Pansies are the first annual plant I plant in the ground in the spring. If you don’t live in a cold place, this flower might bloom in the fall or winter. I’ve probably planted over ten thousand of these big blossomed flowers over the years. While pansies are low-maintenance flowers that can add some impact to any garden, they aren’t without their problems.
There are a few common issues with pansies that can display through a variety of different symptoms. Bugs and illnesses are two things that can cause problems, but there are some other common problems that are hard to fix.
There may be an easy way to fix your pansies this season if they look a little out of shape or like they’ve been dried out. There are also a few problems that just aren’t easy to resolve. Keep reading to learn more about the most common problems with pansies, and how to fix them!.
This is a big problem for pansies. When the stems of the pansies are creeping outwards instead of growing upright and bushy. They will also have spindly stems. Often they will have little to no blooms. This is a sign that they are not getting enough light.
They are trying to reach towards a light source and are becoming spindly in the process. Pansies prefer part sun conditions. Anything under 4 hours direct sunlight is not enough for pansies to thrive.
I plant pansies in the very early spring where I’m from. Before there are any leaves on the trees. Because of this, a place that was sunny in early spring may become shady as the trees grow big.
To get leggy pansies to stop stretching, cut them back to a nice mound, then dig them up and move them somewhere with more sun. Choose a different location to plant them next season.
Pansies are a beloved cool weather flower, brightening up gardens with their cheery faces even through frosty winter months. But these popular blooms aren’t just eye candy for us – they attract a hungry crowd of pests eager to munch on their foliage and flowers.
If you’ve noticed damage on your winter pansies and asked “what is eating my pansy flowers?”, you’ve likely got some uninvited critters crashing your garden party. Here’s how to identify what pesky bugs or animals are feasting on your pansies and stop them in their tracks.
Common Pansy Pests to Watch For
A few usual suspects top the list when pansies are getting chomped. Keep an eye out for these hungry pests attacking your flowers:
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Aphids – These tiny pear-shaped bugs come in colors like green, black, yellow, or pink. They cluster on stems and undersides of leaves, sucking plant sap.
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Caterpillars – Plump green, brown, or black worms munch on leaves and flowers. Watch for signs of cutworms, loopers, or armyworms.
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Slugs & Snails – Nocturnal mollusks that leave behind telltale slime trails and ragged holes in leaves.
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Spider Mites – Tiny red or yellow specks on leaf undersides, they leave behind webbing and speckled discoloration.
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Thrips – Miniscule winged pests that rasp leaves to drink sap, resulting in dried tan patches or dots.
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Whiteflies – Fly-like insects named for their powdery white wings; they cluster on leaf undersides.
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Flea Beetles – Tiny black beetles that hop from leaf to leaf, leaving behind shot holes.
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Deer – Hungry ungulates that can destroy an entire pansy bed overnight with indiscriminate browsing.
Stopping Pansy Predators in Their Tracks
Once you’ve detected the culprit attacking your pansies, it’s time to take action. Here are organic and safe ways to get rid of the pests or prevent further damage:
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Remove aphids, caterpillars, and other large insects by hand or spray them off with a strong stream of water.
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Apply neem oil, insecticidal soap, or horticultural oils to suffocate soft-bodied pests like aphids, mites, and thrips.
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Use floating row covers as a barrier against flying pests and repellents like hot pepper wax or garlic spray to deter larger pests.
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Attract beneficial insects like ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps to naturally control aphids, mites, and other prey. Plant flowers they like such as dill, fennel, and coreopsis nearby.
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Set out slug and snail traps such as small containers of beer sunk into the soil to attract and drown the mollusks.
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Apply diatomaceous earth around plants to shred the soft bodies of slugs and snails that crawl across it.
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Remove hiding spots for slugs like piles of debris, mulch, or weeds around pansies.
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Grow pansies in elevated beds or containers if possible to deter slugs and snails.
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Sprinkle used coffee grounds around plants to deter slugs and snails with the gritty texture and caffeine.
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Stop deer with fencing around your garden, or deterrent sprays made with rotten eggs, hot peppers, or other natural ingredients they dislike.
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Control flea beetles by laying down floating row covers early in the season before they emerge.
Protecting Pansies Proactively
Aside from control methods, preventing pests in the first place should be part of your defense. Here are proactive ways to guard pansies from predators:
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Select disease-resistant pansy varieties less vulnerable to pests.
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Check transplants thoroughly for bugs before purchasing and planting.
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Isolate new plants for a few days to ensure they aren’t harboring pests to transfer.
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Remove and destroy badly infested plants or plant parts to prevent spreading.
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Clean up fallen leaves, debris, and weeds providing cover for slugs and snails.
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Apply preventative treatments like horticultural oil or neem oil before pests arrive.
