Winter gardening: Pansies and violas thrive in cold weather
By Chelsea Quackenbush Tribune-Herald staff writer
Tim and Denise Castiglia, owners of Tim’s Greenhouses, 6501 Airport Road, sit among their pansies.
Rod Aydelotte / Tribune-Herald
Rod Aydelotte / Tribune-Herald
Master gardeners recommend planting pansies now that the weather is cooling off. Unlike spring and summer blooms, the flowers of the plants thrive in colder temperatures and add color to your garden.
Rod Aydelotte / Tribune-Herald
Although the days are getting cooler and most summer flowers are long gone, gardeners are now entering pansy and viola season in Central Texas.
Gardening experts recommend that people wait until after the start of November to plant their cold-weather flowers because of warm, 80-degree days in October.
Pansies and violas prefer cooler daytime temperatures in the 70s and, according to Tim Castiglia, owner of Tim’s Greenhouse in Waco, “nighttime can get as cold as it wants to and it doesn’t bother them.”
Castiglia said that any time in November or December is the best time to plant the flowers. But it’s best to wait until after leaves fall from the trees because pansies and violas thrive on direct sunlight.
“They’ll do fine all winter long,” he said. “They can be covered up with snow or ice and when it melts, pansies are usually just thrilled.”
Renee Davis, owner of Colors of Texas in Waco, said it’s best to buy local pansies and violas, instead of ones shipped in from northern states, because the area varieties are more acclimated to the erratic Central Texas weather.
Davis said even if it’s warm during the day, as long as nighttime is cool, pansies and violas will thrive because they are able to recuperate.
“We’re limited on winter flowers, but there’s such a wide range of colors, it makes the pansy fun to plant,” she said.
Castiglia agreed.
“The best thing about them is the color,” he said. “Nothing will brighten an area like colorful pansies.”
Castiglia said he grows about 1,600 flats of pansies in the fall. Each flat consists of 18 four-inch pots. They’re the most popular sellers in the winter.
Colors of Texas plants 60,000 flats, starting in August.
“We must have the largest selection in Waco,” Davis said. “We really try to make sure our pansies and violas are varieties that will do better in Texas.”
Castiglia recommends these flowers be planted in solid, loose, well-drained soil. Pansies are not heavy feeders, he said, so they don’t need a lot of phosphorus, a common misconception.
When a cold, dry front comes in, it’s important to water pansies and violas, Castiglia said.
“The other nice thing about winter gardens, when you’re talking about pansies, is that they’re completely pest-free in the cold weather,” he said.
cquackenbush@wacotrib.com
757-5745
MORE IN LAWNS & GARDENS »
Tips from Master Gardeners
- Garden Q&A: Vegetables, garden drainage, fertilizing lawn
- Garden Q&A: Gardens, perennials, trees and more
- Garden Q&A: Hard for trees to recover when roots grow into limestone
- Garden Q&A: Grubs, begonias, Cypress trees and weedy lawns
- Garden Q&A: Dying pansies may be result of pill bugs
- Garden Q&A: Fruit trees need deep watering to be revived
- Garden Q&A: No escaping need for water
- Garden Q&A: Don't worry about bark loss on crape myrtles
- Garden Q&A: Weed control will help fight stickers
- Garden Q&A: Holly leaves will drop if over watered
- Garden Q&A: Yellow leaves mean blight
- Garden Q&A: Finding grubs normal as spring starts
- Garden Q&A: Exotic plants can have it rough
- Garden Q&A: Wrapping palms not enough when cold spells last too long
- Garden Q&A: Should trees be planted in high or low land?
- Garden Q&A: Is goat manure safe?
- Garden Q&A: Careful when trimming near crape myrtles
- Garden Q&A: Careful when prepping roots for planting
- Garden Q&A: Why didn't amaryllis bloom?
- Garden Q&A: When pansies are wilting
- Garden Q&A: Trimming crape myrtles won't hurt growth
- Garden Q&A: Christmas cactus is tricky to water
- Garden Q&A: Don't fertilize plants during winter months
- Garden Q&A: Box elder bugs little more than a nuisance
- Garden Q&A: Now is the time to give lawn a winter feeding
- Garden Q&A: Scaly flakes on stems bugging area gardeners
- Garden Q&A: Fall's first frost
- Garden Q&A: Fungal disease afflicts tree
- Garden Q&A: Cotton root rot strikes
- Garden Q&A: Mushrooms ugly but harmless
- Garden Q&A: Grassbur headache in lawn
- Garden Q&A: Crape myrtle seed pods
- Garden Q&A: Problems with new sod
- Garden Q & A: Crape myrtles and aphids
- Garden Q&A: Trees for Central Texas
- Garden Q&A: Burning does not control viruses
- Garden Q&A: Dig a few inches to check water needs
- Garden Q&A: Season for cinch bugs
- Garden Q&A: Crape myrtles blooming beautifully
- Garden Q&A: Nursing caladiums through summer
- Garden Q&A: Getting rid of perennial vine
- Garden Q&A: Holes in plant leaves
- Garden Q&A: Aphids or mites could cause cedar problems
- Garden Q&A: Lemon, orange trees can grow in containers
- Garden Q&A: Seek tomato plants suited to temperatures
- Garden Q&A: More on tomato plants, pruning, plant sickness and soil tests
- Garden Q&A: Tips to keep tomato plants strong
- Garden Q&A: Clean sand best to level lawn
- Garden Q&A: Fungal disease is difficult to eradicate
- Garden Q&A: Ridding flower beds of poison vines
- Garden Q&A: Pruning live oaks
- Garden Q&A: What can I grow well in the shade?
- Garden Q&A: Did winter kill off date palms?
- Garden Q&A: When is the right time to plant caladiums?
- Garden Q&A: Shrubs, getting rid of dallisgrass and weeds, soil tips
Ask a Master Gardener Help Line
Spring gardening brings many questions, such as when should I fertilize my lawn, or which are the best vegetables for Waco? Get answers to these and other questions by calling the Ask a Master Gardener Help Line at 254-757-5180, 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
