Hardening Off Pansies

It’s nearly spring and we hear you! You’re ready for warm weather and colorful landscapes. Those early spring blooms are a bright, wonderful sign of the new season to come. You’ve planted your spring-blooming bulbs, maintained your landscapes, done winter cleanup, and now you’re thinking more about selecting plants for your garden and you’re ready to get your hands on some of the early season flowers that will help cure your winter blues. Well, we have great news! Pansies are here but they need to be hardened off. Not familiar with hardening off pansies? Let’s learn more:

 

Did you know that pansies and violas are very cold tolerant? When fully acclimated to Colorado weather conditions, they can easily handle temperatures down to 20°-25°. Very cold temperatures may damage the flowers but they won’t damage the plants.

In order to get them fully acclimated to our conditions, temperature exposure must occur gradually to transition them from the greenhouse environment to the outdoors. That’s referred to as “hardening off pansies.”g

Ready to Learn How? It’s so simple!

 

At City Floral, when our pansies first hit our North Patio in February and early March, we keep them outdoors during the day and cover or move them indoors on the coldest nights for protection.

Hardening off generally takes about a week. When taking the plants home, continue this process for a couple of days, especially when the temperature drops below 32° F.

Plant your pansies during a stretch of moderate weather and be prepared to cover them with frost guard if the weather changes dramatically. So what are you waiting for? Come shop our pansies now for the best selection and remember, spring is right around the corner!

And, if you’re not sure what varieties to plant in your garden, head to this blog post to help you decide which pansies to plant.