Soil is as important as water and light for your pansies. The right soil choice can determine the growth of these plants and their flowers. But understanding the soil requirement and choosing the soil as per that can be difficult as not all plants require the same soil.
But making the wrong soil choice can affect the growth of your pansies. Let’s understand what type of soil is best for growing pansies and how you can make the correct soil choice for your pansies.
Pansies grow best in rich, well-drained soil that contains a lot of organic matter. The soil must be well-drained, but at the same time, it needs to hold enough moisture for the plant to absorb the vital nutrients and water from the same. The ideal pH range for pansies is between 5.4 and 5.8.
You should also make sure that the soil remains moist all the time. Due to its staying under the sun for six long hours, the soil can get dry quickly.
Dry soil is not suitable for pansies. So, you must water them frequently. But do not overwater your pansies as that would cause other problems.
Besides the correct soil, you also need to take care of the other requirements of pansies for their overall growth. Let us now talk about everything about the quality of soil favorable for pansies.
Importance of choosing the right soil
While choosing the suitable soil, we need to keep a few things in mind:
- The soil must provide the correct nutrients to your pansies.
- The soil should be able to drain excess water and, at the same time, hold the amount of moisture that pansies need.
- Ensure that the pH level of the soil aligns with the plant’s preference.
Signs of wrong soil mix
If you have planted your pansies in the wrong soil mix, it will develop problems and show some signs.
Discoloration
One of the signs that your pansies are not happy with the soil is discoloration. When your plant is turning pale, the most common reason behind it is overwatering.
Even if you water your pansies correctly, they will get overwatered if the soil fails to drain the excess water. It indicates that the soil is not suitable for your pansies.
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Droopy leaves
If the soil mix is too heavy for your pansies, it will remain wet for an extended period and will make your plants overwatered even if you are not overwatering them.
Droopy leaves are a sign that your pansies are sitting in water for longer than usual.
In contrast, if the soil mix is too light and cannot hold even the required amount of water, you will have thirsty pansies who show signs through dry and droopy leaves.
What kind of soil do pansies prefer?
If you are growing pansies for the first time, it may be confusing for you to decide the correct soil mix, but a clear understanding of their soil requirement is crucial.
First, while selecting the soil, you must ensure that the soil is drying out fast. If the soil takes a long period to get dry, your pansies will get overwatered and might develop root rot.
The next thing you need to keep in mind is that your soil must hold enough moisture for the proper functioning of the roots. If the soil cannot retain sufficient moisture, the roots will fail to absorb nutrients and water from the soil.
Rich loamy soil works best for pansies. It can dry out on time and, at the same time, can retain sufficient water so that the soil remains moist and doesn’t dry out completely.
Make sure that the soil you are choosing contains a pH value between 5.4 and 5.8.
If you want to increase the acidity of the soil, you can use sphagnum peat.
You need to spread about an inch or two of sphagnum peat over the topsoil of the pansies. But before adding compost, check the soil’s pH level with the help of a pH testing kit.
Pansies do like acidic soil, but excess acidity of the soil can harm your plant. So if the soil gets too acidic, you can use well-decomposed compost to reduce the acidity.
Best soil mix for pansies
Till now, you have read about the soil requirements of pansies. Now, let us understand how we can make an appropriate soil mix for our pansy plants.
Homemade ingredients always work best for the plants. They are chemical-free and organic.
You can make any of the following soil mixes for your pansies.
Recipe 1
This recipe is one of the most common and best soil mixes for your pansies.
Ingredients:
- 30% Vermicompost/Wormcasting
- 30% Cocopeat/Peatmoss
- 30% Compost
- 30% Sand
Mix the ingredients and spread the mixture in the spot in your garden where you want to plant the pansies. If you are using seeds, spread the seeds evenly and water them.
Now, let us understand the importance of these ingredients.
Vermicompost: It contains water-soluble nutrients and is an excellent organic fertilizer rich in nutrients.
Vermicompost is very rich in nutrients and microorganisms that can create nutritious soil. Made of green vegetable wastes and various species of worms, it works as an excellent soil conditioner.
Cocopeat: Your pansies will grow 50% faster if you have coco peat in your soil mix. It helps to keep the soil light and aerated and improves the air circulation and root growth. It increases the soil’s capacity to retain water, preventing both overwatering and under-watering.
Compost: Compost has a perfect balance of all essential nutrients for your plant. The humus content of compost is high. It releases the essential nutrients in the soil slowly, making it easier for the plant to absorb them. It helps improve air circulation and provides proper fertility for the growth of pansies.
Sand: It is the best choice for growing your pansies because they prefer loamy soil. It can hold nutrients well. It can retain the right amount of moisture and drain the excess water from the soil, preventing both overwatering and under-watering.
Recipe 2
Here is another recipe of soil for the healthy growth of the pansies.
Ingredients:
- 50% Vermicompost/Wormcasting
- 10% Neem cake
- 10% Bone Meal
- 30% Coco peat (you can also use 50% garden soil and 50% sand instead of coco peat)
Mix all the ingredients and add some garden waste containing dried-out flowers, leaves, and branches. This waste will later work like organic fertilizer for your pansies. Spread this soil mix in your garden and plant your pansies in that spot.
Let us read about the importance of the ingredients.
Neem Cake: It protects your pansies from the different bacterial and fungal infections and pest infestation. It even works as a good fertilizer for the plants. It is enriched with nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur, and calcium. It also helps to reduce alkaline content in the soil. However, never spread it over the topsoil. Always use it below the topsoil layer or mix it well.
Bone Meal: It is a mixture of grounded animal bones and slaughterhouse wastes. It is rich in phosphorous and calcium. You can use it as an organic fertilizer.
Garden waste: This is a mixture of all the dried leaves, branches, and flowers. When you use this garbage in the soil, it works as a fertilizer. How? When we water the plants, these slowly settle down and gradually melt and mix with the soil. It works well as an organic fertilizer.
If you plant your pansies in this soil mix, you can skip fertilizer as this garden waste will work as a fertilizer. But if you want, you can add some liquid fertilizer after a few days.
When should I plant my pansies?
The best time to plant your pansies is in the fall season. During this time, the temperature of the soil ranges between 45-70°F.
You must be careful while planting the pansies. If the soil temperature is too warm, the pansies might become vulnerable to burn and pest infestation.
Also, planting the pansies when the soil temperatures are too low will not let the roots function correctly, due to which you might not see any new flowers.
What to do after planting pansies?
You must water your pansies right after planting them. Give the soil a good soak but avoid watering the flowers and leaves.
You can add a layer of mulch on top of the soil to hold the moisture and prevent the pansies from any damage due to the cold weather during winter.
How far should pansies be planted apart?
You must plant the pansies with some space in between them. If the pansy plants are crowded, they will become more vulnerable to pests and diseases.
You can maintain gaps of 6 inches, or 8 inches, or 10 inches for healthy and happy pansy plants.
Final words
Pansies grow best in rich loam soil that retains enough moisture not to get bone dry. You can prepare a soil mix for your garden and spread it in the spot where you want to grow the pansies.
Using compost will also improve the quality of the soil. Pansies are great plants to grow in winter as they can survive the harsh weather conditions, but you must protect the soil from the cold and dry air by adding a layer of mulch on top of the soil.
Ref: The University of Arkansas, Britannica, Utah State University, Wikipedia, The University of Georgia, The Pennsylvania State University, The Royal Horticultural Society.
