Here is a container of pansies I started in April.  As you can see, while it is still blooming, it has become overgrown and the centre of the pot is bare.  Pansies are really a cool weather plant.  When it becomes too hot, the pansies become long and leggy.  So, when your pot looks like this - it’s time to either pull them all out and replant - or give the plants a severe cutting back.

Snip the stems just above the second set of leaves up from the soil level.  Yes, I know you’ll be cutting off all the flowers - but you must be cruel to get this pot to bloom again.

Cut one stem at a time, rather than just grabbing and whacking several stems at once - this way you’ll make your cut in the right spot and in the long-term be more successful.

After the pruning is done, give the container a water with fertilizer - I use 15-30-15 (Miracle Grow).  Put the pot in a shady spot in the garden and continue to water daily, or when dry.

By the end of August, this pot should be looking pretty again, and I’ll bring it back giving it pride of place.  And, just to add a little colour to my garden in the meantime, I put the flowers I cut off in a little vase with water and tucked them in the middle of the Galium odorata.