Re: [gardeners] pansies
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 16 Oct 1998 10:36:11 -0700
Catharine Vinson wrote:
>
> Chris wrote:
>
> My sister who lives in Atlanta is putting in pansies now and replacing some
> other annuals. She told me that ground never freezes and they flower right up
> till May. You could not even find pansies this time of year in Boston, MA.
>
> The ground does freeze in Atlanta most winters. The last couple of winters have been exceptionally mild. Pansies overwinter here beautifully....the degree of soil freezing doesn't faze them. They will perk back up and start blooming again as soon as the weather warms to above freezing. By May, they are tired and in need of removal and replacement with Summer flowering annuals.
>
> I've never seen a city as crazed for pansies as Atlanta. I think it must be "illegal" NOT to set out a minimum of 3 flats each fall. I 'spect the neighborhood design police cite you if you fail to do your duty in this regard.
Lake Charles and Sulphur, LA do the same thing. Every boulevard, divided
street, light post, mail box, etc has some of the loudest colored
pansies I've ever seen planted around them.
>
> One particularly horrid example of Atlanta's pansy-mania is the creation of HUGE public beds of "color-blended" pansies. "Color-blending" tends to be along the lines of the juxtaposition of saturated color compliments. Not a pretty sight in my opinion.
>
> Catharine, who loads up on Johnny Jump Ups instead of pansies.
We have violas and torenias that reseed every fall and make a nice
splash of color. Then in the spring the Shirley poppies come up
voluntarily as the violas and torenias die back. Miz Anne used to plant
some pansies occasionally but has grown tired of the prolification of
that plant throughout town.
George