Horned pansy Bambini mix consists of a mixture of double coloured pansies. The flowers all have a bright yellow eye with contrasting dark spots. The pansies are light- and dark purple, yellow or peach in colour. The flowers flower for a long period in the spring and dead heading prolongs the flowering period. The flowers are edible and can be used to add colour and flavour to salads and desserst. You can also add them to cakes and cookies. You can also make sugared pansies. You can grown these pansies in flower pots and containers. Can also be used to add some spring colour in Your perennial border. These plants are deciduous. Protect young plants against frost. Older plants can witstand some mild frost. Horned pansy can reseed itself and is very suitable for wild gardens. Give this plant a half shaded position because the flowers can get sunburnt in full sun. Very well loved by bees and other insects. Semi hardy perennial. Height: 15 cm.
Indoor sowing : march - april
Outdoor sowing: may - june and september - october
Germination: 7 - 21 days
Germination temp.: 13 - 18 °C
Sowing depth: 1½ mm
Transplanting outdoors : half may
Plant distance: 15 - 20 cm
Plant position: sunny with half shade
Flowering period: march - july
Sow indoors from march on in trays filled with moist and loosened soil. Sow 1½ mm deep and cover the seeds with a layer of soil 3 times thicker than the thickness of the seeds. Keep the temperature during the germination as even as possible and don't let the temperature drop during the night. Make sure the temperature doesn't rise above 18 °C, because this stops the germination. Put the trays somewhere dark, because horned pansy is a dark germinator. Cover the trays with a lid to retain the moisture. Remove the lid when the seedlings emerge.
Transplant the seedlings to seperate pots (8 cm Ø), when they're large enough to handle. Harden the seedlings of for one or two weeks by putting them outside during the day from the beginning of may. You can also put them in a cold frame from the beginning of may. Plant the hardened seedlings on a sunny plot with half shade from the middle of may, when there's no longer any risk of nightfrosts.
Sow outdoors from the middle of may, when there's no longer any risk of nightfrosts. Sow shallow and press the seeds gently in the soil. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Make sure the seeds are sown on a sunny plot with half shade and free draining soil. Thin the seedlings, when they're large enough to handle, to 15 - 20 cm. Protect young plants against frost. The plants can handle a light frost when they're a few years old. This variety will reseed itself very easily. It's also possible to sow outdoors from september till october. These seeds germinate in the following spring. Pansies need a plant position with some half shade because they can get sunburn in full sun.