Winter Flowering Pansies outside the kitchen window

• 3 Apr, 2010
• 6 likes

I put these in Sept 09. They were in flower then and have continued through the winter. Normally I would discard them in May and replant the troughs with Begonia sempervivums. The pansies do not need dead heading in winter because it is too cold for them to set seed and the begonias will stand drought for a couple of weeks if we go on holiday. These have taken a terrible battering with our awful weather but keep coming back. I could just cut them back give them a feed and let them flower all summer but if you do not dead head them they run to seed and become straggly. There are 10 pots of 12. There are mini tulips in the pots but I haven't seen any sign of them yet. The drumstick primulas, alliums and red hot pokers are looking promising. The primulas and red hot pokers I split and planted in this new bed along with allium bulbs