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Pansies

They put on happy, colorful faces for fall

It's hard to look at a pansy and not smile. This delicate-looking flower - often with a ``happy face'' featured deep in the center of its petals - will take you through the barest of gardening seasons.

Preferably a cool-weather plant that likes sunny spots, the pansy gets a good footing if it's planted in October. It doesn't ask for any outrageous care: give it a comfy home in good soil, feed it occasionally and lightly trim back its leggy or droopy stems every so often. The pansy will be the star of your winter and early-spring garden, surviving most any snowy or icy storm that comes our way.

If you want to try something different in borders or mass plantings, let pansies and daffodils combine to create a spring surprise. In a larger container that's at least 18- to 24-inches deep, plant daffodil bulbs in two to three layers of good potting soil. Plant pansies on top. Come early spring, the daffodils will sprout through the pansies, creating a spring bouquet. You also can use other spring-flowering bulbs in this manner.

The pansy's ancestor is the viola, which dates back to the 4th century B.C. in Greece, where it was cultivated for herbal medicinal use and later inspired William Shakespeare to write about romance. Later, someone noticed a similar plant growing in open areas - along alpine meadows and on rocky ledges - with more sunlight. The plant was named a wild pansy. The word ``pansy'' traces back to the French word ``pensee,'' meaning thought or remembrance. That wild pansy is now known as Viola tricolor.

The pansy plant we know today began in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England, in the 1800s where an inquisitive lord and his gardener began crossing various viola species. They came up with the pansy with a ``face,'' and a Scottish grower developed the solid-colored flower.

PANSIES AT A GLANCE

COMMON NAME: Pansy

SPECIES: Viola, member of Violaceae or violet family. Perennial grown as a hardy annual.

FORM: Low-growing compact plants.

SIZE: 6-10 inches tall and wide.

VARIETIES: Pansy, largest plants; violas, look like miniature pansies; Johnny-jump-ups, smallest of the group.

EXPOSURE: Sun. Prefers cool weather.

LEAVES: Medium green, coarsely notched leaves that are oval or heart-shaped.

VARIETIES: Too many to list.

FLOWERS: Fall, winter, early spring. Single with five petals rounded in shape. Pansy flowers have one of three basic color patterns: single, clear color, such as yellow or blue; single color having black lines radiating from the center, called penciling much like viola markings; or color with a dark center called a ``face.''

CULTURE: Choose plants that are stocky with dark green foliage and lots of buds, not leggy plants with lots of blooms. Like morning sun and well-drained soil with organic matter.

PLANTING: Water pansies while still in containers; this makes it easier to remove plants without damaging roots. Dig holes in enriched garden soil larger than soil surrounding plant roots. Space holes about 6-10 inches apart. If you have not added organic matter to improve fertility, add a granular or time-release fertilizer. Food is important for plant's long-term productivity; time-release fertilizers geared for 6-9 month feedings make it easy. Carefully remove plant. . Place plant and soil in hole, covering all the plant roots with garden soil, leaving green plant parts above the soil. Finally, water the newly planted pansies thoroughly. Mulch lightly with organic matter to preserve moisture.

SEEDS: Sow seeds indoors mid-summer six to eight weeks before transplanting.

PRUNING: Trim lightly if they become leggy or flop over.

WINTER PROTECTION: Mulch lightly. Periods of freeze and severe weather may cause the pansy plants to wither and look frail but three days of pleasant weather will revive them.

PROBLEMS: Aphids, spider mites, slugs; mildew and leaf spot.

Sources: National Garden Bureau, Taylor's Guide to Annuals

October 1997

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