Viola tricolor Seeds | Wild Pansy
LATIN NAME: Viola tricolor
COMMON NAME: Wild Pansy, Heartsease, Johnny Jump Up
Plant Profile
Among the ornamental and useful plants raised from seed, Wild Pansy (Viola tricolor) stands out as a small annual. Wild pansy is one of sweetest of wayside flowers, its little faces of purple, yellow and white charming fields and hedgerows of Europe through a long season from spring to autumn. It grows as a small annual or short-lived perennial, reaching twenty-five centimetres, with oval, toothed leaves and many small, pansy-like flowers of five petals, often with a dark central blotch, followed by small capsules of many seeds. It is ancestor of garden pansy, and its names are many — heartsease, Johnny-jump-up, hearts-ease and hearts-delight — while its flowers are edible and have been used to brighten salads and cakes. Mature plants top out at about Twenty-five centimetres. The ratio of effort to reward here is about as good as gardening gets.
Science & Biotechnology
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Viola tricolor, a representative of the Viola group with clear practical value. For a flower of such sweetness, wild pansy has a rich and growing record of research. Modern propagation practice has made this species straightforward to raise by ordinary good methods.
Uses & Benefits
Wild Pansy works well in borders, containers and dedicated beds. Ecologically, wild pansy is a generous plant of the wayside. Its little faces of bloom feed bees and early insects, and its seeds feed small birds, while it is a sweet presence in meadows and hedgerows of Europe. For a grower, 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. Getting it going is easy; keeping it going is easier still.
Violets and pansies are edible-flower staples and a gentle folk remedy: violet leaf and flower syrups are traditional European comforts for coughs and children’s skin; the heartsease, San Se Jin, also enters Chinese herbals.
Growing from Seed
Raising Wild Pansy from seed is straightforward. Surface-sow onto a light, well-drained compost, dust over a thin covering, and keep evenly moist and sunny until the seedlings show. Once the seedlings have made true leaves, pot them on individually and plant out when they are sturdy and conditions are right.
Our Take
It grows as a small annual, so its place in the garden is easy to plan. What it needs is basic: sun, drainage, and a little patience while it establishes.
Related Reading
Readers interested in Wild Pansy frequently explore these as well: