Viola, Garden Pansy, Pansy 'Etain'

Viola etain. susnset zone 14. Lodi,ca. Coastal influence in summer.
Days 90 Night 60. My second year. Great color for my gar...Read Moreden. Grows
well in this climate zone morning sun and afternoon shade makes this a
standout. Wish I had more.

Had little problem with this viola overwintering in Central Wyoming’s sagebrush country, Zone 4a, in non-mulched, non-supplemented, loa...Read Moremy soil and located on the south side of an unheated garage. Additional, circumstantial details…Winter moisture alternated between sparse, but frequent snow cover to no snow cover at all for our generally cold and dry winters (9” annual precipitation). The viola apparently received enough moisture (but not too much as to rot) from roof snow sliding off and melting at the roof’s drip line on ’warmer’ days. As the viola wasn’t always covered with snow, it remained pretty exposed to the cold air a good portion of the time. During the winter months it actually was covered partially by a very thin layer of fall leaf 'die-off' from a nearby juvenile hollyhock. However, I don't consider that to be a bona fide and effective mulch covering against temp and moisture extremes. Probably because the little flower’s local environment was a bit rough on it, it began spring leafing as of the beginning of April…I think a little late for violas around here (I had somehow forgotten to protect it last fall so I didn't really expect it to make it through the winter...other violas that I own need to be mulched well for them to survive our winters). This new spring growth isn't counting some old viola leaves from last year's growth that were still green, though wilted, that I found underneath the sparse, dead hollyhock leaf covering! I will now baby and increasingly enrich this hardy and carefree keeper in order to supercharge it for bloom time...it will be interesting to see what it's capable of really putting out when more attention is given to it! It’s noticeably responding to new compost laid down only three days ago. A beautiful, delicate-looking and tasteful addition to the flower garden; especially a cottage garden. Enjoy your Etain Viola!

This viola has performed very well in zone 4a. I have a photo of mine blooming on Dec. 4 of 2009 and on Easter Sunday/April 4th of 2010-...Read More-unbelievable! I love these violas so much that I keep getting more of them. I think I have about a dozen now. Mine are under a very messy cedar tree in a mostly shady location. They all went through this past winter, which was a real Minnesota winter, with no covering at all. The only thing I do to this plant is deadhead it consistently and trim it back if it gets leggy. These violas are fragrant and do well as a cut flower, although the stems are fairly short.

These fragrant perennials are long blooming with yellow and lavender flowers that have an almost iridescent quality – you just can’t ...Read Moretake your eyes of them. I have them planted in an old wine barrel in the shade with plenty of moisture and rich, loamy soil. And they just keep on blooming.