My pansy seedlings in early 2019, before they all died.

I’m starting pansies from seed (again). Partially because I can and partially because I want to know if I can actually do it right this year since last year my pansy seedlings failed. It's probably slightly more affordable than buying them from a greenhouse or garden center, but only if I succeed this year. They’re definitely one of my favourite flowers to grow, so I hope it works out.

Pansy History

It goes back to the mid-15th century when the flower was regarded as a symbol of remembrance

Early 19th century Lady Mary Elizabeth Bennet collected, cultivated, and bred every Viola Tricolor she could find at Walton-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, with the help of her gardener William Richardson. She introduced her pansies to the horticultural world in 1813.

Other horticulturalists got into it, and by 1833 there were over 400 varieties of pansies available. Around this time the smaller Viola and Violetta were developed.

Pansy Info

Pansy flowers are usually 2-3 inches across and the plant itself can grow up to 9" tall. They are available in almost any colour you can imagine. Most varieties feature large showy "face" markings, though there are a few that are completely solid coloured like white, yellow, orange, and black (my favourite). There are also many varieties now that feature ruffled petals.

Pansies bloom best in spring and fall when it's not too hot. They're definitely a cool-season flower. Supposedly if you cut them back in the summer they’ll be ready to bloom again once the weather cools off. I haven’t tried this yet. They can be perennial, in USDA zones 4-8, though most people grow them as annuals. They can also be biennials, though here in Alberta I’ve only had Violas, or Johnny-Jump Ups, come back as biennials.

Why Do I Love Pansies

I love the cheerful faces of pansies. They’re just so happy, and tough, and simple. But they’re available in a million different colours. This year I chose ruffled pansy seeds to start because we had some last year and I loved how they looked.

Pansies have to be started early, which is one slight hassle about them. Even though I’ve started mine recently, on March 2nd, they won’t be as big as I would like by the time we’re ready to start planting up pots. We haven’t done any garden planning yet this year, we’re a bit behind.

In 2019 I started pansies on February 3. Since I ended up losing the whole tray, I don’t know if that was the right time to start them, or if March will be ok. Pansies need about 8-10 weeks between seeding and transplanting outside. I don’t know how big they’ll actually get in 8-10 weeks, I assume garden centers start them MUCH earlier.

Next year, if I’m organized, I’ll try starting them at the beginning of January instead of March. Either way, I’ll enjoy these ones. We mostly keep pansies in planters, not in flowerbeds.

We do struggle to keep our pots looking nice in the late summer/fall, so this year I want to put a little more effort into pulling out overgrown and leggy plants and replacing them with young fresh flowers towards the end of the summer. I may start some more pansies later in the year. If I want the ready for the end of August I’d have to start them…. At the end of June. I may give that a shot this year.

Pansy filled pots on our front porch in 2019

First of all, though, we’ll see how this current batch goes. I’m sure I’ve got lots of gardening lessons to learn this year, just like last year, but I’m crossing the fingers that my pansies are a success lesson and not a failure.

If you’d like to keep up more regularly with my gardening adventures this year, you can check it out on my Instagram account, @PlantLadyBriana.

Next up in things we start from seed: Lobelia!

Cheers,
Briana

Best Plants To Start From Seed: Pansies