be spectacular. It also gives you room to plant tulip bulbs, daffodils or crocus in between the pansies later on in the fall. Remember it is too early to plant fall bulbs in the heartland. Mulch your bed after planting the fall bulbs. Mulch provides some protection for the pansies and gives an aesthetic touch to the bed.

Suppose you live in an apartment or don't have a garden spot. No problem! Instead of planting pansies in the ground, plant them in a flower pot and place them on your front porch or on a deck. Use a plastic pot that resists cracking because of freezing or use a terra cotta pot but place it under a porch. Be sure the pot has a drainage hole.

To plant pansies in a pot, fill the pot to the rim with a soil-less potting mix. Next plant the pansies in the potting mix. For a 12 inch diameter pot, plant five to eight pansies. You plant so many because you want to have a good show of color. Be sure to mix the pansy colors so that they go with your decor.

Finally water the pansies with a mixture of high phosphorous fertilizer and water. Initial fertilization gets them off to a good start.

Check the pansy pots periodically throughout the winter to see if they need water. Water with a low concentration of a balanced fertilizer and a combination of micronutrients.

Pansies in pots do not withstand the cold temperatures like they do when planted in the ground. If winter temperatures get really cold, the pansies may freeze out. If the forecast is for temperatures below 20 degrees, move the pots inside for the night or cover them with a blanket.

Now you may be thinking that I'm already experiencing the winter blues because I am suggesting that you plant pansies this fall. I have planted them in the fall and they do well all winter long. Several other gardeners have told me about the wonders that pansies can do for the soul on a dreary day in January. So go ahead and try it. Remember interplant tulip bulbs, crocus and daffodils later on. You too can have a palette of color all winter that lasts until spring.

Paul Schnare of Cape Girardeau has been in the lawn and garden business for more than 20 years. He's an adjunct professor in horticulture at Southeast Missouri State University.