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Fertilize pansies to keep them healthy and better able to withstand pest damage. But don’t over-fertilize and create rapid soft growth that attracts aphids.
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Water pansies at soil level rather than overhead to prevent mildew that can invite pests.
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Space and thin pansy plantings for good air circulation to discourage diseases and infestations.
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Rotate pansy planting locations each year to interrupt pest life cycles in the soil.
With some diligent monitoring and the right prevention and control measures, you can enjoy your winter pansies pest-free. Pay attention to signs of damage, identify the culprits, and take prompt action to remedy infestations before your pansies become an all-you-can-eat pest buffet.
White Powder on Leaves
You can get rid of powdery mildew by spraying with a fungicide.
Pansies sometimes succumb to this fungus. It is a white powdery film on the leaves of pansies that can be rubbed off.
Overhead watering and not enough sun are the main reasons powdery mildew will affect pansies. Watering at the base of the soil is better than watering overhead. It is best to water with a sprinkler in the morning so the sun can dry the leaves. If you water in the evening, the leaves will stay wet all night, which is when powdery mildew can grow.
Powdery mildew may not be getting enough sun if you water your pansies at the base and in the morning but still have problems with it. If your pansies are leggy and lacking blooms it is a sign of not enough sun. Powdery mildew will prey on these weak plants. Ensure your pansies are in an area where they receive some direct sunlight. Ideally in the morning or late afternoon.
If you have powdery mildew on your pansies you can spray them with a fungicide. Sometimes, though, if the mildew is bad and the season is almost over, I might just pull the pansies.
To avoid pests such as spider mites, make sure your pansies grow in ideal conditions.
Veils of web and mottled leaves are a sign of one of my most hated pests, spider mites.
Spider mites prey on weak plants. So ensuring your pansies are healthy and growing in their ideal conditions is important to avoid pests like spider mites.
Choose a location for your pansies that receive 4-6 hours of sunlight. Morning and late afternoon sun is ideal, with some protection from the hot full afternoon sun.
Next, make sure you have light free draining soil full of organic matter. I like to top dress my beds in compost in the late fall. I will also add coconut coir to my heavy clay soil to help break it up and let water drain away easily. You will find most garden perennials like this mix of light free draining soil.
Now I water. I water more when they are first planted, then less once they are established. When I water, I aim for the soil line and do it in the morning so the sun can dry the leaves.
Doing those things will help avoid spider mites. But if you already have them on your pansies reading about prevention is not much help. Spray your plants with an insecticidal soap to help rid them of spider mites. I would do this weekly. If it is late in the season or the infestation is really bad I will just.
pull them and plant something else.
The aphids stick to the stems and drink the plant’s juice. They leave behind a deposit that the ants eat.
If you notice mottled sticky leaves on your pansies, do a closer inspection. I bet you’ll see little clear bugs stuck to the stems and undersides of your pansies’ new growth. These are aphids.
Aphids tend to attack plants that are weakened. So make sure you follow the spider mite tips I gave you earlier to get your pansies growing in the best way possible. Part sun, loose soil, water, but don’t over water. If any of these conditions are not met your pansies are more susceptible to pests, such as aphids.
Aphids will suck the sap out of your pansies, leaving them mottled looking. They then excrete a substance called honeydew. Ants love this sticky substance. Don’t be fooled into thinking ants are eating the aphids. They are simply eating the honeydew secreted by the aphids. Honeydew left on the leaves will eventually grow sooty mold.
What works best depends on how many pansies there are and how many aphids are on them. If there are only a few, I’ll either spray them with water, use a tissue to remove them, or bring ladybugs in to eat them. If the infestation is too much, I will move on to insecticidal soap. Make sure to spray all parts of the plants. They live on the undersides of the leaves.
Use slug bait to protect your pansies from snails and slugs.
Slimey trails and chomped holes on pansies is a sign of snails and slugs. These slimy pests thrive in damp conditions. These are not necessarily the conditions you want your pansies in. Try to plant pansies in sunny locations. If you spray water on their leaves at night, the leaves will stay wet, which slugs and snails love.
There are a few things you can try if you have slugs and snails (sometimes we can’t change the rainy, damp weather).
Try sprinkling diatomaceous earth, this can be purchased at garden centers, around the base of your pansies. You can also use crushed eggshells. These are sharp and will cut into the soft body of slugs and snails.
Putting shallow trays of beer around the garden also works. The snails will be drawn to the trays, and you can throw them away when they’re full.
My favorite method for ridding the garden of slugs and snails is using slug bait. These are pellets that can be purchased from the garden center. I simply sprinkle them around the garden and they disappear. Be aware that these pellets can be toxic to pets if consumed in large quantities. They do eventually break down into the garden.
