Do Pansies Multiply? (Will Pansy Spread)

Whether the pansies flowers can spread becomes an inevitable question when you are trying to make your garden look fuller. Adding pansies to the garden will make a difference and make your garden beds look full.

So, in this article, we shall try to answer a common question that every new grower has in their mind. Do pansies multiply? Will pansy spread and cover their garden? Let’s find out.

As a general rule, pansies don’t multiply or spread around your garden to cover the ground. However, pansies can be grown from the seed collected during their peak season, which can be used next year. Sometimes pansies do come back next year as they self-propagate through their seeds.

Most pansies are treated as perennials or biennials, but they are grown for a season, and then they die.

But if you are in love with the pansies and cannot get enough of them, you can cut them back or recollect the seeds to multiply them and re-grow them in your garden bed.

If you want more pansies in your garden, you might have to buy them every year.

But, instead of that, if you have a beautiful pansy collection in your garden already, you can collect the seeds and plant those to increase their number with a little bit of skill, care, and patience. It might take some time, but the job is not that difficult.

Depending on which variety of pansies you are growing and the planting time, you can collect the seeds and grow them in the spring and autumn seasons without repurchasing them. 

Keep reading this article to gain information about how to multiply and increase pansy growth in your garden.

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Do pansies spread?

The average lifespan of a pansy plant is two or more years. But you can grow them for a long time if you want, without purchasing from the nurseries. 

In some regions, where they are treated as perennials, they are short-lived. Many varieties of pansies can grow easily with the help of their seeds, and in some areas, the pansies can even self-seed themselves. 

Sometimes, while growing seeds in the flower beds, the seed pods burst out, and the seeds get spread all over the garden bed. This is how they keep multiplying and spreading everywhere. 

The plants start growing during the spring, and then they again grow seeds during the summer.

How do you increase and multiply the pansies?

Pansies create seed capsules after they bloom, and through these seed capsules, they multiply and increase in numbers. You can collect these seeds from the pansies in your garden, plant and grow them again.

The pansies that have been growing in your garden for two years can be best reproduced by seeds. The perennial pansies can also be multiplied by division. These seeds are collected from the existing plants, which can sow themselves.

The pansies treated as biennials produce blooms in the following year after they are sown. Leave the sprouted pansies until they start creating the seed capsules, and then you can gain seeds from them.

You can follow the following steps if you want your pansies to multiply:

  • If the pansies are starting to shrivel during the summers, you will need to collect the seeds from the flowers when they are about to bloom.
  • After collecting the seeds, dry the seeds and keep them in the container. Then you can sow the seeds directly in the garden bed or start growing them indoors. Read articles related to sowing pansy seeds to know more about it.
  • After raising them in the bed, you will have to separate the flowers. Do not disturb or move the plant until the middle of October. They are frost-hardy plants and will start blooming in the spring.

When spring arrives, you will have to sow the seeds you have collected from the existing pansies of your garden in February.

If you have started pansy seeds indoors, you can transplant the plants outside in your garden bed in May after they mature.

Because pansies are also called F1 hybrids, these self-propagated plants do not grow as large as their mother plants. Along with that, they also differ in colors from their mother plant or the original plant.

Also read: Do Pansies Bloom The First Year? (Pansies Blooming Guide)


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How do pansies propagate?

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There are three different ways of propagating pansies – from seeds, cuttings, and divisions.

Propagating from seeds

Even though it is always recommended to start pansy seeds indoors and then transplant them in the garden after they mature, you can also perform direct sowing in the garden bed, provided the weather conditions are suitable.

  1. For sowing, you will need moist and well-drained soil as your medium. Spread the seeds evenly on the soil bed and then cover them with a thin layer of soil.
  2. You can create a cover or shade for germination for your pansy bed to create humid conditions and protect them from the direct sun rays.
  3. Do not forget to water the soil. Be gentle while watering the soil bed so that you don’t disturb the seeds.
  4. Once the plant starts growing leaves, remove the shades from the soil bed to sunlight throughout the day. Water them well. And feed them with fertilizers to boost their growth.

Best time for seed sowing

The ideal time for propagating pansies is 14 to 16 weeks before planting them outside during early spring. 

Growing pansies from seeds is a slow process. So you need to have patience while growing them by seeds. 

