Pansy flowering time and solutions for when they do not bloom
Pansies belong to the Violaceae family. They are common perennial herbaceous flowers, usually grown as biennials. Each flower typically has three colors - (or purple), yellow, and white - which is why their scientific name is tricolor violet (Viola tricolor). The pansy flower is bilaterally symmetrical, with the lower petals bearing a backward-pointing spur, and the whole bloom closely resembles a butterfly with spread wings. Placed indoors as a potted plant while the early spring chill lingers outside, the colorful butterflies dance indoors in boundless spring light, inevitably reminding one of the plum blossom that braves wind and snow - hence the lovely name "butterfly plum" (pansy).
Pansies prefer loose, fertile sandy loam. With it they grow and develop well, with lush leaves and abundant flowers. If planted in poor or poorly drained soil, the plants stay short and thin, develop poorly, and the variety degrades. Therefore, whether for sowing and raising seedlings or for cultivation, loose, fertile garden soil should be used as the potting medium. So, what should you do when your potted pansy does not bloom during care?
When do pansies bloom?
Pansies bloom early and have a long flowering period. When in full bloom, the flowers are brilliantly colored and butterfly-shaped, making them a major decorative element for spring and autumn flower beds. The timing depends on when you want them to bloom. Sown in March-April, they bloom from June to October, but develop poorly with small, sparse flowers. Sown in September-October, they bloom in February-March of the following year, with a long flowering period and large, abundant flowers.
Why do pansies fail to bloom?
Anyone who cultivates ornamental flowering plants hopes for abundant, large, and beautifully colored flowers. But in practice, some flowering plants grow lush stems and leaves yet never bloom; some bloom but with small flowers and pale colors; and some even keep dropping flowers and buds, or the flowers wither before opening. In my view, these phenomena are mainly related to the following 5 factors.
1. Physiological factors
Pansies are a type that differentiates flower buds in winter and spring. Each year, when temperatures are relatively low in winter and spring, they undergo one round of flower bud differentiation, and the period from differentiation to flowering is short and continuous. During flower bud differentiation, their growth and development conditions must be met to ensure smooth differentiation, so that they can produce abundant, beautifully colored flowers.
2. Water and fertilizer factors
During the growth period of flowering plants, excessive water and fertilizer easily cause rampant vegetative growth, with nutrients going mostly into root, stem, and leaf growth, affecting flower bud formation and leading to no blooming or very few blooms; even if they do bloom, flowers and buds drop easily.
If too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied and phosphorus-potassium fertilizer is lacking, flower bud formation is also affected. Therefore, during flower bud differentiation, pay attention to applying more fertilizer containing phosphorus and potassium, or spray a 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution, which helps flower bud formation and bud setting. Applying fertilizer that is too concentrated during the bud stage, or watering erratically - sometimes too much, sometimes too little - very easily causes flower and bud drop. A lack of fertilizer and water during the growth period, or poor plant growth, also easily leads to few flowers or poor flower quality.
3. Temperature factors
Before pansy leaf buds transform into flower buds, they are very sensitive to the environment. Because they are winter-type flowers, they require a low temperature of 0°C to 10°C, and complete induction in 30 to 70 days, like biennial herbaceous flowers and perennial flowers that bloom in early spring. In flower cultivation, the conditions for flower formation induction should be met as much as possible to promote the transformation of leaf buds into flower buds.
4. Soil factors
Most flowering plants prefer acidic or neutral soil and fear salinity and alkalinity. Even for flowering plants tolerant of alkaline soil, the soil pH can only be around 7.5. If the alkalinity of the soil where pansies are planted is too high, their development and flowering will both be affected.
5. Cutting factors
Which kind of branch is selected as a cutting is also key to whether it can bloom. For cuttings from asexual propagation, grafting, or air layering, the material must be taken from the tip portion of an adult mother tree that has entered the reproductive stage. These branches are reproductive branches, and new seedlings propagated from such cuttings can bloom in the same year. If vegetative growth branches are used for cuttings, although the new plants grow robustly, they will have no flowers that year, because they do not possess reproductive genes and cannot differentiate flower buds.