Is mid-August too early to plant up pansies?

[BillyDaveysDaughter]

Sorry, I have posted this on the other thread about what will flower throughout autumn and winter, but I thought I'd better start my own (apologies to that OP)!

My hanging baskets and pots of petunias and lobelia seem to have out-flowered themselves already, and despite my efforts with liquid seaweed appear sad, washed out and beyond redemption.

I planned on dumping them all and replanting with winter pansies (garden ready from good online supplier) - but is mid-August too early?

I'm not expecting flowering throughout winter, just a show for the rest of summer and maybe into autumn, but I read that planting them in August - and, God forbid, feeding them - would mean they would be leggy and finished very quickly...?

[redfairy]

I've just put some pansies in my stone planter by the back door. If I'm lucky they'll get through Winter but if not, hey ho, I'll plant some more. They're not going to break the bank. In the past I've had them lacking in flowers but with amazing green growth because they were in a vety rich compost so you're theory about leggy pansies could hold some water.
I treat mine a bit meaner now with topped up compost rather thsn completely new and they seem quite happy and floriferous!

[BillyDaveysDaughter]

Floriferous, brilliant word!

Thank you redfairy for being the only person on the internet to respond to my question, is it really that daft? I asked my DH (ex gardener) but he just muttered "hmmm...well...yeah...probably...just leave everything as it is."

But that's because he's super-negative about any of my cunning plans and can't understand why anyone would willingly spend time and money on something so trivial. He did it as a job so it's not the same I suppose!

OK, Jersey Plants can take my money then.

[Pansythepotter]

The secret with getting pansy to last all through winter is regular dead heading. Don't just take off the flower head but the spent stalk as well. Don't feed them during the winter months. A good quality Compost will be enough to,keep them going.

[BillyDaveysDaughter]

Thanks @Pansy. So nothing wrong with planting them up now, just keep up with proper deadheading and lay off the feeding?

[LoniceraJaponica]

I'm thinking of doing the same. Some of my planted pots are looking a bit sad and bedraggled just now.

[BillyDaveysDaughter]

I know, I cut all mine back quite hard as they got so leggy - but unlike a huge basket that I operated on a few weeks earlier which did well, the pots never really recovered from their haircut. They look very sad.

I have standard weaker busy lizzies in two other baskets and the leaves are actually yellowing, even the bacopa is giving up and that can often be revived from near death. My two troughs of New Guinea impatiens, however, are going great guns!

Anyone know much about Crocosmia? I have a small pot of them and want to transplant them to a bigger pot for an architectural display next year, but not sure how to go about it when they're already in full flower.

[Pansythepotter]

Crocosimia can be dug up in the Autumn or Spring. I prefer to do it in Autumn. They are very easy to divide and replant.