Are Pansies Annuals or Perennials?

Planting Pansies

• Because pansies prefer cool weather, the best time to plant them is fall and early spring. In some climates, pansies will bloom through the winter, as well as in the spring.

Types of Pansies

• Pansies come in three types. The most common type has petals with several colors and a dark center, sometimes called a "face." The second type of pansy is a single clear color. The third type has small black lines radiating from the center of the flower.

Pansies and Violas

• The name viola is sometimes used interchangeably with pansy. They are botanically in the same species, Viola x wittrockiana. Commonly, the plants with 1- to 2-inch diameter flowers are called violas, and the plants with flowers over 2 inches in diameter are pansies.