White hats in the tropics and pansies
 

They wear white hats in the tropics to reflect the heat. Black will
absorb it.

The pansy IS NOT a plant that likes hot weather. Out front we have four
pots of pansies, two light grey and two black. They get equal sun,
equal watering. The pansies* in the two grey pots are still doing well
but the two black pots have lost the pansies.
Could this be because of the color of the pot??

*These pansies were of the big diameter bloom variety. And they were,
but as the summer progresses, the blooms are now your run of the mill
size. I wonder what caused this change??

"TomKan" wrote in message
oups.com...
They wear white hats in the tropics to reflect the heat. Black will
absorb it.

The pansy IS NOT a plant that likes hot weather. Out front we have four
pots of pansies, two light grey and two black. They get equal sun,
equal watering. The pansies* in the two grey pots are still doing well
but the two black pots have lost the pansies.
Could this be because of the color of the pot??

*These pansies were of the big diameter bloom variety. And they were,
but as the summer progresses, the blooms are now your run of the mill
size. I wonder what caused this change??


The genius of container gardening is that you can change out the containers
with fresh ones when plants decline. Your pansies are on a down-hill slide
as the temperatures peak. I would replace the containers with something
else and bring the pansies back around October when things cool down. Not
much else you can do, really.

*The pansy IS NOT a plant that likes hot weather. Out front we have
four
pots of pansies, two light grey and two black. They get equal sun,
equal watering. The pansies* in the two grey pots are still doing well
but the two black pots have lost the pansies.
Could this be because of the color of the pot??

It sure is, Tom. Black pots absorb the heat just like black hats and
clothing. The soil can get so hot that the roots are cooked.

*These pansies were of the big diameter bloom variety. And they were,
but as the summer progresses, the blooms are now your run of the mill
size. I wonder what caused this change??

The loss of vigor from the age of the plants and the heat. Usually my
pansies are about the size of small Violas by the time I pull them out
the first week of July. They are replaced with summer heat lovers:
portulaca is a good one to replace pansies.

Emilie
NorCal