Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 45 ecoregions — 43 climate-resilient through 2070 · 2 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Blue Mountains forests

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California coastal sage and chaparral

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun / Part sun / Part shade

Water

Consistent moisture

Spacing

9"

Habit

Low mounding cool-season bedding plant, often run as an annual or biennial

Care tips

•

Treat it as a cool-season plant: plant in early spring, or in fall in mild and deep-South climates for winter-into-spring bloom.

•

Keep soil consistently moist and deadhead spent flowers to prolong bloom; cut back leggy plants to revitalize them.

•

Expect it to decline in summer heat — give part afternoon shade in hot-summer regions and pull it once it fades.

Lifecycle

Planting

Best grown in humusy, consistently moist, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade — the Missouri Botanical Garden recommends part afternoon shade in hot-summer climates like St. Louis. Set out plants in early spring, or plant in fall for late-winter-to-early-spring bloom; pansies are the top-selling winter bedding plant in the deep South where they are fall-planted for bloom through winter and early spring.

Transplanting

Most gardeners buy cell/six-pack transplants from nurseries and set them out in early spring rather than starting seed. Small, established plants overwinter better than large ones (Missouri Botanical Garden).

Early growth

Keep soil consistently moist; deadhead spent flowers to prolong bloom and cut back leggy plants to revitalize them (Missouri Botanical Garden).

Maturity

A short-lived evergreen perennial grown as a cool-weather annual or biennial. Plants bloom hardest in the cool season and inevitably succumb to summer heat, at which point they should be removed from the garden (Missouri Botanical Garden).

Propagation

Propagated by seed — start indoors in spring about 12-14 weeks before the last frost date (Missouri Botanical Garden). NC State Extension also lists seed as the propagation method.

Pollination

Self-fertile

Commercial pansies are mostly F1 hybrids (Missouri Botanical Garden) bought as transplants and grown for a single cool season, so home gardeners do not rely on pollination for the display. Flowers are insect-visited; NC State Extension notes pansy flowers attract butterflies.

Plants don't grow alone

Nectar forage

Bee

Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens)

NC State Extension documents that pansy flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators; bumble bees are plausible nectar visitors of the open, nectar-guided flowers, though the species pages do not name bumble bees specifically.

For people

Edible

Pansy flowers are a widely used edible flower for garnish and decoration, valued for their bright "faces." This is not a primary food crop, and edible-flower use should rely on plants known to be grown without ornamental pesticide treatment — most nursery bedding pansies are not grown to food-safety standards.

Native range

AHS heat range

1-9

Climate notes

•

The Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Viola × wittrockiana for USDA zones 6 to 10, at 0.5-0.75 feet tall and 0.75-1.0 feet wide, in full sun to part shade with medium water, blooming April to June. It describes the plant as a garden-origin hybrid (not a wild species) and a short-lived evergreen perennial grown as a cool-weather annual or biennial.

•

NC State Extension lists the same USDA hardiness range (6a-10b) and a slightly different size of 4-9 inches tall by 9-12 inches wide, with a native origin of Europe and Asia and bloom in fall, winter, and spring.

•

Both sources stress that pansies are a cool-season plant: the Missouri Botanical Garden notes they "inevitably succumb to summer heat" and are removed once that happens, while in the deep South they are fall-planted for winter and early-spring bloom.

In the designer

Growth over time

6-9" tall · 9-12" spread

Short-lived: usually succumbs to summer heat and is removed; fall-planted biennials carry over for an early spring flush before declining.

Design roles: Border · Container · Filler

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Pansy

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations