What to do with winter pansies

My understanding is that winter pansies and summer pansies are exactly the same, just sown at different times of the year.

I have had winter pansies that have barely grown until spring. I have cut them back when they have got straggly but usually just pull up the old ones and get new ones in the spring.

I have upright geraniums which survived the winter but they look so tatty I have pulled them up and replaced them. For a few years I used to leave them in and hope that they would grow again to their former glory. They never did and by the time I realised this it was too late to buy any replacements.

On the other hand, I have some trailing geraniums in pots that have been in for about three years that I cut back in spring. They are as good as ever.

A discussion with my neighbour over pansies made other neighbours wonder about the seriousness of our conversation .
Was it the recent flood ?
Was it the disruptive
replacing of gas pipes after several leaks ?
No ,
it was what to do with our fading winter pansies :
my father used to tidy his and they'd rebloom though not with such vigour .
My grandma would cluck about tempting pansy sickness .
I've tried leaving them in and I tend to agree with Grandma .
She didn't know about the four different pathogens ,which affect pansies but her gift and feel for gardening was outstanding .

They are strictly biennial though will soldier on ...

Ideally , I'd lift and pot up them up in a fresh medium .

These days ,I have a lack of space and the temptation of a cream tea and choosing a fresh colour scheme for my new pansies is so tempting .
So as my neighbour and I enjoy any excuse to go to our favourite plant nursery.
She likes a colour mix and laughs at how obsessive I am with my colour schemes .

If your pansies are just straggly - not spotted nor diseased then it's okay to trim and feed them .

Or pot up and replant later .

Or replace each winter .

One thing is for sure-they are such a colourful delight on a cold day in winter .
I love their cheerful smiley faces .

Keep dead heading and feeding and they'll keep going for ages! Real troopers.

RichmondPark

Most pansies are perennial. Winter pansies tend to flower less and to get leggy when the summer days get warmer so I lift mine and replace them with summer bedding rather than have them run out of steam in July.

I don't have the heart to put them on the compost heap so I plant them into pots and enjoy them while they last.

This is what I do too. They are always at their most colourful when I want to plant my summer Tidal Wave Petunias.

Most pansies are perennial. Winter pansies tend to flower less and to get leggy when the summer days get warmer so I lift mine and replace them with summer bedding rather than have them run out of steam in July.

I don't have the heart to put them on the compost heap so I plant them into pots and enjoy them while they last.

You can cut them back if they get straggly, give them some FBB and off they go again. Split if large.

But it sounds as if they are entirely happy where they are, so just love and good food?

I just leave them, they come year after year or until they get a bit tired and straggly. I love their smiley faces.