How to Grow Pansies for a Science Fair Project
Growing pansies for a science fair project should involve testing for results based on some variable, such as which fertilizer causes the pansies to produce the most blossoms. Pansies are an early-blooming annual that can be grown in cool to warm climate conditions. They can be propagated from seed or purchased as seedlings in plugs from a nursery or garden store. The seeds can be planted outdoors or started indoors and transplanted outside later. If you are short on time for your project, start with seedlings because pansy seeds germinate slowly and will take 6 to 8 weeks to get started. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Select pansy seedlings that are uniform in size.
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Plant seedlings in the same soil in flower pots, with one seedling to each pot. Pansies tolerate most soils, but using a general-purpose potting soil is a safe choice.
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Fertilize the pansy seedlings at the time of planting. Use a different fertilizer on each potted seedling. Try different commercial plant fertilizers, as well as other types of fertilizers like manure, blood meal or bone meal.
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Water the pansies with the exact same amount of water for each plant. The soil should be moist throughout.
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Place the pansies outdoors in partial to full sun.
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Maintain the plants by keeping the soil moist but not wet and fertilizing the plants once per month, or as directed according to the type of fertilizer, for the duration of your test period. Try to keep all the plants under identical moisture, temperature and light conditions.
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Track the number of blossoms on each plant throughout the growing season to determine which fertilizer produced the most flowers.
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Tips & Warnings
Pansies are edible, so when you're done you can eat your project.
References
- Photo Credit pansy image by DOLPHIN from Fotolia.com
