Question about planting pansies. See details below:?

I bought some recently and planted them, but apparently they don't spread. Is this true? Do I need to plant them very close together to get some color? I bought more, and did that, but it still doesn't look all that great. Am I expecting too much out of them? Also, will they survive occasional freezing weather, even when the temperature doesn't go over freezing for around 72 hours before warming back up above freezing?


I live in western North Carolina in the mountains.


I also bought some phlox today, hoping it will survive, even though I planted it today. I assume it's pretty hardy, since it didn't die off when we had freezing weather a couple of times already. Suggestions? Advice?

Question about planting pansies. See details below:?
I have a few answers to your many questions about pansies. They will not spread but rather develop larger plants reducing the space between plants. They are generally planted 8-9 inches from center of plant to center of plant. They are one of the most reliable winter plants for taking extremes in temperatures and still blooming. However, this is one of the fascinating things about pansies, they bloom on nitrogen, one of a handful of plants to do so. A lot of people will fertiliuze with blood meal,(actually animal blood) purchased at local garden centers. After planting your pansies, it would be good to mulch with a hardwood mulch or with your pine straw there in N.C. Both the phlox and the pansies are great plants, always water before a hard freeze. The moisture actually protects the roots from what is known in the trade as Dry-Freeze Kill. Happy gardening.
Reply:Pansies are cold weather plants. They can tolerate freezes. They don't "spread" but will become full, compact plants given time. They are heavy feeders, you can MiracleGro them weekly. Dead head for more blooms. Or let them go to seed for you to collect. In a couple of months one pansy can grow to be 8-10" tall, bushing to 12" in diameter.





They will root in water and reseed themselves. Lovely light scent too.
Reply:If you have several colors, instead of mixing them up plant 2 or 3 of the same color next to each other. When they grow towards each other they will look more like one big plant of the same color :-)


I've always heard they can survive without cover down to 25 degrees. To be safe, mulch around them, water before a freeze and throw a cover over them during the freeze time.
Reply:Hello,


My pansies last year I would take off the developed seed pod and throw the seeds back into where the pansies were planted and I had so many pansies!!


We took them broke the roots up and planted them into the ground. In the ground they stayed nice with there flowers well into freezing. I have not been out there to check on them, but they were the longest lasting flower we had out there.


I love pansies, they are so pretty!


We are in the high deserts of Oregon (yes we have desert here :0), so I do not know what your climate is like.


Good luck!
Reply:they do not spread,but they may reseed.they will fill in.they will survive, the phlox too