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Flower growing guide
Johnny jump-up, the small wild pansy, germinates best at moderate temperatures with darkness during the first days, and heat is the main reason seed fails. This guide covers sowing, seedling care and timing for the cool season.
Sow the seed dry. Johnny jump-up is Viola tricolor, the wild pansy or heartsease, with small three-coloured flowers usually under 2.5 cm (1 in) across. It is one of the parents of the large-flowered garden pansy, Viola × wittrockiana. Most germination research is on garden pansy, and the same conditions suit Johnny jump-up.
Not needed. The seed takes up the water it needs within the first 4-12 hours.
Not needed. Pansy seed has no cold requirement; the risk is heat, which can push seed into dormancy.
Not needed. Sow the seed dry onto moist compost so it does not sit in warm water.
Aim for 18-21 °C (64-70 °F). In pansy trials germination reached about 90% at 20 °C (68 °F), dropped to 56% at 30 °C (86 °F) and to 10% at 35 °C (95 °F). Even one day at about 32 °C (90 °F) after sowing cut germination from 90% to 55%. In hot weather start trays in the coolest room available.
Sow on the surface and cover with at most a thin layer of fine vermiculite to hold moisture. In a trial, uncovered seed kept in a dark chamber germinated better than seed buried under compost (85% against 71%), so darkness should come from covering the tray, not from sowing deep.
A fine, free-draining seed compost that is moist but not saturated. Pansies grow best in slightly acidic conditions.
Keep humidity high until the roots appear, then let the surface dry slightly between waterings to avoid rot.
Pansy seed does not need light for the first two days and germinates well in darkness, but seedlings need light from then on. Cover the tray with dark paper or a lid, or place it in a dark spot, check daily, and move it into bright light as soon as roots or shoots appear.
About 7-10 days at 18-21 °C (64-70 °F). Slow or patchy germination usually means the compost was too warm or too dry.
After germination, grow seedlings cooler than they germinated, in the coolest bright place available. Cool, bright conditions give compact plants with dark green leaves.
Plant out after summer heat has broken. Space small-flowered types such as Johnny jump-up about 15-20 cm (6-8 in) apart in sun or light shade.
In the Indian plains, sow after the monsoon when nights begin to cool, so that plants flower through winter into early spring. In hill areas sowing can follow the local cool spell. Avoid sowing in the hottest months.
Avoid overhead watering and late-evening watering, which encourage leaf spots and rot.
Removing spent flowers prolongs flowering. Johnny jump-up self-seeds freely, so leave a few seed pods if you want it to come back.
The small flowers are edible and are used as a garnish. Eat only flowers you have grown without pesticides.
Sow Johnny jump-up seeds for cheerful small pansies through the cool season.
It is the wild pansy, Viola tricolor, with small three-coloured flowers. The large-flowered garden pansy is a hybrid, Viola × wittrockiana, bred partly from it. Both are grown the same way from seed.
Darkness helps during the first days, and light is not needed then, but seedlings need light afterwards. Sow on the surface, cover the tray rather than burying the seed, and uncover it as soon as sprouts appear.
Pansy germination falls sharply in heat: in trials it dropped from about 90% at 20 °C (68 °F) to 56% at 30 °C (86 °F). Germinate seed in the coolest room or wait for cooler nights.
