Q: What is the latest safe date to plant pansies?

A: Pansies can be planted anytime the ground isn’t frozen. They are perfectly cold-hardy. As fall progresses into winter, you’ll get better blooms from plants sold in 3″ – 4″ pots, not growing in plastic six-packs.

Pansies must have a root system approximately the size of two fists together to bloom in winter.  Plants with smaller rootballs might be blooming in the nursery but the flowers will fall off in the first cold wind and will not reappear until February or March.

Fertilize at planting with a product that contains some nitrate nitrogen: it works better in cold soil. If the soil is not terribly cold, you can apply some water-soluble fertilizer, like Miracle-Gro to settle the plants into place.

Further, be sure to water the pansies every week for a month, to keep the root ball from drying out as it becomes established in cold soil.