HYBRIDIZING PANSIES AND OTHER ANNUALS
samhain10 - 5a
7 years ago
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samhain10 - 5a
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Why do pansies and violas rot out?
Comments (16)Your welcome :) I guess my head is still in school even on spring break. They drill that scientific name stuff in our brains ya know! LOL!! Around here they are all commonly called either for all of them. No matter they are ALL species of Viola. I have Viola tricolor (Johnny Jump-up). By summer here they are fading away. They re-seed and bloom in fall/spring and sometimes they last longer then that if they are getting some protection from surrounding plants during the hottest part of the year. I'm sure there are some species that hold up better than others. Panola is a new one for me, but seems they've been around since at least 1999....looks like OSU did a trial on these in 2004-2005 I wonder what their results were? We just do Poinsetta trias where I go to school. MSU recommends them as a fall annual for Oct-Nov. Now the seed company who bred them (PanAmerican Seed) says they are just Viola x Wittrockiana...this tells me they improved on certain plants from this hybrid species to come up the the Panola series. I wonder how some hybrids come true from seed? Anyways it seems that the original poster (better quit hi-jacking this thread!LOL) has perfect weather conditions for best display ...so I'm still betting on a crown or root rot. The only thing I would suggest is plant something else that is more resistant in this location and try planting the Viola in another spot and see if this makes a difference. Vera Here is a link that might be useful: PanAmerican Seed...See MoreHas any one in zone 6 successfully overwintered pansies?
Comments (10)Hmmmm...I see that pansies are listed as biennials at some websites. Strange for a plant that doesn't act like a biennial in any sense of the word. Pansies clearly bloom their first season. Yes, they have a very short life span, no matter what kind of nurturing we may give them. Honestly, I don't see anything about this plant that qualifies as a biennial....a plant that grows vegetatively it's first season, goes dormant, then produces flowers and seeds in the second year before it dies. Not that it matters for this discussion, but it's interesting. I just dragged my Hortus Third off the bookshelf to see what was said about Viola in general and Viola X Wittrockiana (Pansy) in particular. All 500 or so spp. of violas are cited as perennial or annual 'herbs' or (sometimes) sub-shrubs. Viola X wittrockiana is categorized as a perennial, but it states that it is often TREATED as an annual or a biennial. Sheesh, we can list a boat load of plants that fit into that category, can't we? Boring, I know, but I love getting to the bottom of things like this. I hadn't hoisted my Hortus III around in a long time, so I thank you for the opportunity!...See MorePansies in containers over winter
Comments (10)I'm hoping that someone who has tried to overwinter pansies in a climate similar to yours will chime in. I'll suggest that your success at over wintering in your zone might depend on whether you take special care to protect the root system or not. It's a little late to plant the pansies out in a bed, but you might consider sinking the pot as Ken suggests. The soil provides excellent insulation. There are Viola hybrids that are extremely cold hardy, something you may want to look into for next year, but you would still need to protect the root system from freezing. Even those new-ish hybrids are not recommended for container planting in very cold climates. In my zone 7 climate, pansies are planted as a fall/winter/spring annual. If protected from the coldest of temperatures, they'll provide color all during the cold months and will only die back once it gets too hot. Where ever you live, pansies do not like the hottest months of the year. I expect that you can begin to see pansies in your garden centers in February or so...they don't mind frosts or even freezing temperatures. I wouldn't stick them out in advance of a severe cold snap, though....See MoreAnnuals for summer?
Comments (7)Or you could replace with some virtually everblooming perennials instead, such as various colors of hybrid Arctotis or Osteospermum, and Cistanthe grandiflora, which will remain in bloom all year long in southern California. Lobelia and Sweet Alysum are also great for one/two years of constant bloom. Zinnias and Cosmos are more work to keep bloomin with all that deadheading....See Moresamhain10 - 5a
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