According to the calendar, it’s now fall. But it sure doesn’t feel like fall yet, does it? Fall can mean a lot of different things to gardeners. It can mean that your gardening season is about to come to a close. Others might say, what do you mean “the end of the season” since they are likely gardeners for whom the season never ends, they just change it up a little. So, if you are a “change it up a little” gardener, it’s about time to start clearing out some of those annuals and replacing them with pansies. Yes, pansies are annuals here (for the most part) but they grow best during the cool time of the year.

For many, it’s tempting to wait to pull your summer annuals until they start to get affected by the cold weather. This is a valid strategy since many of them still look good. However, if you want to go pansy shopping and still have a good selection, waiting will backfire because most of the pansies will be out of stock at that point. So, it may just be time to bite the bullet and get to work.

Now, if you aren’t planning on replacing your summer annuals, try to resist the temptation to pull your summer annuals out and instead let them remain in you garden to be removed in the spring. Why? A variety of insects like to spend the winter inside the stems of those plants, and we know our insects can use all the help we can give them. So, just leave those summer annuals in place if you aren’t going to replace them with fall flowers.

Pansies are easy to grow and come in a variety of colors. Right now there are about 300 different varieties, but don’t expect your favorite garden center to have them all in stock. They will have all the purples, whites, oranges, etc that you might want though.

Pansies are pretty tough little plants. You come to realize this when at some point in the winter you see their little flowers poking up out of the snow.

As far as the colors are concerned, you will find some pansies that are solid colors and others that have a darker center with two tones. These are known as blotched pansies.

When purchasing pansies, you will likely find them available in flats or trays of 18, 24, or 36 plants. The 18 plant flats will likely be larger and more developed, but if you are ok with starting with smaller plants, the 36 plant flats are usually a pretty good deal. Don’t be afraid to pop a plant up out of the tray to look at the roots. You want a plant that has nice, white, healthy-looking roots. If the roots are brown and don’t look good, put it back and continue your search.

Pansies do well in pots or in the ground. Just make sure whereever you plant them that they are in well-drained soil. Wet roots can cause issues with pansies.

When you plant your pansies, it’s a good idea to supplement your soil with some additional nutrients. Compost or composted manure works well, but you want to mix this with existing soil, not to exceed about 25% compost.

I said that pansies do well in the winter and they do. But when it gets below about 25 degrees, they go kind of dormant. Have no fear thought, because as it warms up, they will perk up and continue making your landscape beautiful.

Pansies have a cousin called violas. Violas look much like the pansies we are familiar with; they just have smaller flowers. Either of these will serve to brighten up our landscapes and probably our attitudes in the midst of winter. Good luck!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Tom Ingram