Pansies 
Pansies THIS beautiful flower has developed remarkably during the past forty years; so much so, indeed, that it bears little resemblance to the original species, Viola tricolor, which is so common in many British cornfields. The modern race is an abiding monument to those florists who, by years of selection and intercrossing, presented us with the Show and Fancy sections so much esteemed twenty or thirty years ago. Now, however, our tastes and fashions are broader than they were a generation ago, and we see the rigid formality in the old flowers giving place to greater freedom.
The pansy lover of to-day does not concern himself very much as to whether the flowers are circular, smooth, and flat, and strictly in accord with the rules of the old florists, but demands varieties which will make beautiful displays in the beds and borders of the garden. Still, we respect the splendid work of the florists, for had they not raised the flower to its wonderful standard by years of unremitting and strenuous work, we should not have been able to produce the type so popular at the present time. There can be little doubt that the persistent intercrossing is responsible for the weakly habit of the show pansy today. So much has this brought the plants into disrepute that their culture is practically confined to a few growers in the Midlands, Northern Counties, and Scotland, while in the South, where they were for many years of last century largely and successfully grown, they are comparatively seldom seen.
The Fancy Pansy 
This was evolved from the show type at a later date by the Continental florists, who introduced the bright colours and larger size in the blooms, at the same time producing plants of much stronger habit and with far hardier constitutions. The Continental varieties introduced were at once taken in hand by our own growers, who quickly added the essentials to raise it to the florists’ standard. The result is that today the fancy pansy is as perfect in form as the older type, and is judged on precisely the same lines. Although extremely popular in the Midlands and the North, the florists’ forms of fancy pansies cannot claim the esteem in which those raised from seed are held throughout the country. These are raised in millions each year, and prove a source of enjoyment to as many people. For what is more fascinating than watching the unfolding petals of a bed of good seedling pansies?
Violas or Tufted Pansies
This popular section is said to have been the result of a cross between the show pansy and Viola cornuta, and it is the most esteemed for bedding or massing purposes. Formerly the flowers were all self colours, but now they have been crossed to secure larger flowers and a greater range of coloration, with the result that to-day we have scores of varieties, most of them useful for decorative effect, while a small minority only are suitable for the show board or exhibition table. The earlier forms were of dwarf, bushy habit, but many of the modern sorts have the growth of the fancy pansy, which does not add to their usefulness or charm as garden flowers. Their long season of flowering makes them general favourites and accounts for the position they now hold in our gardens. The rayless varieties are particularly attractive, and the majority possess a fine, tufted habit.
Miniature Violas
These are commonly known as the Violetta type, and are the result of a cross between a bedding pansy and Viola cornuta. The plants are very dwarf and tufted in growth, and the flowers small and dainty. The plants are remarkably free flowering, though rather late in starting; they are especially charming for edgings and are equally suitable for rockeries. It is, perhaps, superfluous to add that they are being improved in all respects.
The Planting Period
This may extend over a long period according to the nature of the soil, the situation of the garden, or other local circumstance, and each grower must make his own final decision. I prefer planting the seedlings in October or November, so that they may obtain a thorough grip of the soil before the very severe weather starts. As a general rule they will pass through a hard winter without any protection whatever, and make splendid plants for early flowering in the following year. I am now alluding to gardens which enjoy the pure country air and not to those less fortunately situated near large towns or cities, or even where fogs are very prevalent. I would advise all growers who labour under these conditions to winter the seedlings in cold-frames. The pansy is perfectly hardy, but it will not stand the sooty deposit so prevalent in such districts during the winter months. Provided that they are protected from this, and also from excessive moisture, they will pass through the winter quite safely.
I might mention, in passing, that the majority of amateur gardeners procure their plants from the florists’ shops or costers’ barrows in the spring when they have just produced their first flowers, and attracted by their enormous size and brilliant colours they purchase them and plant them out without delay. What is the result? Simply that each succeeding flower is smaller than its predecessor, and the buyer soon becomes disgusted with his purchase. This deterioration in the flowers is due primarily to the check the plant receives in lifting and ‘balling up’; an operation that means squeezing the soil in a ball with the hand until it is quite firm (in some instances they are balled in clay with a view to keeping them fresh until they are disposed of by the vendor). This treatment is most prejudicial to the well-being of the plant, since in many cases the roots are locked in a prison from which they never escape, with the natural result the plants drag on a miserable existence for a month or two and then collapse through sheer exhaustion. Far better is it when such stuff has to be handled to partially release the roots so that they can work out into the soil without let or hindrance. If this simple detail were only carried out, we should not see half the poor, miserable plants we meet with daily in the early summer months. Planting should be done when the soil is neither too wet nor too dry, but in such a condition that the cultivator can plant firmly without squeezing out the air.
A houseowner and his gardener, c. 1910
Propagation
Pansies are readily increased by division, cuttings, or seeds. The vast majority are raised from seeds, except in the case of named varieties, which must necessarily be increased by division or cuttings, since the seedlings cannot be relied upon to come true. The same remarks apply equally to the “tufted” pansy or viola. We have, then, three methods to consider.
1. Division – The division of the plants is more readily carried out in the case of the viola than the pansy, for the habit of the former lends itself peculiarly to the method. No doubt the division of the plants during October and November is the most simple form of propagation, since it merely consists of lifting the plant, pulling it asunder in a number of small pieces with the roots attached, and replanting at once in the stations or beds prepared for them. Could anything be easier? These plants, too, will flower earlier in the spring than those produced from cuttings, though perhaps they do not produce the fine flowers which we get from stock raised from cuttings.
Pansy cuttings in box
2. Cuttings – All named varieties of both pansies and violas are generally increased by this method. The young shoots or growths from the base of the plants will root readily at almost any period, but the rule is to take them during the months of July and August for October and November planting, while those required for spring planting can be taken during September and October; further propagation can be carried out early in the spring months with success should the occasion for doing so arise.
With cuttings in frames, in most districts it is best to root the cuttings in cold-frames, as they are then more under the control of the grower. For example, the cuttings which are taken in the months of July and August will require a slight shade during the day, and this is most readily applied by using shaded lights which can be put on at will, always tilting them to allow plenty of air. In the evening they should be removed to allow the cuttings to become saturated with dew. This will keep them erect and check the red spider, which is always a troublesome pest at this season of the year. As soon as the cuttings are rooted they should be fully exposed, and will give the grower no further trouble.
Pansy cuttings in pot
With Cuttings in the open air, in propagation may be readily carried out in the open air provided that we can give them a shady position, such as under a north wall or hedge – in fact, any situation where they will escape the direct influence of the sun. The cuttings root just as readily out of doors as they do in frames. Naturally the soil must be kept moist, and the cuttings sprinkled over each evening if they droop. Under these conditions the amateur can raise or increase his stock to any desired extent.
3. Seed – There are pansies and pansies, just in the same way as there are horses and horses, and the more highly bred they become the more difficult they are to reproduce. The common Pansies readily produce seed, but not so the highest results of the florist’s art; the gorgeous colours and immense size of flowers which have been evolved by crossing and selection during the past twenty years have given us a race of flowers that produce very little seed. The energies of the plant have been so developed to produce size and colour that the plant becomes more or less exhausted before the essential organs are developed, with the natural result that they fail to reproduce themselves in any quantity. From a commercial point of view, therefore, the choicest strains of Pansies will always be somewhat expensive.
