Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

Do Pansies Have Seedlings that Overwinter?

“Do pansies have seedlings that you can save for the next year?” Question from April of Dresden, Tennessee

Answer: Yes! Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana, USDA Hardiness Zones 7-10) often self sow in the garden, and their seedlings always produce pretty flowers. At least that has been my experience. Down in Tennessee, your pansy seedlings should overwinter in your garden. I live in USDA Hardiness Zone 7 like you, and my pansies always self sow in fall and live through the winter. I let them be and then move them where I want them in spring. Sometimes mine even sow themselves in the lawn, which is always a surprise! Below is a photo of some of my pansy starts that made it through the winter.

Pansies grow and flower best during the cool seasons of spring and fall. They need full to partial sunlight and really fertile garden soil that’s slightly acid. I like to amend my soil with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend at planting time or plant them in pots filled with Black Gold All Purpose Potting Mix. They always look best planted along garden edges alongside spring bulbs or in colorful containers!

Happy pansy growing!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

About JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

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