Perennial or annual?

Wild Pansy, Field pansy, yellow violet and other viola species grow wild in temperate Europe and Asia in fields and meadows, also in the mountains. In nature they come in three colors:

• blue violet,
• yellow or
• White.

For the breeding of the garden pansies with velvety, single or multi-colored, also spotted, striped, flamed or rimmed flowers, several types of viola were used.

Annual and biennial viola species

The ever-popular and widespread garden pansies are on or off. biennial plants. They are sown in summer and the first flowers appear in autumn of the same year. In severe winters with permanent frost, the plants enter. In mild winters they bloom until next summer. After that they come in. At the favorable Location the garden pansies can grow wild in the garden. They get along well with the partially shaded location and are otherwise quite frugal in the care and robust in their habitus. the sowing can be done outdoors in summer or autumn.

Perennial viola species

These include above all the Horned violetsalso called mini pansies. They are persistent, weakly scented perennials with a long flowering period. Only with strong frost The flowers roll up and open again when the weather thaws, often throughout the winter. The horned violets come in all colors, including those with almost pure black flowers, e.g. B. Molly Sanderson.

Horned violets like stony ground as they naturally grow on rocky slopes. In addition, they should be severely pruned and divided after flowering. This maintenance measure ensures the longevity of the plant. The horned violets prefer a location in full sun, but - like all other pansies - are easy to care for.

Tips & Tricks

The garden pansies and horned violets differ not only in the size of their flowers. If you look closely at the flower, you will find that out of five petals on pansies, four follow above and one directed downwards, while in horned violets three petals upwards and two downwards demonstrate.