How to Overwinter Pansies
- 1). Choose pansy plants that are bred to bloom into the winter. There are several varieties available with words like winter, ice and icicle in their names that are designed to survive the winter. Any pansies that are sold in the fall should be good choices for overwintering.
- 2). Plant your pansies in early fall in a location that is shady during hot weather but will be sunny during the winter. An ideal spot would be under a shade tree that loses its leaves in the fall.
- 3). Add compost to your soil when planting your pansies and water them regularly.
- 4). Pick your pansy blossoms regularly to encourage them to keep blooming. If you let them go to seed, that will complete their life cycle and they will stop producing more flowers.
- 5). Protect your pansies from extreme cold if you live in zone 6 or farther north. When the weather is consistently below freezing and your pansies have stopped blooming, cover the plants with cut evergreen branches or straw.
- 6). Remove the branches or straw in early spring when spring bulbs begin to grow. Pansies can survive frost, so don't worry if you have a cold spell after uncovering your pansies.
- 7). Enjoy your pansy blossoms. They will begin to bloom around the same time as daffodils and tulips. Pick the flowers to promote continuous blooming and bring them inside for colorful cut flower arrangements. Pansies will thrive until the weather gets too hot for them, usually around July.
