Viola x wittrockiana 'DELTA F1'

Pansies are garden hybrids of several viola species, mostly v. tricolor, v.altaica, v.cornuta, and v.luta. They are evergreen, short-lived perennials which are often grown as annuals or biennials just like most other seasonal container plants. They come in many colours and multiple combinations – solid colour, with a darker blotch, with rays around the centre, or with differently coloured margins.

Delta F1 pansies are a large series by Syngenta Flowers offering lots of colours and flower types. You can choose just single-colour plants from the Pure category making a sophisticated one-tone bed/container, or choose two contrasting varieties using Speedy category with rays, or simply get all of them and mix them wildly in motley boxes. Just like those outside the English pubs whose windows and outdoor seating (or rather standing) areas leave me speechless whenever I see the profusion of flowers and colours in the middle of winter. It’s because their flowers can take as low as -5°C at night without damage and continue flowering and setting new flowers is the temperature stays above zero during the day. When the frost is deeper, they wilt and wait till spring when they re-emerge and flower until summer.

The flowers are edible similar to flowers of their small-flowered parents, but are quite strong in taste and for some may be purgative in large quantity. They are commonly used as a garnish only, not expected to be eaten but safe as a plate decoration.

Violets are easy to grow. If you grow them in a pot treat them almost like annuals – feed them regularly every two weeks, water them every week or so but make sure the pots are free draining. In a bed they will be happy with moderately fertile, loose soil of any pH, and will be grateful for some watering during dry spells and on the hottest days of summer. Plants in beds may be attacked by slugs and snails. If you buy and transplant plants with flowers in autumn they will flower through winter, but if you transplant them in early spring you need to be patient as they need time to establish. Fully root-hardy to about -25°C (USDA zone 6), and flowers are hardy to -5°C.

Last update 17-01-2020