Following record rain in the fall and cold and snow throughout the winter, most pansies were looking pretty bleak. Despite the cold, most pansies survived and are now beginning to bloom again. Pansies are very hearty and can withstand the cold weather, however, they do fall victim to diseases due to our wet winters. The disease is most prominent in poorly draining and shady beds and where pansies have been planted for years. We have developed a maintenance program that reduces the impact of the disease which includes adding new, fresh soil every fall at planting. This is followed up with fungicide application throughout the winter. Although not 100% fool-proof, our program has resulted in the most consistent healthy pansies around. However, we still see it in some plantings. In these situations, it indicates that the soil needs to be replaced instead of just new soil being added. This can occur every 5-6 years.
Brand 'X' Diseased Pansies
The pictures below are some examples of plantings of other contractors that we have seen recently that have fallen victim to the disease. These plantings have not received the maintenance we provide and are not recovering and me even completely fail going into spring. It is sad to see but common with many of our competitors.
As mentioned earlier, our pansy plantings are not disease free us we are continuing with our friend are signed applications. Over the next 2-3 months you will see the product of all our work this last fall and winter resulting in healthy blooming beds of pansies.
