The Pansy Rundown

Fall brings thousands of pansies in and out of our doors and it's easy to get lost in all the different options. Each series was bred with a different goal: flower size, flower form, growth habit, or a novelty pattern. For the biggest, boldest flowers on a neat plant, choose Matrix™! For something that spills or covers ground, choose Freefall™. For fancy texture, choose 'Frizzle Sizzle.' For early, reliable color in the most shades, choose 'Delta.' For a whimsical pattern, choose 'Cats'!

Below are five of the different popular garden pansies (Viola × wittrockiana) that we’re offering and a little know-how to help customers sift through the many options.

Series	What sets it apart	Flower size	Habit	Best use
Matrix	Bred for "stretch control": short, sturdy stems that stay compact even as weather warms. Very uniform, with a wide color range.	Large, about 3–4"	Compact, upright mound	Beds, mass plantings, containers, anywhere you want a tidy look that holds
Frizzle Sizzle	Heavily ruffled, frilly petals, often with swirled or bicolor coloring	Medium to large,about 2.5–3"	Mounded, slightly looser	Containers and close-up spots where the texture can be seen
Freefall	Spreading, trailing habit rather than upright	Smaller, about 1.5–2"	Trails and spreads roughly 1–2 ft	Hanging baskets, window boxes, wall edges, ground cover
Delta	Very early to flower, huge color palette (clear faces, blotched faces, bicolors), dependable performer	Medium, about 2.5–3"	Compact, uniform	General-purpose fall and spring bedding, especially when you want early color
Cats	Dark "whisker" lines radiating from the center, so each bloom looks like a cat's face	Medium, about 2–2.5"	Compact	Novelty and conversation-piece plantings, kids' gardens, containers

Pansies and violas belong to the same genus, Viola, but gardeners use "pansy" for the large-flowered hybrids and "viola" for the smaller-flowered types. Pansies have fewer, bigger blooms, often with a dark central blotch that looks like a face while Violas produce many smaller flowers that give a denser show of color. Violas also tend to be tougher: they recover faster from hard freezes and often bloom a little longer into late spring. Both prefer cool weather and similar care, so the choice mostly comes down to whether you want bold individual flowers or lots of smaller blooms.

See all our Annuals