Is it too late to plant pansies for winter color? What else can we plant for color this winter and early spring?
I am planting pansies this weekend for winter color where I had begonias this summer. I have been reluctant to take out the begonias because they are still in full bloom. But the frost will kill the begonias soon. I will be using 4-inch pansy plants that are in full bloom when I plant them so I will get an immediate effect. I have found that I get the best effect by using the solid-color pansy varieties without the dark centers. I use a single color or two complementing colors, like blue and orange or blue and yellow.
Pansies do well in containers, so I plant some where I have had petunias and other summer annuals. I also plant between summer blooming perennials where they can stay in bloom through most of June. Flowering kale is another winter blooming annual that provides color very much like pansies.
You can still plant chrysanthemums and fall asters that are in bud and bloom for late fall color. I have found asters are more dependable than mums for year-after-year hardiness.
