Viola wittrockiana 'F1 Inspire Lavender Pink'

The Viola Inspire F1 series represents a modern group of highly efficient early pansies intended for production of flowering plants for either spring or for autumn.
The series creates bushy, very compact plants, with blossoms that are large and attractive. The greatest advantage of this group is that they have very compact growth. The stems are not too long and the plants are easily grown without chemicals.

Viola 'Inspire Lavender Pink' produce beautiful large blooms in a range of soft lavender-pink shades. The compact plants grow 15cm (6in) tall and perfect for both autumn and for spring plantings. They don´t overgrow in the container or flowerbed and have a beautiful appearance all season long.

The pansy is an excellent choice for cool season blooms, from autumn into early winter, these vigorous plants grow and flower best at temperatures below 18°C (65°F), the flowers becomes more pronounced in cool weather. and halt only for frosts and snowfalls. The plants flower buds lie in wait through very cold spells only to bloom again with the first trace of warmer weather. They will bloom in the garden up to for up six months during autumn, winter and spring and will happily reward you with colour when many plants cannot.
They will thrive best in full sun, but will also grow under partial shade with slightly reduced flowering. Create instantly colourful containers by choosing pots of dwarf tulips or small-flowered daffodils and match them with pansies in just the right shades.

The entire blossom of viola can be eaten, including the petiole. This is a huge advantage as you can use whole blooms in salads or as lavish garnishes on cupcakes or cream-based spring pies, without resorting to painstakingly plucking petals.

Sowing: Sow from June to November and January to April
Sow seeds indoors about 6 to 8 weeks prior to being able to planted outside.
Twelve weeks are needed from seeding to bloom. For example, sow in June for planting out in August with blooms Sept onwards
Sow the seed into trays or pots containing a light soil or germinating mixture, cover lightly with vermiculite or a fine covering of compost. Shade to avoid excessive temperatures which can depress germination. Keep the compost moist. Germination should be apparent in about 10 to 14 days at 8 to 15°C. (46 to 60°F) Move the seedlings to a cool, bright area as soon as they emerge, taking care to keep the seedlings moist.
Transplant as soon as they have two sets of true leaves, usually after 4 to 5 weeks. Prick out into 8cm pots. Carefully pick the seedling up by the first leaves do not use the stem as this would crush the vascular system and kill the seedling. Use a small dowel or pencil or plant label to support the weight of the plant, set the seedling in then firm the soil around it.
Grow on at reasonably low temperatures i.e. temperatures not above 14°C (57°F). (Pansies are very susceptible to stretching where temperatures are high for a significant period of time.) Use a slow-release fertilizer or commence liquid feeding after 2-3 weeks. Harden off the plants prior to planting out and work a balanced organic or timed-release fertilizer into the soil at the rate recommended on the label.
Set out pansies as early as possible in the autumn so they will be well rooted when soil temperatures fall below 7°C (45°F). Three or four weeks before the first harsh frosts,
In spring, begin setting out pansies up to a month before your last frost is expected. Plant about 15 to 25cm (6 to 10in) apart. Water well and make sure they are well watered for a few weeks until their roots take hold.

Cultivation:
Pansies like sunny moist conditions. They bloom best when there is ample water, but do not tolerate wet feet. They are also heavy feeders, and a fertilizer formulated for blooming flowers should be applied every two or three weeks.
Be prepared to dead head regularly. New flowers will come on stronger when not competing with another flower that is stealing the plant energy as it tries to seed.

In the spring, when the weather warms up, pansies will start to grow upwards and then, if you do not intervene, they pansies will start growing long but in doing so, will send out a crescendo of brilliant flower. It is almost the last hurrah.
You are faced with pulling the pansy up and replacing it with summer bedding or you could clip the plant back to about 50mm from the ground, add a little fertiliser and wait. In about 3-5 weeks the pansies will be full again and starting to flower
It always pays to leave a couple go right on to seed. In late summer or the following spring, thousands of little seedlings will germinate and if you are careful, will grow into the autumn for the following years colour - best bit is, they colour will be free.

Edible Flowers:
The entire blossom of violas can be eaten, including the petiole. (The leaves and roots aren’t considered fit for human consumption.). This is a huge advantage as you can use whole blooms in salads or as lavish garnishes on cupcakes or cream-based spring pies, without resorting to painstakingly plucking petals.
The blossoms frozen in ice cubes are always beautiful. The flowers make a beautiful addition to any spring meal, even if only as a decoration. If you are planning to use your pansies in the kitchen, be sure not to use pesticides or other chemicals.

Fragrance:
Some pansies have a delicate perfume-like aroma. Once you have smelled and identified the pansy scent, it is unforgettable, but it is not always easy to perceive. Go in search of the fragrance, Pansies seem to exude more fragrance at early morning and dusk. The yellow or blue pansy flowers seem to have the strongest scent.
The idea is to concentrate the bouquet of many plants in one area; you may wish to grow yellow or blue pansies in mass plantings or numerous plants in a patio container.

Plant Uses:
Cottage/Informal Gardens, Flowers Borders and Beds, Alpine & Rockeries, Under-planting roses and shrubs, Containers, pots & hanging baskets

History:
The origin of the plants we now call pansy began in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England. In the early 1800's an inquisitive Lord Gambier and his gardener William Thompson began crossing various Viola species. Records tell us crosses were made among V. tricolor, V. lutea and a blue flowered species possibly of Russian origin, V. altacia.
History credits the gardener, William Thompson, with the discovery of a cross that began the new species V x Wittrockiana.
He found a bloom that no longer had lines of dark colour on the flower but huge blocks of colour on the lower petals called the "face." Discovered in 1839 and named 'Medora,' this pansy and its progeny became popular with gardeners and breeders throughout Europe.
By 1850 many new strains of pansies were available to Europeans. Breeding occurred in England, Scotland and Switzerland. Hybridisation was used to breed more plant vigour and flowers that had no dark blocks or lines.
These clear pansies without a face were bred about the turn of the 20th century. Credit is given to a Scottish grower, Dr. Charles Stewart, for discovering the pansy with clear colours, no face.

Nomenclature:
A fashionable Victorian flower, pansies were supposed to be the flowers of lovers.
The word "pansy" is reported to be derived from the French, 'pensee,' which translates as 'thought.' Legend has it that pansies could transfer the thoughts of sweethearts without spoken words.
They have been used in the past as a remedy for various diseases and were a popular ingredient in love potions in Shakespeare plays and folk tales. They have been written about by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and many others.

I send thee pansies while the year is young, Yellow as sunshine, purple as the night;
Flowers of remembrance, ever fondly sung. By all the chiefest of the Sons of Light;
And if in recollection lives regret. For wasted days and dreams that were not true,
I tell thee that the "pansy freak'd with jet" Is still the heart's ease that the poets knew.
Take all the sweetness of a gift unsought, And for the pansies send me back a thought.…
Sarah Doudney