Add a variety of colour and scent to your winter garden with these late-season pansies. Hardy through most of the UK, down to -15°C.
These little winter-flowering pansies add dependable colour and fragrance to your garden in the coldest and most inhospitable time of year. Flexible with where they are planted, they just need to be somewhere that all that winter rain will drain from well. A variety of colours, from deep midnight purple to bright buttercup yellow, pale violet to snow white. The pansy has been a garden staple for centuries, being mentioned in Shakespeare and much associated with love and romance. While it may not be effective as a love potion, something which was said to be the case in the 19th Century, pansy is edible. You might see it in a salad garnish at a fancy restaurant, or decorating a wedding cake! Whether you want to eat your pansies, smell them, or just think they're nice to look at, they are a great addition to your garden.
Short-lived perennial, though sometimes grown as annuals where they get too leggy in summer.
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Clump forming flowers
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Winter-flowering, foliage year-round.
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Colours are picked at random - please let us know if you would like a particular colour, and, we will try our hardest to accommodate your request.
Scientific Name
Viola x wittrockiana
This is a hybrid species of Viola cultivated for garden growing; wild pansies are Viola tricolor.
Common Name
Pansy, Hearts-Ease, Come-and-Cuddle-Me, Love-in-Idleness, Garden Pansy
Origin
Native to eastern Europe and western Asia
Pruning Tips
Deadhead to prolong flowering; trim back leggy stems in spring and summer to keep the pansies healthy.
Wildlife Value
May be attractive to pollinators, but pansies do not produce much nectar.
Positioning
Position in full sun to partial shade. Pansies can grow in exposed or sheltered spots, facing any direction.
Water
Keep soil moist but ensure it drains well; shouldn't need extra watering except in dry weather. This is more important if grown in containers too.
Soil
Make sure the soil drains well, and your pansies will cope well with any type and pH of soil.
Food
Feed your pansies regularly towards the end of the season, when they will have exhausted their soil.
Pet-safe
Yes, pansies are not toxic to dogs or cats, though it's best for the plant and your pets if they don't nibble too much!
Sprouts Top Tips
If your pansies stop blooming in a frost, don't panic - they should start blooming again when it's less freezing out.
Pansies are also great for potting into containers, so why not add these into a companion scheme with some other evergreens in your winter garden? Gardeners' World has some suggestions on their website, including a gorgeous combo of olive tree, mediterranean herbs and pansies.
