The garden pansy (Viola × wittrockiana) is a colorful, large-flowered plant grown in gardens. It was created by crossbreeding several species in the Melanium group of the Viola genus, especially V. tricolor, a wildflower from Europe and western Asia called heartsease. Sometimes it is called V. tricolor var. hortensis, but this name is not fully accepted. V. tricolor var. hortensis Groenland & Rümpler is another name for Viola × wittrockiana, while V. tricolor var. hortensis DC. refers to a horticultural variety of wild pansy (V. tricolor without crossbreeding) that was first described in a book called Flora Danica in 1777, before Viola × wittrockiana was discovered.

Viola × wittrockiana has 44 to 52 chromosomes, with most garden varieties having 48. Its flowers are 5 to 8 centimeters (2 to 3 inches) wide and have two upper petals that slightly overlap, two side petals, and one bottom petal with a small beard-like structure in the center. The petals are often white, yellow, purple, or blue. The plant grows up to 23 centimeters (9 inches) tall and prefers sunlight and soil that drains water well.

Terminology

English common names like "pansy," "viola," and "violet" are often used for the same plants. One way to tell them apart is by their classification and flower shapes. Plants called "pansies" belong to the Viola sect. Melanium group and have four petals pointing upward (two on the sides and two in the center) and one petal pointing downward. Plants called "violets" belong to the Viola sect. Viola group and have two petals pointing upward and three pointing downward. The American Violet Society, which officially names plant varieties, divides Viola sect. Melanium plants into four groups: B1 (pansies), B2 (violets), B3 (violettas), and B4 (cornuta hybrids). According to this system, modern "pansies" are different from the other groups because they have a clear "blotch" or "eye" in the center of their flowers.

Today, gardeners often use the word "pansy" for large, colorful flowers grown for gardens, while "viola" is usually used for smaller, more delicate plants that grow yearly or return each season.

The name "pansy" comes from the French word pensée, meaning "thought." It was first used in England in the 1400s because the flower was seen as a symbol of remembering someone. The name "love in idleness" suggests a person who spends all their time thinking about someone they love.

The name "heart's-ease" is linked to St. Euphrasia, whose name in Greek means "happy mind." She was known for choosing humility over marriage, which is why the flower is also called "humble violet."

In Scandinavia, Scotland, and Germany, the pansy is called the "stepmother" flower. A story about a selfish stepmother is told while picking parts of the flower. In Germany, the flower is called Stiefmütterchen, meaning "little stepmother." The lower petal represents the stepmother, the large upper petals represent her daughters, and the small upper petals represent her stepdaughters. In the Czech Republic, the flower is called maceška, which also means "little stepmother" and is said to look like a sullen face. In Slovenia, the flower is associated with an orphan. In Italy, it is called flammola, meaning "little flame." In Israel, it is named Amnon Ve'Tamar after a story in the Bible about Amnon and his half-sister Tamar. The name was suggested by a poet named Shaul Tchernichovsky.

Cultivation

In the early 1800s, Lady Mary Elizabeth Bennet (1785–1861), the daughter of Emma, Lady Tankerville, and the Earl of Tankerville, collected and grew every type of Viola tricolor (commonly called heartsease) she could find in her father’s garden at Walton-upon-Thames, Surrey. With the help of her gardener, William Richardson, she bred many different plants. In 1812, she introduced her pansies to the horticultural world. In 1813, Mr. Lee of Vineyard Nursery, a well-known florist and nurseryman, discovered her collection and continued growing the flower. Other nurserymen followed Mr. Lee’s example, and the pansy became popular among the public.

Around the same time Lady Bennet was working with heartsease, James, Lord Gambier, was also growing the plant in his garden at Iver with the help of his gardener, William Thompson. He used a yellow viola, Viola lutea, and a pale yellow Russian species, Viola altaica, to create hybrids later classified as Viola × wittrockiana, named after the Swedish botanist Veit Brecher Wittrock (1839–1914). Early breeders aimed to create round flowers with overlapping petals. In the late 1830s, a chance variation was found: a plant with broad dark markings on its petals instead of narrow dark lines, which became known as the “face.” This plant was developed in Gambier’s garden and released to the public in 1839 as “Medora.”

