Pansies are the cheerful flowers with upturned “faces.” They love cool weather and are popular for growing in spring and fall. They’re also edible, adding color to salads, drinks, and cakes. Here’s how to plant pansies and keep them growing and blooming for bright, happy gardens and containers.
About Pansies
Pansies are a type of Viola (Viola × wittrockiana) with large heart-shaped, overlapping petals and one of the widest ranges of bright, pretty colors and patterns.
Suitable for containers and borders and as ground cover, they are a go-to flower for reliable color almost year-round in some places. Pansies look pretty in a monochrome scheme or mixed colors; they also look pretty when planted with other cool-season flowers such as primroses, trailing lobelia, and sweet alyssum.
Are Pansies Annual or Perennial Flowers?
Most gardeners treat pansies (and all violas) as an annual, but they’re actually hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8. They tend to get too leggy in the heat of summer. There hasn’t been much success in producing heat-tolerant pansies that can adequately survive hot weather.
Pansies are surprisingly hearty in cold weather, though. They’ll survive a frost, bouncing back from even single-digit temperatures. If the blooms wither in the cold, the plants will often stay alive to bloom again, which makes them a great flowering plant for fall and early winter color.
