What Colors Do Pansies Come In? A Guide to the Wide Spectrum of Pansy Shades
People love pansies as cool-weather annuals that add bright pops of color to gardens, pots, and the outdoors. Pansies come in a huge range of colors and are often called “the face flower” because of their spots and markings. The colors of pansies are very different, ranging from deep jewel tones to soft pastels.
When selecting pansy varieties, gardeners can choose from single solid colors or mixes featuring multiple hues. Understanding the full range of pansy colors helps match selections to design goals and color schemes. By leveraging the versatility of pansy tones it’s easy to create stunning floral displays.
Primary Pansy Colors
Many pansies display the three primary colors – red, yellow, and blue. These fundamental hues serve as the basis for producing all other pansy colors via plant breeding.
Red pansies range from crimson to scarlet. They add hot, vibrant accents to combinations. Yellow pansies span bright lemon shades to deeper gold. They infuse floral arrangements with sunshine. Blue pansies come in a wide range of shades, from light sky blue to royal purple. They create cool soothing contrasts.
Secondary Pansy Colors
By mixing the main colors, pansy breeders have made secondary colors like purple, orange, and green.
Orange pansies mix red and yellow in shades of peach, coral, and pumpkin. They provide tropical flair. Green pansies combine blue and yellow for unique chartreuse tones. They make vivid highlights. Purple pansies from light lavender to deep violet arise from crossing blue and red. They lend regal elegance.
Tertiary Pansy Colors
Further combinations produce tertiary pansy colors including burgundy, pink, and turquoise.
Burgundy pansies mix red and purple for dramatic, wine-toned blooms. They create depth and intrigue. Pink pansies range from blush to fuchsia, blending red and white. They embody femininity and romance. Turquoise pansies combine blue, green, and yellow for cool, tranquil hues. They evoke tropical seas.
Specialty Pansy Colors
Innovative hybridization has yielded unique pansy colors like black, bronze, and frosty pastels.
Black pansies provide the deepest tone, nearing true black. They make provocative accents. Bronze pansies blend browns, oranges, and reds for earthy, rustic effects. They complement autumn designs. Pastel pansies have wispy, frosted edges in ethereal shades. They lend delicate charm.
Multicolored Pansies
Many popular pansy varieties showcase multiple colors on each bloom.
Bicolor pansies feature two distinct colors like blue and yellow. They direct attention through contrast. Tricolor pansies bear three colors, often with a dark central blotch. They resemble miniature faces. Patterned pansies have spots, stripes, or color-tipped edges. They showcase creativity. Mixed pansies combine multiple hues in a single packet. They provide diverse options for combinations.
The Versatile Pansy Palette
With myriad possibilities spanning the color spectrum, gardeners can certainly find pansy tones to match any theme or plant combination. The versatile pansy adapts its broad palette to everything from moody Gothic designs to cheerful cottage gardens. By harnessing the chameleon-like coloring of pansies, both novice and expert gardeners can easily inject vibrant, long-lasting color into their landscapes.
Red pansies: 5 occurrences
Yellow pansies: 4 occurrences
Blue pansies: 4 occurrences
Purple pansies: 3 occurrences
Orange pansies: 2 occurrences
Green pansies: 2 occurrences
Pink pansies: 2 occurrences
Black pansies: 2 occurrences
White pansies: 1 occurrence
Burgundy pansies: 1 occurrence
Turquoise pansies: 1 occurrence
Bronze pansies: 1 occurrence
Pastel pansies: 1 occurrence
Bicolor pansies: 1 occurrence
Tricolor pansies: 1 occurrence
Patterned pansies: 1 occurrence
Mixed pansies: 1 occurrence
Frizzle Sizzle Mix
It has blotch faces with fine “whisker” patterns, ruffled petals, and a lot of colors in one mix. What more could you want from a pansy collection?
PanAmerican Seed Company introduced this mix of cultivars from the Frizzle Sizzle series. The flowers are different colors, such as purple, light yellow, magenta, orange, and bicolored.
The plants themselves are compact, with a mounding growth habit reaching six to eight inches tall and spreading eight to 10 inches. The large, ruffled blooms are three to four inches across.
They’re hardy in Zones 8 to 10, but you can of course grow them as annuals elsewhere. And the ruffles are more pronounced in cool conditions.
Find 100-seed packets of the Frizzle Sizzle Mix available from Eden Brothers.
Oh, those delicate, whimsical whiskers. A trait that makes Plentifall ‘Frost’ extra special are its delicate, dark lines that leave its light blue-gray petals looking a bit feline.
“Frost” is in the Plentifall series. All of them spread easily and have blooms that are one-and-a-half to two inches across on strong plants that can handle winter in Zones 6 to 9.
This pansy is quite attractive spilling over the sides of hanging baskets or containers.
It could also cover a lot of ground (literally!), spreading 18 to 24 inches.The color goes well with ornamental kale in a spring or late-winter window box, too.
Plentifall ‘Frost’ is available from Burpee.