By 1833, 400 named pansy varieties were available to gardeners, a far cry from when its ancestor, heartsease, was considered a weed. Guidelines for show pansies were created, but amateur gardeners preferred the easier-to-grow fancy pansies. Around this time, James Grieve developed the viola, and Dr. Charles Stuart developed the violetta, both smaller and more compact than the pansy.

Modern horticulturists have created many pansy colors and bicolors, including yellow, gold, orange, purple, violet, red, white, and near-black (very dark purple). Pansies usually have large, showy face markings. The Joker Series has received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

Pansies grow best in sunny or partially sunny areas with well-draining soil. They are perennial plants but are typically grown as biennials or annuals because they grow tall and leggy. In the first year, the plant produces leaves, and in the second year, it flowers and produces seeds before dying like an annual. Due to human breeding, many garden pansies bloom in the first year, some as early as nine weeks after planting.

Pansies are sold as six-packs or “flats” (US) of young plants from garden centers and planted directly into garden soil. They grow up to 23 cm (9 in) tall, with flowers measuring 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3 in) in diameter, though smaller and larger varieties are also available.

Pansies are winter hardy in USDA zones 4–8. They can survive light freezes and short snow periods, but in areas with long snow cover, a dry winter mulch is recommended. In warmer zones (9–11), pansies can bloom in winter and are often planted in the fall. In these zones, they may reseed themselves and return the next year. However, they are not heat-tolerant; warm temperatures reduce blooming, and hot, humid air can cause rot and death. In colder zones, pansies may not survive without snow or mulch protection. They grow best in zones with moderate temperatures and equal amounts of rainfall and sunshine.

For best growth, pansies should be watered thoroughly once a week, depending on climate and rainfall. Over-watering should be avoided. To encourage blooming, plant food is applied every other week, depending on the type used. Regularly removing spent flowers (deadheading) can extend the blooming period.

Pests and diseases

Aphids, which can spread the cucumber mosaic virus, occasionally feed on pansies.

Leaf spot (Ramularia deflectens) is a fungal infection. Symptoms include dark spots on the edges of leaves, followed by a white, web-like covering on the leaves. This condition often occurs during cool, damp springs.

Pansy downy mildew is caused by the oomycete Peronospora violae, which creates purple-brown spots on leaves. These spots are often surrounded by yellow areas, and a grey mold may appear on the underside of the leaves. This disease can severely weaken or kill affected plants.

A disease caused by one or more species of fungus in the Erysiphaceae family. Symptoms include violet-gray powder on the edges and underside of leaves. This condition is more likely to occur in areas with little air movement and can be reduced but not always prevented by using fungicides.

Slugs and snails feed on the leaves and other parts of the plant.

Stem rot, also known as pansy sickness, is a soil-borne fungus that may be a risk if the soil contains unsterilized animal manure. The plant may suddenly fall over during the growing season. Leaves may wilt and lose color, flowers may fade and shrink before their time, and the stem may break easily at the base when gently pulled. The plant is likely lost unless it regrows from the base. To treat stem rot, fungicides such as Cheshunt or Benomyl are applied before planting. Infected plants are destroyed by burning to stop the spread of the disease to other plants.

The cucumber mosaic virus is spread by aphids. Pansies infected with the virus have fine yellow lines on young leaves, slow growth, and unusual flowers. The virus can remain inactive, affect the entire plant, and spread to future plants and other species. Prevention is important: only purchase plants that are healthy.

In culture

The pansy's link to humility and devotion is noted by Harte, who wrote: "From brute beasts humility I learned;/And in the pansy’s life God’s providence discerned." Gifford connects the flower to both Christian and classical themes, writing: "Pansies – still,/More blest than me, thus shall ye live/Your little day, – and when ye die,/Sweet flowers! The grateful muse/Shall give a verse." Smart describes how "Were it not for thee, oh sun,/Those pansies, that reclining from the bank/View through the immaculate, pellucid stream,/Their portraiture in the inverted Heaven,/Might as well change their triple boast, the white,/The purple, and the gold."

Because of its popularity in society and frequent use in Romantic poetry, many new names for the flower emerged. Dorothea Lynde Dix stated that “Perhaps no flower (not even the queenly rose) is as widely loved as the viola tricolor; none has been given as many names, showing grace, delicacy, and tenderness.” Some names include “Three Faces under a Hood,” “Flame Flower,” “Jump Up and Kiss Me,” “Flower of Jove,” and “Pink of my John.”

In Hamlet, Ophelia gives flowers, saying, "There's pansies, that's for thoughts" (IV.5). Other poets who wrote about pansies include Ben Jonson, Bernard Barton, Michael Drayton, Edmund Spenser, William Wakefield, and William Wordsworth.

Nathaniel Hawthorne published his final work, Pansie, a Fragment, in 1864. D. H. Lawrence wrote a collection of poems titled Pansies: Poems by D. H. Lawrence in 1929. Margaret Mitchell originally named her Gone with the Wind heroine “Pansy” but changed it to “Scarlett” before the book was published.

The word “pansy” has been used since Elizabethan times to describe a man or boy who is effeminate. This term is still used to refer to someone who is homosexual. The words “ponce” (now meaning a pimp) and “poncey” (meaning effeminate) also come from “pansy.”

In visual art, Pierre-Joseph Redouté painted Bouquet of Pansies in 1827, and Henri Fantin-Latour painted Still Life with Pansies in 1874. Vincent van Gogh painted Mand met viooltjes in 1887, and Georgia O’Keeffe created Pansy in 1926 and White Pansy in 1927. J. J. Grandville designed a fantasy flower called Pensée in his Fleurs Animées.

The name “pansy” means “thought,” making it a symbol of Freethought. It has been used by the American Secular Union and humanists, as the flower was developed through careful breeding of wild plants. The colors purple, yellow, and white represent memories, loving thoughts, and souvenirs. The Freedom From Religion Foundation uses the pansy in its symbols and materials. The flower is also linked to human expression, as one person noted: “Nature plays with the colors of this flower as much as with the features of the human face.”

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare wrote that the “juice of the heartsease” (a type of pansy) is a love potion that makes someone fall in love with the first creature they see after it is applied to their eyes.

In the language of flowers, a pansy left by a lover means “I am thinking of our forbidden love.” In 1858, James Shirley Hibberd wrote that in France, giving a bride a bouquet of pansies (thoughts) and marigolds (cares) symbolized the challenges of married life rather than happiness.

A German story explains how the pansy lost its scent. Once, pansies were very fragrant and grew in fields and forests. People eagerly picked them, trampling the grass until it was flat. This caused cows to starve because the fields were ruined. The pansy prayed to lose its scent, and its wish was granted. The fields grew tall again, and the cows became healthy.

American pioneers believed that bringing a handful of violets (a type of pansy) into a farmhouse in spring ensured prosperity. Neglecting this tradition was thought to harm baby chicks and ducks. A game called “Violet War” also existed, where players tried to pull apart pansy flowers by their stems. The person who removed the most flower heads won. Young settlers also made dolls using pansy flowers, attaching leaf skirts and twig arms to complete the figures.

The pansy is also used in herbalism and traditional medicine.

Gallery

• Pansies with face-like patterns
• Pansies in a garden showing leaves, patterns, and flower buds
• Pansies with yellow petals
• Hybrid Pansy
• Hybrid Pansy
• Hybrid Pansy
• Hybrid Pansy
• Hybrid Pansy