Pay Attention to the Trends & Reap the Rewards!
Pansies and violas are something to get excited about. They come in unique colors, perform well in the garden and have unmatched versatility and great consumer appeal.
New! ColorMax Clear Orange
Pansies and violas are the superstars of the cool-season garden thanks to their extraordinary garden performance. They never go out of style and continue to reinvent themselves to fit individual tastes and needs. Gardeners of all levels enjoy them because they are virtually maintenance-free, and they lend themselves well to creativity in both containers and landscapes because of their unique flower colors and bloom patterns. As a breeder, Sakata continues to reinvent them as well, offering improved durability, enlarged flower sizes, and a wide range of looks and colors that reach across the trends and appeal to a variety of consumers.
Majestic Giants II Marina
Pay Attention to Popular & Emerging Trends!
Color Blocking with Clear Colors
Consumers are asking for more clear-colored pansies and violas thanks to reemerging landscape trend called color blocking. Gardeners create impact by grouping plants in strips, blocks or rows according to color. This technique works well for flowerbeds viewed at a distance.
Greg Gabrels, sales manager for Sakata, recommends retailers use the color-blocking effect in their stores to attract customers’ attention by grouping similar-colored flats, hanging baskets and pots together.
Creative Containers: Unique Colors & Combinations
For containers or close-up landscaping around patios, walkways and entrances, blotched varieties are in demand because they add interest and diversity.
Grandio pansies
In the fall, gardeners are planting pansies among spring-blooming bulbs. When the pansies return in the spring, they provide color and texture while the bulbs are filling in. Another great use for pansies in the spring is in mixed summer containers where they provide a burst of early color while other plants are emerging. For fall containers, orange and jewel-toned pansies stand out when combined with textural plants like specialty grasses and ornamental kale.
Violas on the Rise – Versatile Outdoor Performers
Gardeners who have tried violas and recognized their merits in terms of outdoor performance, color impact and early flowering are asking for more. Trailing viola varieties look beautiful tumbling over the edges of window boxes, spilling out of baskets and containers, or tucked into the crevices of a rock wall. Upright violas, planted in simple containers and lined up on a wall, porch railing or stairway add a fun design element to the outdoor landscape.
Favorites in Fashion, Food & Home Décor
Consumers are also enjoying pansies and violas outside of the garden. The leaves and flowers of pansies and violas are edible and high in Vitamin A and C, which makes them increasingly popular in the kitchen. At weddings, they adorn cakes or add a touch of elegance to a bride’s bouquet. On the fashion side, dresses, pants, scarves and bags with pansy and viola-themed prints are popular items. Did you know pansy and viola flowers can even be used to create yellow, green and blue-green dyes? Now that’s versatile!
Sakata’s line up of pansies & violas fit the consumer trends:
ColorMax Viola
ColorMax boasts colossal-sized blooms and rich, vibrant colors in both clear and blotched. Similar to a multi-flora, ColorMax violas continuously produce a profusion of blooms throughout the growing season.
Grandio Viola
Grandio pansies are bred for modern-day efficiency in the greenhouse. Plants are early to flower, have a uniform habit between clear and blotched colors and show less stretching during high temperatures.
Majestic Giants II Pansy
Majestic Giants is a long-standing name in the pansy industry and well-known for its large-sized blooms and proven performance. Plants have excellent vigor and fill pots or flats quickly, even when heat stressed. This year, Sakata will expand the line with Clear White and Clear Purple.
Want more big blooms? Check out our latest primula offerings.
Danessa Primula
Growing in a Garden Near You!
Pick a month and you can find pansies and violas flourishing somewhere in a North American garden — late spring and summer in the North, spring through fall in the Midwest, mid-fall to late-spring in the Southeast and fall through spring in the South.