October - UT Gardens - The University of Tennessee

The Perfect Hardy Annuals: Pansy & Viola
By Dr. Susan Hamilton
If you are looking for the perfect flower to enliven
your winter landscape, then pansies and violas
ought to be your choice. In the South, both bloom
non-stop from fall through spring, providing
cheerful color in a time of the year when you least
expect it. The name pansy sure doesn’t do justice
to this durable and winter-hardy plant either, in
that it can withstand the harshest of elements and
continue to bloom.
If you wonder what the difference is between
pansy and viola: The history of the pansy is linked
forever to the viola, its ancestor. Viola is a large
genus containing around 500 species. The hardy
but delicate viola was cultivated by the Greeks for
herbal medicine and much later inspired William
Shakespeare to write of romance. The pansy’s transition
from the small viola wildflower to the beautiful,
large-flowered pansy resulted from the dedicated
efforts of an English gardener in the early 1800s. As
a result, the pansy gained popularity rapidly in North
America. In an 1888 mail-order catalog, the pansy
was described as the most popular of all flowers
grown from seed, with pansy seed sales exceeding
100,000 packets a year. In the last 50 years, much
of the innovative pansy breeding has been in
Germany, the United States and Japan.
Today, violas (or Johnny-Jump-Ups, as they are
sometimes called) have proved to be more winterhardy
and durable in the landscape than pansies.
However, they don’t produce as large or as showy
blooms as the pansy. Both can put on a spectacular
show, but in the end, it is the pansy that is
more dramatic. The name pansy comes from the
French word pensée, which means “thought.” This
name was given many centuries ago, for the French
believe that pansies could make your lover think of
you. The three colors of the original pansy (purple,
white and yellow) were thought to symbolize memories,
loving thoughts and souvenirs. Both the leaves
and flowers of pansies and violas are edible and
are high in vitamins A and C. The flowers impart a
strong flavor and have been used to make syrup,
flavor honey and tossed in a salad. Both the leaves
and flowers can be used as a garnish, such as on
cold fruit or cream soups. The flowers are also
useful as a dye.
The pansy has one of the widest color ranges of
any garden annual. Colors include red, purple,
blue, bronze, pink, black, yellow, white, lavender,
orange, apricot and mahogany. Blooms may be
a single color or have two or three colors with a
face. Pansy flowers have one of three basic color
patterns. Blooms can be a solid, clear color, such
as yellow or blue. A second pattern is a single color
having black lines, called penciling, radiating from
its center similar to viola markings. The last type of
flower is probably the one most familiar to home
gardeners. The bloom of this type has a dark blotch
or center called appropriately called a face.
When selecting plants for your garden, choose
plants that are stocky with dark green foliage. The
ideal plant is one with just a few blooms but many
buds coming on. Pansies and violas thrive in moist
but well-drained soil which is rich in organic matter.
As for location, pansies and violas prefer full sun
to partial shade. Planting in September through
November is ideal to ensure that plants get established
before cold weather really sets in. Be sure
to fertilize at planting time as well, as pansies need
plenty of food while they grow during the fall and
again as spring arrives. A granular or timed-release
fertilizer can be incorporated into the garden soil
as you plant. Be sure to mulch these cold weather
annuals to give them added protection to endure
harsh weather. Any composted hardwood bark is
fine, but pine needles are an ideal mulch for overwintering
pansies and violas, because they are not
heavy and provide great insulation.
Pansies and violas can be used in a variety of ways
in the garden. Nothing is more impressive than
when they are planted en masse. However, if you
use pansies in such a manner, make sure your
spacing is correct. Because pansies and violas are
small plants growing only 8 to 10 inches tall and
wide, they should planted 6 to 8 inches apart.
Spacing plants further apart may be cheaper, but
it will detract from the desired effect. Pansies and
violas are impressive when used in containers or
window boxes, too. They look great if used alone or
in combination with other cool temperature-loving
plants, such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, snapdragon
and dianthus. If you want to have a truly
impressive spring garden, consider inter-planting
tulip or daffodil bulbs with your pansies and violas
both in the landscape or container. Planting the
bulbs between such hardy annuals will bring a
surprise burst of color in the spring. And when the
fading bulb’s foliage begins to wither, the pansies
and violas are so colorful that one barely notices
the bulbs’ yellowing foliage. Combining so many
plants into one garden certainly is not the cheapest
garden you’ll ever plant but well worth the price of
spring enjoyment.
Hundreds of varieties of both pansies and violas are
on the market, but I recommend you shop for the
series or varieties we have selected from our university
evaluation studies. Results from our winter
trial garden tell us which pansies and violas are the
best for our Tennessee gardens. Out of 29 different
series of pansies and violas tested for landscape
performance and appeal, nine were selected as
outstanding and definitely worth using in your
landscape.
Those selected include:
Pansy series
Matrix
Crystal Bowl
Panola
Fanfare
Viola series
Ultima
Penny
Rebel
Rocky
Sorbet
Be sure to visit our winter variety trail garden just
planted this month. If you find that you are truly taken
and passionate about pansies and violas, you may
want to get involved with the National Viola and Pansy
Society. You can check them out on the Internet at
http://www.sweetviolets.com/nvpspage.htm.
Ultima Radience Red
Panola Deep Blue Blotch
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