How to Care for Pansies

Overview

Pansies are a colorful and attractive flowering plant often referred to as "the flower with the face." Pansies belong to the viola family, which also includes violets. Pansies are edible and have a perfume-like fragrance. The blue and yellow pansies share the strongest scent. Pansies can be grown in any season; be sure to check with your local nursery for the best planting season in your area. They are disease-free and pest-free.

Step 1

Grow your pansies in an area where they will receive full sunlight. Pansies can tolerate partial shade, but only in the afternoon.

Step 2

Introduce a slow-release granular fertilizer to the soil at the time of planting. Blend the fertilizer into the soil around the plant. Refertilize every four weeks while the pansies are growing.

Step 3

Give the pansy plant an inch of water per week. During rainy spells, water less often.

Step 4

Apply a store-bought bag of flower mulch around the pansies to discourage weeds and prevent moisture loss. Blend the mulch into the ground around the flowers.

Step 5

Remove the dead flowers from the stems to prevent them from falling onto the ground and forming seeds. Snipping off dead flowers, which is called dead-heading, encourages new blooms.