Pansy Care Guide
Pansies are a sign of spring at Estabrook's
Boasting cheerful color and rugged hardiness, it's little wonder that pansies are a sign of spring in Maine. Although these plants will defiantly hold their colors through adverse spring weather conditions, there are also steps you can take to make sure they stay looking their best throughout the season.
Planting
Pansies can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked and do best in mass planting using a 6 to 8 inch center. As the weather gets warmer, this spacing gives the plants mutual support against wind and rain, while providing a burst of noticeable color when perennials are just breaking dormancy.
Finding an area with full sun should not be difficult in early spring but be sure to look around to see what is going to leaf out above the plants later on. Window boxes are also an excellent choice, but proper care should be observed. Although pansies are rugged, they appreciate the details of consistent care.
Fertilizing
Pansies are an environmental dream since they prefer fertilizer with a low amount of phosphorus (the middle number on formulations). Keeping the phosphorus low will go a long way in reducing stretch and also win you kudos in your neighborhood for minimizing runoff.
Maintenance
Conscientious dead heading is essential to keeping pansies going into the warmer months. Spent flowers should be pinched back to encourage new blooms.
Get a sneak peak at Estabrook's Color Spot on Route 1 in Scarborough this Monday, April 21st as we open the doors to customers for the very first time.
Estabrook's Color Spot brings together the best and brightest from our collection of plant material to make it quick and easy to find exciting plants for your home.
To learn more, visit www.estabrooksonline.com/colorspot
Meet Tim Walsh, Plant Before You Plant Design Consultant
Estabrook's is pleased to introduce Tim Walsh, our new design consultant for the Plan Before You Plant program.
Still relatively new to Maine (arriving in 2004 by way of Illinois, where he grew up; Budapest, Hungary, where he lived in the 1990s; and Washington, DC), Tim is a long-time gardener with a special passion for native plantings, naturalized hardscapes, organic methods and community gardening. He has served as a Master Gardener Volunteer for the Cumberland County Cooperative Extension since 2007, teaching good composting practice to anyone who wants to listen.
Tim also operates his own landscaping business, Adequate Garden, which specializes in small-scale hardscapes and sustainable planting schemes. One of his projects in 2007 – a fieldstone wall among apple trees in Brunswick – earned first prize in the annual Blue Rock Stone Center "Get It Set It!" competition.
Tim holds a Master's degree in American Studies and is currently working towards Associate's degrees in Horticulture and Architectural Design at Southern Maine Community College, where he also teaches English Composition and U.S. History in the "off-season."
If you'd like to meet Tim, he is presenting a guest lecture entitled "Planning Before You Plant: Soil Preparation, Plant Selection and Setting a Tone for the Season" on Tuesday, April 29th from 7:00 to 8:30 PM at the South Freeport Church Community Hall.
The presentation is sponsored by the South Freeport Neighborhood Association and is free to members. Non-members are requested to donate $5.00 to the South Freeport Neighborhood Association.
If you have any questions about this presentation, or the SFNA in general, please contact a current member of the Board of Directors (Cynthia Taliaferro, Jay Flower, or John Thomas), or send them an e-mail at admin@sofreeme.org.