Pansies and Violas don’t do well here come summer.

Oh they bloom nicely in the spring, but once the warm weather hits they struggle. Toronto is a very hot and humid town come summer. The pansies and violas that I’ve managed to get to stay alive and even keep blooming into July end up looking kind of straggly, and leggy. By this I mean their stems grow long, and spread out and they appear to be in a permanent state of dehydration.

Believe me, if you live in a warm climate or an area that gets hot in the summer it’s not worth the fight of trying to keep pansies and violas going through summer. Let them die down if they are inclined to do so. Let them go peacefully. They reseed well, so even annuals ones have a chance of coming back the following spring.