Pansies from Seeds

Hi

I'm going to be starting 3 different kinds of pansies froom seeds, and I wanted to know if there are any tips anyone can share? I've never really started many flowers from seed, especially bedding-type plants. The packets say to start 12 weeks before planting out, so the timing is about right. Should I pinch them back at some point? They'll be growing on a two-tier, eight-bulb, 48" growing table that I had made at the machine shop where I work.

I've decided on which tomatoes I'll be growing this year, also:

Mortgage Lifter Believe It or Not Thessaloniki Brandywine Sudduth's Brandywine Landis Valley Brandywine OTV Arkansas Traveler Black Krim German Giant Giant Belgium Early Wonder SunSugar San Marzano Grape

Robin Alexandria, VA zone 7

Reply to
RobinM
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Hmm, meant to send this to rec.gardens, but missed. Fortunately, it DOES contain reference to edible gardening.

Robin Alexandria, VA zone 7

Reply to
RobinM

Namely, pansies -- they're very nice as a salad garnish.

Reply to
Claire Petersky

I can't speak for starting pansies deliberately in the house, but when I have them outside here in California they always seem to reseed themselves, so I expect it won't be too hard to get them growing in more ideal/indoor conditions.

Reply to
newgardener

"I'm going to be starting 3 different kinds of pansies froom seeds, and I wanted to know if there are any tips anyone can share? I've never really started many flowers from seed, especially bedding-type plants. The packets say to start 12 weeks before planting out, so the timing is about right. Should I pinch them back at some point?"

I tried it once a couple years ago. Pansies are slow to germinate and slow to grow to transplant size, so 12 weeks is what it takes.

My seed pack said to germinate in darkness and to my surprise, they did.

Pansies are cool weather plants. They get leggy in the heat. If you sow now, you/ll have sets in early May. The weather in Z7 turns hot in mid-June, so you won/t have them around very long.

Better to sow in late June for setting out in the fall.

Reply to
ToweringQs

Robin, where you live pansies should be planted in the fall so they can become nice lush plants to burst into bloom in early Spring. If you plant them now, you will be disappointed. 12 weeks until planting out little cell pack plants that will get large enough to have 2 or 3 flowers before the heat does them in if you're lucky. If I were you I'd put the seed in the refrigerator and save it until late July/early August. If you want the pansies now, go buy some at Lowe's, Home Depot or WalMart and plant them now. In late July prepare a pot (size depends on how many plants you want to end up with) with soiless seed starter mix. Moisten it well. Sow the seeds thinly on the surface - do not cover them. You can make shallow depressions, like rows, so you can sow them in rows and know where to look for the seedlings when they germinate. Cover the pot with newspaper, black plastic, or something that will block out all light and put the pot in a place that's about 75 deg. After 1 week, begin to check daily for germination. When at least 1/2 of what you sowed is up gradually move the pot to bright light. Transplant the seedlings when they're about 1" tall into cell packs or small individual pots. To avoid transplanting, you can sow directly into cell packs or small pots and treat as above. Grow the small plants as cool as you can given the conditions of the time of year. You should be able to plant out in Oct or Nov. Good luck Gary

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Reply to
V_coerulea

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