Frost can turn pansy leaves purple, but they will grow back as soon as it gets warmer.
I always buy pansies as soon as they are on sale in the Spring. Because I live in a cold climate, spring weather is not very warm here. But pansies can take below freezing temperatures. So I will plant my pansies. While they are well known for their purple annual blooms, purple foliage is another story.
Pansy leaves can turn a dark purple color. If it’s really cold they will get frost burned tips. But the purple color in the leaves is not really a problem at all. This is because the plants cannot absorb phosphorus in the cold temperatures. They will recover once the temperatures warm up.
Snow is actually insulating for pansies. If it snows on your pansies I would just leave the snow on. The temperatures really start to drop when the snow stops falling and the clouds clear. The snow will protect the pansies from that drop in temperature.
Plants Laying Flat on Ground
If your pansies are still lying flat on the ground after you plant them, they need to be well watered.
This is usually a problem when pansies are first planted. You get them all planted up and they look great. Then you come back to check on them and they are laying flat on the ground. You panic. It looks bad. But actually this one is an easy fix. They need water. Give them a good deep soak and like magic they will perk back up.
It’s better to not allow this to happen over and over again. It will eventually weaken the pansy and the bottoms will turn yellow. But it does happen. In the beginning, when pansies are first planted, they need more water.
Once the roots are established, they won’t need any extra water—just making sure they get enough water every week—and they’ll stay healthy and upright all season.
It is recommended to prune faded pansies.
Let’s face it – most gardeners plant pansies for their beautiful blooms. Having pansies that are all leaves but no blooms is disappointing. There can be a few reasons for this happening.
The most common reason is your pansies are not blooming is because they do not have enough sun. Along with no blooms, your pansies will be leggy (as detailed in #1).
Another reason your pansies are not blooming could be a lack of maintenance. Specifically, not deadheading them. Deadheading is the process of removing flowers after they have finished blooming. If you are not deadheading, the pansy flowers will go to seed.
After this happens the pansy feels its job is done. It’s grown, flowered, made seed, the life cycle is complete. When we deadhead pansies it signals them to make more flowers to make more seeds. I recommend weekly deadheading. It doesn’t take long and it will ensure lots of blooms throughout the season.
You can’t over-deadhead pansies. Since I only go to the garden every two weeks at times, I make sure to remove any flowers that are even slightly dying so that room is made for new ones. Doing this can help ensure your pansies bloom all season long.
If you are going to be away for a while during pansy season, you can cut your plants back by about a third. When you come back, they will grow back and bloom again. If you leave them you may end up with no blooms and just seed heads.
If you water your pansies too much or not enough, the bottom leaves may start to turn yellow, which will kill the whole plant.
When pansies have yellowing bottom leaves it will eventually lead to the whole plant rotting off. This is usually because of overwatering, and/or inconsistent watering.
Pansies like more water when they are first planted. As I already said, if they don’t get enough water early on, they will lie flat on the ground. If you keep allowing the pansies to perk up then fall flat. They will eventually turn yellow and brown at the base. They will continue with new growth, but the inconsistent water will leave the bottom leaves looking bad.
Too much water will also cause the leaves to turn yellow. After the initial extra water to pansies, let them be. Constant overhead watering especially, will cause the pansies to turn yellow and eventually rot.
What Is Eating My Pansies Off?
FAQ
What animals eat pansy flowers in the winter?
How do I keep bugs from eating my pansies?
What animal will eat pansies?
What eats pansies?
Cutworms and various other types of caterpillars also eat Pansies. Spider mites, Whiteflies, Mealybugs, and Flea beetles also eat Pansies. Slugs and Snails eat Pansies too. Deer, Rats, Mice, Squirrels, and Rabbits eat Pansies too. Pansies are flowering plants derived from Violas. They are grown by many for their beautiful flowers.
What bugs eat Pansy flowers?
Last but not least, caterpillars are yet another bug that enjoys feasting on pansy flowers. The most common types of caterpillars you’ll find on your pansies are cutworms and omnivorous loopers. Both varieties pose a similar threat to pansies. That is, they feed on their leaves, devouring up the plant’s moisture and, in turn, inhibiting its growth.
What animals eat Pansy flowers?
It’s an unfortunate fact that pansies are eaten by pests and animals alike. Their list of predators is fairly extensive and includes the likes of snails, slugs, mites, aphids, caterpillars, birds, rabbits, and even raccoons. Below, I’ll explore the relationships between these animals and pansy flowers further.
What color are winter pansies?
Winter pansies ( Viola hiemalis ), also known as ice pansies, provide beautiful color in the garden come fall and winter. They come in a range of shades, from blues and purples to reds and pinks, making them a popular choice for gardeners looking to add interest to their garden during colder months.