Mountain Phlox
Mountain Phlox
US $1.00
Question about planting pansies. See details below:?
I bought some recently and planted them, but apparently they don't spread. Is this true? Do I need to plant them very close together to get some color? I bought more, and did that, but it still doesn't look all that great. Am I expecting too much out of them? Also, will they survive occasional freezing weather, even when the temperature doesn't go over freezing for around 72 hours before warming back up above freezing?
I live in western North Carolina in the mountains.
I also bought some phlox today, hoping it will survive, even though I planted it today. I assume it's pretty hardy, since it didn't die off when we had freezing weather a couple of times already. Suggestions? Advice?
I have a few answers to your many questions about pansies. They will not spread but rather develop larger plants reducing the space between plants. They are generally planted 8-9 inches from center of plant to center of plant. They are one of the most reliable winter plants for taking extremes in temperatures and still blooming. However, this is one of the fascinating things about pansies, they bloom on nitrogen, one of a handful of plants to do so. A lot of people will fertiliuze with blood meal,(actually animal blood) purchased at local garden centers. After planting your pansies, it would be good to mulch with a hardwood mulch or with your pine straw there in N.C. Both the phlox and the pansies are great plants, always water before a hard freeze. The moisture actually protects the roots from what is known in the trade as Dry-Freeze Kill. Happy gardening.