If you want blooms in the autumn of the same year, you can sow the seeds until July. The first bloom will be seen in October or November and will remain in the mild winters until the spring arrives. 

To enjoy blooms in the spring and summer, you can do the sowing between August and September.

Propagating from cuttings

This is the general process of multiplying pansies. The best time to propagate them from cutting is during the fall or late summers.

For helping pansies multiply through cutting:

  1. Choose a healthy pansy plant, and cut a section of three inches from below its node.
  2. Remove the lower leaves from that cutting and plant the cutting in moist and rich fertile soil.
  3. Ensure that the soil supports good drainage.
  4. Take proper care and keep them healthy to encourage blooming.

Propagating from division

Another way by which you can help the pansies to multiply is by propagating them through division. This is somewhat the same as the cutting process. 

  1. Select a healthy pansy plant from the bed, dig up and pull it apart into two sections, each having roots in them.
  2. Plant them immediately in the soil bed and keep the soil evenly moist.
  3. Make sure to keep your division away from any harsh conditions until they get matured and hardy.

Some pansies may not be suitable for divisions, so check the conditions of your plant before you try to multiply pansies by the division process.

Do pansies self-seed themselves?

Yes, pansies can self-seed themselves.

When your pansies keep enjoying the growing conditions in your garden, they tend to reseed themselves.

If you do not deadhead your pansy plants, the plant starts growing seed capsules in the place where the flower was growing. When the seeds are ripe, it turns brown.

When the seed capsules dry out, they open up, and these tiny seeds start spreading themselves around the area of your garden bed. Slowly they start growing into plants, and your pansies start spreading.

Do pansies grow back every year?

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If you have bought pansies that already have flowers in them, you can treat them as annuals. Most of these pansies are the hybrid ones that grow in one season, and then they die.

If you have purchased blooming biennial pansies, they will also grow as annual pansies. These plants have already grown flowers, and thus they are in the second stage of their life cycle. This means that they will die at the end of the season.

The purchased pansies in their second stage will grow only from spring to fall in the hardy zones. There are no accurate or true perennials in the pansy family that will return and grow every year.

If your pansies are returning every year, it means they are reseeding annuals and biennials. They act like perennials in warm weather conditions, and there are no harsh cold conditions that can make them dormant. 

These perennials reseed and multiply themselves, which results in the regrowth of the pansies. In this way, your pansies will come back every year.

Also read: Are Pansies Perennials? (+How To Grow Pansy As Penerrials)

Spacing the pansies

Because pansies reseed, multiply and spread, you need to keep enough space in between the pansies to help them grow well without any blocks or obstacles. 

When your pansies are reseeding, and the seeds are falling on the ground and multiplying, it is because they are enjoying the garden conditions. When this happens, your pansies are probably in need of space so that they can grow freely.

Pansies like full or partial sunlight and cooler temperatures for their survival. If the pansy plants are self-seeding themselves under such conditions, they start growing on their own near the spots where the original pansy plants are standing, without much hoeing, spraying, or weeding.

Moreover, pansies can spread about 9 to 12 inches. So keeping a space of about 7 to 12 inches apart will be a great idea. This will help the plant and the roots breathe and grow flexibly, and at the same time, it will help the growth of other pansies when they are self-seeding and multiplying themselves.

Final words

It is always good to get more pansies from their seeds or cuttings instead of buying them.

Multiplying pansies is an economical way of growing more pansies and bringing them back every year. With this, you can always get constant pansy blooms and keep your garden colorful.

If you plan to grow pansies for many years, you can grow them by those seed capsules or cuttings. This will also promote more colorful pansies. 

You can also grow hybrid pansies for more colorful options. Take care of the pansies by providing all the requirements to them. Ensure that they get enough sunlight. Water them frequently to keep them hydrated. 

Use rich fertile soil for the pansies and check whether the soil bed has a sound drainage system. Feed them with fertilizers while planting and later once a month to encourage healthy plant growth and more fluffy blooms.


Ref: The University of Arkansas, BritannicaUtah State UniversityWikipediaThe University of GeorgiaThe Pennsylvania State UniversityThe Royal Horticultural Society.

Richa

Hello everyone, My name is Richa and I am here to make you a better gardener by creating an in-depth and helpful resource for all the fellow gardeners out there. If I could help even a few people understand their plants better then I call it a success for my efforts.

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