Pansies are used for color massing, edging, containers and window boxes during the fall, winter and spring. Pansies thrive in cool weather. They will bloom any time that the temperature is above freezing. Their peak bloom is in spring. They fade and should be discarded with the start of hot summer weather.

Pansies grow best in a location that receives morning sun and has rich, well-draining organic soil. Add manure, leaf mold or compost to soil to increase organic content.

Sow seed indoors in late summer, six to eight weeks before transplanting. The pansies can be transplanted into the garden once the summer heat has been broken and cooler weather arrives.

If you purchase plants, choose ones that are stocky with dark green foliage and have few blooms but many buds.

Plant pansies and Johnny-jump-ups 6 to 8 inches apart for small-flowered cultivars and 10 to 12 inches apart for large-flowered. Water well after planting and continue to water through the fall and winter any time that less than an inch of rain falls during the week.

In the spring, there should be enough rain to provide adequate moisture for pansies (about an inch of water once a week). Never water pansies in the late afternoon or evening since this encourages disease.

Mix a granular slow-release fertilizer into the soil as you are planting the pansies. Apply a 5-10-10 granular fertilizer in late fall and again in early spring. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers that can make the plants susceptible to rot.

Mulch around the pansies with 2 inches of organic material to conserve moisture and reduce weed growth. Remove old flowers for longest bloom. Pansies will decline with hot weather and can be replaced with summer-flowering annuals.