This year is nearly like clockwork; we struck Oct. 1, and we’re all of a sudden delighting in night temperatures in the 50s and 60s all throughout Mississippi. This is a welcome modification from previous years when it appeared that summer season would never go away. For as soon as, planting our cool-season annuals appears to be best on schedule.I’ve visited quite a few independent garden centers over the last couple of weeks, and they’ve been preparing for a vibrant fall season.I have actually written in the past about my preference for pansies, which might be the ideal cool-season choice for yearly color, in my viewpoint. In my coastal Mississippi garden and landscape, you can be sure there will be an abundance of pansies on display. I enjoy the color choice that is available. The standard flowers have a dark spot in the center with a kaleidoscope of petal colors. I likewise like the pure single-color choices, called clear. When massed together, as pansies were implied to be planted, they develop an excellent colorful landscape carpet.Generally speaking, pansies can tolerate some truly cold weather, depending upon place and intensity of the
cold. When the temperature plunges, the flowers get nipped back, and it’s common for the foliage to turn a little purple.I’m fortunate to garden in south Mississippi, where I have actually seen my pansies freeze strong for a few hours, thaw and begin blooming again a few days later.There are fantastic pansy series available for your landscape.A favorite of mine is the Matrix series. These pansies have freely branching development practices, and they reach about
8 inches tall and wide. I love the color-coordinated blends instead of the standard, random color mixes.Another can’t miss choice is the Delta series. These pansies have comparable growth qualities as Matrix and show huge flowers. This previous weekend, I found a new-to-me Delta pansy, Fairy floss mix.
The 3-inch flower pastel colors are a mixture of light blue, light pink, light yellow and light purple. Fairy floss pansies might be a fantastic option for planting in the spring for Easter.And did I mention that I enjoy the ruffled flower petals of Cotton Candy? This is a function that is unusual for pansies.Pansies are pretty simple to take care of if you follow a few basic ideas. For the best blooming capacity, pansies need constant fertilization throughout the cool
season. I always utilize controlled-release fertilizer at planting and follow that with additional fertilizer application, usually water soluble.The quickest method to turn off blooming is to allow your pansies to dry out, so make sure to keep the root zone regularly moist.Pansies will grow well in the ground, raised beds and containers. But you know my preference is for containers.So don’t put things off purchasing your pansies this month. The independent garden centers have excellent choices available now.It doesn’t
matter if you buy Matrix, Delta or any of the other series, since they’ll all look great in your garden this fall.