Published by Brian Wagner on 11/3/25 in “Growing Flowers from Seed.”
Viola x wittrockiana (commonly called pansies) are a hybrid of a handful of different Viola species – notably Viola tricolor, Viola lutea, and Viola altaica. At times the lineage is blurred, but they typically behave similarly. In milder climates, Pansies are a quiet winner in the autumn garden, such as in the United Kingdom or the Pacific Northwest (Canada, USA).
Compared to the Violet relatives, Pansies have larger flowers – and typically they have four large petals pointing upward, with one pointing downward. (Violets have 2 up and 3 down.) They are a cool season plant, meaning they flower bountifully in early spring and also in autumn. In the Pacific Northwest they are a common bedding plant for October onwards – and which will survive freezing temperatures very comfortably.
They are edible and make the most exciting toppings for salads – and little girls love collecting them for spring salads. Another interesting fact about Pansies is they are known to flower in every single color imaginable – violets, blues, reds, oranges, yellows, greens (kind of), black (almost) and certainly whites. It is incredibly rare for a plant to display this array of flower colors.
Growing from Seed
The great news about growing Pansies from seed is they’re super easy. Note that because Pansies are hybrid seeds, you can certainly harvest them yourself (from last year’s Pansies) – but commercially available seeds are commonly sold as F1 hybrid seeds. If you haven’t learned this yet, an F1 hybrid seed means that the Mommy Plant and Daddy Plant were carefully kept separate and under isolation from any other genetics – and then they were allowed to cross-pollinate – producing the same kind of children seeds. They are not open pollinated with other Pansies. F1 seeds are typically quite vigorous and have a predictable colour and pattern. They also tend to cost more.
Pansy seeds are thought to have a non-deep physiological dormancy, but it’s quickly broken with some dry storage. Even 3 months is enough to break dormancy in most of the seeds. If you’ve harvested your own seeds and you absolutely can’t wait 3 months of dry storage to let them break dormancy, then you will need to cold stratify the seeds at 4C (40F) for 6 weeks. After this, sow the seeds and bury them lightly (a quarter inch or less is fine); they don’t need light to germinate, but give them dim light. Do not use a heat mat – they germinate optimally around 21C (70F), but anything above 30C (80F) hinders germination. They’ll also germinate at cooler temperatures, but not below 10C (50F). Seeds should germinate in 3 to 7 days.
References
Agnieszka R, HOLUBOWICZ R. Effect of Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana gams) Seeds Colour and Size on their Germination. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca. 2008 Dec 30;36(2):47-50.
Carpenter WJ, Boucher JF. Priming improves high-temperature germination of pansy seed. HortScience. 1991 May 1;26(5):541-4.
Dorna H, Li W, Szopińska D. The effect of priming on germination and vigour of pansy (Viola× Wittrockiana Gams.) seeds. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Hortorum Cultus. 2014 Dec 31;13(6):15-29.
Fernandes FS, Souza-Leal T, De Moraes CP. Germinação de sementes de amor-perfeito submetidas à diferentes períodos de exposição e concentrações de GA3. Revista em Agronegócio e Meio Ambiente. 2015 Nov 18;8(3):601-14.
Gülöksüz T, Eker AH, Mis S, Demir İ. Changes in Germination of Flower Seeds After 16 Years in Cold Storage. Düzce Üniversitesi Orman Fakültesi Ormancılık Dergisi. 2024 Dec 12;20(Özel Sayı):71-82.
Pill WG, Bender RH, Pie AC, Marvel JK, Veacock EE. Responses of six wildflower species to seed matric priming. Journal of Environmental Horticulture. 2000 Sep 1;18(3):160-5.
Reimherr P, Hanke H. Einfluss von Licht und Temperatur auf die Keimung von Viola wittrockiana. Deutscher Gartenbau. 1980;34.
Reimherr P, Hanke H. Influence of light and temperature on the germination of Viola wittrockiana. Deutscher Gartenbau. 1981; 34(35): 1484-1485.
Rishu Sharma RS, Dilta BS, Baweja HS, Poonam Kumari PK, Thaneshwari T, Sahare HA. Effect of seed priming and planting dates on growth, flowering and seed production of pansy (Viola× wittrockiana Gams.). Annals of Biology. 2018; 34(2): 176-180.
Sharma R. Effect of seed priming and planting dates on growth and flowering of Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana Gams.) (Doctoral dissertation). M.Sc. Thesis. KrishiKosh. 2012.
Sychta K, Słomka A, Kuta E. Garden pansy (Viola× wittrockiana Gams.)-a good candidate for the revitalisation of polluted areas. Plant, Soil & Environment. 2020 Jun 1;66(6).
Yoon BeyoungHan YB, Lang HJ, Cobb BG. Priming with salt solutions improves germination of pansy seed at high temperatures. HortScience. 1997; 32(2): 248-250.