I'm hoping that someone who has tried to overwinter pansies in a climate similar to yours will chime in. I'll suggest that your success at over wintering in your zone might depend on whether you take special care to protect the root system or not. It's a little late to plant the pansies out in a bed, but you might consider sinking the pot as Ken suggests. The soil provides excellent insulation. There are Viola hybrids that are extremely cold hardy, something you may want to look into for next year, but you would still need to protect the root system from freezing. Even those new-ish hybrids are not recommended for container planting in very cold climates. In my zone 7 climate, pansies are planted as a fall/winter/spring annual. If protected from the coldest of temperatures, they'll provide color all during the cold months and will only die back once it gets too hot. Where ever you live, pansies do not like the hottest months of the year. I expect that you can begin to see pansies in your garden centers in February or so...they don't mind frosts or even freezing temperatures. I wouldn't stick them out in advance of a severe cold snap, though.

No matter how hard I try to save them they just don’t survive for me. I try almost every year but they always get so scraggly for me as well. I have to say that the planter always ends up with something else in it before fall. I have a small planter full now on my porch and so far the snow we had twice since I bought them hasn’t killed them. They are one of the first flowers to purchase in Chicago in spring. They always remind me that warm weather will be here. They are so sweet. I like them better than mums in fall but they are so costly to really get an impact alone so I mix them in fall planters with other flowers. Good luck if you try. July and August will be hard to keep hem going.

Sow pansies about three months before the desired blooming period. Prepare the germination flat by filling with a fine textured germination medium and tamping it gently, just to provide a smooth, flat surface. Moisten the flat thoroughly with a fan spray or misting nozzle. Sow the seeds on top of the prepared surface and press in gently with something flat, like the bottom of a glass. Then, dust a thin layer of fine milled sphagnum on top, no thicker than the seed itself is. I use a sifter/strainer from the kitchen department. Mist again just to moisten the sphagnum, then cover with cardboard, black plastic, anything to block light. I think that the germination process needs more heat than the growing period. Once the seeds have germinated, turn off the heat and provide light in ever increasing amounts. Transplant the seedlings into their individual cell packs as soon as they can be handled. Since pansy seeds are so small, most failures occur because the seeds are buried too deeply. If the tiny spouts can't reach the sunlight fast enough after germinating, they will starve and die.

with months of ridiculous heat and drought ... as i drive the byways ... i noticed yesterday.. the corn looks like manure.. the soybeans are already yellowing which seems early ... and some of the uglier trees are already turning.. mostly brown.. lol .. and getting ready to shed leaves ... do you see the same in your area ... its just been a bad year ... which happens cyclically ... one would expect it wouldnt happen in your garden.. that you gave everything a bit more care than ma nature ... but im not sure i would jump to the other suggested conclusions ... is the canopy as close to the power lines as they look .. or is that a camera trick??? ken