Plant Profiles: Pansies

Pansy-photo taken last
year in my flower garden

PANSY
What can I say other than I love Pansies! They are beautiful and there are so many different colours and varieties to choose from that they fit into many different spots in the garden or pots. They look like they are smiling almost don't they? They are grown as a hardy Annual but in a select few areas they are grown as a perennial. But oddly they do not survive well in very hot climates as they prefer cooler climates. Extreme heat will actually hurt or kill them. So I like them because they do well here in Alberta and they are so beautiful and cheery! Below is some information and facts that I have gathered from my own experience and from a few different sites and books. As always, I include the sources where I have gotten info from at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!
WHERE TO GROW
Pansies do well in Full Sun or Partial Shade
SOIL
They do best in Well Drained soil
FACTS
Pansies are very cold hardy annuals and can survive light frosts.
Pansies were developed from Viola which is a biennial.
"Pansies are winter hardy in zones 4-8. In zones 9-11 pansies can bloom over the winter" (from Wikipedia)
They often reseed themselves and come back the next year.
They can not stand too much heat.
Pansies germinate better if you keep them in complete darkness until they germinate and then put them out with the other plants. Just be sure to place them in an area that you don't forget about them and remember to water them!

"The word Pansy is traced back to the French word pensee, meaning thought or remembrance." *

Pansies originate from England in the 1800's.

They come in pretty much the most colour choices of any annual.

PESTS AND DISEASES

Stem rot, leaf spot, mildew, root rot, slugs, aphids, spider mites,

The variety I am growing this year



SWISS GIANT



Swiss Giants- "Swiss Giant is an old-fashioned European pansy bred in Switzerland. The large flowers on long stems are good for cut flower bouquets. Many of today's hybrid varieties were developed from Swiss Giants." * (quoted from http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/flowers/pansies.html)



Swiss Giant pansy seeds

Sources. Where I have gotten information from when researching the plants.

Annuals For Alberta By Laura Peters and Donna Dawson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pansy

*http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/flowers/pansies.html