What has happened to my pansies?

Hi Folks
I have recently retired from an offshore oil and gas career and would like to find out more about gardening. The trouble with my job was the length of time spent away from home and it was difficult to keep up with the grass, never mind anything else. My pansies in the pots and wishing well were doing well and I always kept them watered but recently they have not been their best, any suggestions please?

 

Hi @tommymcg and welcome! The pansies have done their flowering and it looks like they are trying to form seed. You can sometimes get another year out of them by trimming all the flowering stems off with shears (a good haircut), and giving them a good feed and water. But if you want more reliably perennial plants looking similar, you need instead to buy named violas or viola cornuta varietes. These days pansies are mostly used as winter or spring bedding - turfing them out after they have done their stuff.

 

Hi Folks thanks for your advice

 

I have always dumped my winter pansies in June, so I can plant the containers up.
Not grown Violas for quite a few years, how long will they flower for?

 

Interesting question. As is well known. I tend not to stick to the text books. Gardening to me is an ongoing science. Take a chance, annual or biennial stuff, have a go. Cut it back and you will be surprised. In time. Save the root stocks and you may well be rewarded with new plantlets.