Viola tricolor seed

LATIN NAME: Viola tricolor

COMMON NAME: Wild Pansy, Heartsease, Johnny Jump Up

The wild pansy is one of the sweetest and most familiar of the wayside flowers, and its little faces of purple, yellow and white have charmed the fields and the gardens of Europe for a very long time. It grows as a small, annual or short-lived perennial, reaching up to twenty-five centimetres, with oval, toothed leaves and, through a long season from the spring to the autumn, the many small, pansy-like flowers with their five petals in shades of purple, violet, yellow and white, often with a dark centre, followed by the small capsules of many seeds. It is a common European wild flower, and it is also known as the wild pansy, the heartsease or the Johnny Jump Up, while it has been a beloved flower of the meadows and the gardens, and the ancestor of the garden pansies.

The wild pansy is a common European wild flower, growing as an annual or short-lived perennial. The species is also known as the wild pansy, the Johnny Jump Up, the heartsease, the heart’s ease and the heart’s delight, and it is the ancestor of the garden pansies, while it is prized for its sweet, little faces of bloom.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The wild pansy has a genuine and growing place in both food and pharmacological research. It has been studied in food science, since the flowers are edible, and they have been used to brighten the salads and the cakes, while the wild pansy has drawn attention in the international food and gardening press as one of the sweetest of the edible flowers, and its use in the kitchen has been examined. The plant has also been studied in chemistry and pharmacology, since it has a long history of use in the traditional medicine of Europe, and researchers have examined the content of the plant, identifying the flavonoids and the other compounds, and examining their potential biological activity, while the gentle traditional uses of the heartsease continue to guide the modern studies. The species has also been studied in botany and in the history of the garden, since it is the ancestor of the garden pansies, and researchers have examined its classification, its relationships and its part in the breeding of the pansies, while the little faces of the flower have been of continuing interest. For a flower of such sweetness, the wild pansy has a rich and growing record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, the wild pansy is a generous plant of the wayside. Its little faces of bloom feed the bees and the early insects, and its seeds feed the small birds, while it is a sweet presence in the meadows and the hedgerows of Europe.

Its economic value is real. The edible flowers have drawn attention in the international food and gardening press as one of the sweetest of the edible flowers, and the plant has also had a long history of use in the traditional medicine of Europe, while it is the ancestor of the beloved garden pansies, grown across the temperate world. For a grower, the wild pansy is an easy and sweet plant, and for a gardener it brings little faces of purple, yellow and white through a long season. The seeds are easy — sow them in a pot of moist, free-draining compost in a sunny or lightly shaded spot, keep them lightly watered, and they’ll sprout within a week or two, growing on into a sweet, little-flowered plant.

Also known as: Viola Tricolor & Heatsease. A charming and prolific baby pansy with an unbeatable combination of 3-4 colours in each FLOWER! Plant inside for winter growth.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Viola Tricolor

COLOR: Purple, white, & yellow

PLANT SEEDS: Outdoors after frost / Indoors weeks before last frost

BLOOM TIME: All Summer if planted in the shade (shorter bloom period in the sun)

HARDINESS ZONE: 2 – 9

PLANT HEIGHT: 6 – 8″

PLANT SPACING: 6 – 9″

LIGHT REQUIREMENTS: Sun – Part Shade

SOIL & WATER PREFERENCES: Average