With their ruffled petals and tri-color jewel-tone color schemes in shades of violet, cream, yellow, red, purple, and brown, these two-and-a-half-inch blooms would certainly be worthy of painting like French girls.
But if you’re a stickler on these issues, know that the variety is Italian, not Parisian.
While it’s hardy grown as a perennial only in the warm climates of Zones 8 through 11, ‘Moulin Rouge’ will still thrive in colder climates as an annual.
Plants grow eight inches tall and spread eight to 10 inches, making them worthy of star billing in a window box or planted along a pathway.
Packets of 35 ‘Moulin Rouge’ seeds are available from Burpee.
Part of the Delta™ series, this dwarf cultivar sports two-inch, vibrant purple blooms with dark center blotches.
The plants have a mounding growth habit and grow just four to six inches tall, with a spread of six to eight inches.
They are hardy in Zones 4 to 10, which means they’ll still be blooming any time the temperature breaks through the freezing range in many areas.
Use them to fill containers or in borders, or add them to a bald spot on a bank or near a water feature.
Find packets of ‘Neon Violet’ seeds available from True Leaf Market.
Pure Golden Yellow
All bright, no blotches. That’s the look you get with ‘Pure Golden Yellow’ flowers from the Delta™ series.
The two-inch flowers are sunny but delicate, and look great atop a salad or cupcake as edible blooms.
In the garden, the plants are compact, reaching just four to six inches tall with a spread of six to eight inches, so use them for borders, container gardens, and hanging baskets.
The plants are hardy in Zones 4 to 8.
This cultivar is available in 500-seed packets from True Leaf Market.
This cultivar allows you to enjoy Ice cream colors with no threat to your waistline!
A cultivar from the Cool Wave® series, ‘Raspberry Swirl’ is a whiskered, blotch variety in mixed shades of rose and yellow.
It’s one of the multiflora pansies with one-and-a-half- to two-inch blooms, a kind you don’t see as often as the ones with medium-sized or large blooms.
A trailing type, it spreads 24 to 30 inches, with a height of six to eight inches, and is ideal for ground cover and hanging baskets. It is known as one of the fastest to bloom, and it’s winter-hardy to Zone 5a.
Big, bright yellow blooms that reach three inches across are the main appeal of Swiss Giants™ ‘Rhinegold.’
The flowers also have distinctive dark brown blotches in their centers. Fanciful folks might see a sort of beard in the flower faces.
Winter-hardy in Zones 3 to 9, the plants grow four to six inches tall, and spread about a foot.
This variety blooms profusely from spring to autumn.
Find packets of ‘Rhinegold’ seeds in a variety of sizes at Eden Brothers.
A mix of plain and blotch pansies from the Matrix series in shades of rose, magenta, yellow, and lavender, plants have a mounding habit and grow about eight inches high, with a similar spread.
The colors are painterly, and the three- to three-and-a-half-inch blooms look especially appealing when highlighted by an autumn sunset.
This mix is suitable for ground cover, as an addition to a winter window box, or combined with muted colors of pom-pom chrysanthemums for blooming fall color.
Ruby Mix pansies are available in four-plant bundles from Burpee.
The silvery-white petals on this pansy feature dramatic, deep purple blotches.
And if you’re looking for elegant floral ruffles, here you go!
Part of the Swiss Giants™ series, ‘Silverbride’ has three-inch blooms on green stems that grow just four to six inches tall with a spread of 12 inches.
Plants in this series are some of the toughest, winter-hardy in Zones 3 to 9.
‘Silverbride’ seeds are available in a variety of packet sizes from Eden Brothers.
Wakey wakey! The sight of these ruffly, layered, sunshine-hued blooms from the Matrix series will make you glad to be alive.
Each flower is subtly different, but all of them look painterly and cheery. The three-inch blooms grow on eight-inch, stocky green stems and the plants spread about the same distance.
They are hardy grown as perennials in Zones 7 to 10.
If you like to pick flowers, ‘Sunrise’ makes a pretty nosegay or even a boutonniere, and that “no two blooms are alike” feature doubles as a nice visual metaphor when you present one to your love.
Pansie and Violas! Great Winter Color!
FAQ
How many colors do pansies come in?
Colors include yellow, red, mahogany, blue, purple, mauve, pink, orange, white, and even black. Pansies also bear either clear or blotched flowers.
Do pansies grow best in sun or shade?
While your pansies will grow just fine in full sun, having some afternoon shade will help shield your plants from the exhausting afternoon sun, helping them …Aug 15, 2022.
What month do you plant pansies?
Pansies are typically planted in early spring or late summer/early fall. In cooler climates, they are planted in early spring as soon as the soil is workable.
How do I keep my pansies blooming all summer?
11 Tips To Keep Your Pansies Blooming All Summer LongKeep Them Cool. Mass Plant for More Impact. Crack The Roots. Maintain Soil Health. Water, Water, Water… Then Stop. Sun, and More Sun. Fertilize When Necessary. Deadhead Spent Blooms.