Pansies

The gardener knows pansies as vigorous, fast-growing flowers with almost heart-shaped, overlapping petals in bright colors or bi-colors, often with face-like center markings. Breeding has produced pansies that are better able to stand up to the cold, but there hasn’t been much luck producing more heat-tolerant varieties. Technically, pansies are short-season perennials, but they are usually grown as annuals. In zones with mild winters, they can be grown as biennials. They’re a great choice for early and late season containers. In the garden, they complement spring-flowering bulbs, flowering as the bulb foliage begins to fade. Most pansies don’t get very tall; if they do, they will flop or cascade a bit.