Annuals & Biennials

Viola
Viola
panzy

- Height 6-9 in (15-23 cm)
- Planting distance 10 in (25 cm)
- Flowers throughout the year
- Fertile, moist soil
- Sunny or partially shaded site
- Hardy biennial, may be treated as an annual

Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) can be grown in the garden for most of the growing season - and in the South and on the Pacific Coast, nearly year-round. Summer-flowering cultivars bloom from late spring to early fall; in mild regions winter-flowering ones begin in fall and carry on until spring. Pansies make good ground-cover plants or informal edgings. They bring color to a mixed bed and are good for containers and window boxes. The small-flowered cultivars are best in rock gardens.

Popular species and cultivars
Viola cornuta ("horned violet" or "tufted pansy"), a perennial that blooms the first year after seed is sown, may be grown as an annual. There are two popular cultivars.
'Arkwright Ruby' produces blossoms of a rich red-brown hue.
'Bambini Hybrids' has small pink, apricot, yellow, blue, copper, bronze, and red flowers, all with whiskered faces. Viola x wittrockiana offers numerous cultivars and seed selections, in mixed or single colors. Unless stated otherwise, they flower in spring and summer.
'Azure Blue' has flower in shades of cool blue.
'Clear Crystal Hybrids' are a mixture of gold, red, orange, violet, and white flowers without any patterns on them.
'Majestic Giants Hybrids' have large, red, yellow, and blue flowers with dark central blotches.
'Padparadja' bears flowers of a luminous orange red.
'Paper White' has white flowers with yellow eyes.
'Queen of the Planets' has very large flowers in rich, bright yellow, violet, red, and maroon.
'Rippling Waters' has deep purple-blue flowers with broad cream-white edging.
'Roggli Giant Elite Hybrids' bloom in mixed colors: blues, reds, violets, and yellows.
'Super Chalon Giants Hybrids' are deep blue, mahogany-red, and yellow with dark blotches. Their petals are waved and frilled.
'Ullswater' has gentian-blue flowers with darker blotches.
'Universal Hybrids' bloom in winter and summer in many clear single and blotched colors.

Annuals
and
Biennials