For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The time for Pansies has arrived

The name pansy is derived from the French word pensée meaning "thought", and was so named because the flower resembles a human face; in August it nods forward as if deep in thought.
Pansy breeding has produced a wide range of flower colors including yellow, gold, orange, purple, violet, red, white, and even black (dark purple) many with large showy face markings.
A large number of bicoloured flowers have also been produced. They are generally very cold hardy plants surviving freezing even during their blooming period.
Plants grow well in sunny or partially sunny positions in well draining soils. Pansies are developed from viola species that are normally biennials with a two-year life cycle.
The first year plant produce greenery and then bear flowers and seeds their second year of growth and afterwards die like annuals.
Because of selective human breeding, most garden pansies bloom the first year, some in as little as nine weeks after sowing.
Plants grow up to nine inches (23 cm) tall, and the flowers are two to three inches (about 6 cm) in diameter, though there are some smaller and larger flowering cultivars available too.
This is one of the dwarf variety.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

These are SO beautiful Joan! WOW! I just love pansies. :o) They make me smile, without exception!

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

I have to agree with you Krista. Such pretty faces. :)