I'm in a cold z5... pansies almost never survive a winter here, but violas often survive -- and they definitely reseed freely.

I'm in an even colder zone 4 and will often get regular pansies to survive - some going on 4 years now. They tend to come up in cracks in the patio and along a retaining wall and do particularly well after a winter with adequate snow cover. I also have the Johnny Jump Ups (viola tricolor) everywhere. Those seed extremely freely and will take over -but they're cute and come in every possible color combination. I have no luck whatsoever with the types that are sold under the name "viola" - they're blooming at the time of purchase, then just fade away for me by mid summer.

So 2 different experience with violas: anyone else want to chime in?

I'll bite -- have had a few scattered pansy Ultima Morpho reseed in paths and in the lawn. It comes true to type, which is nice, since it is my favorite of all. The little plants are easy to transplant.

Also, several plain blue pansies and one of my four violas, 'Columbine', have made it over the winter in containers on my steps.

Still, myself, I wouldn't count on pansies or violas living over for more than a year (I believe pansies behave like biennials most of the time. You are supposed to plant them in August for next spring's bloom, if you are lucky.)

Violas may be technically perennial, I don't know, whatever the case, I find the hard part with them is bringing them through the heat of summer.

All of the family is pretty easy to replenish with store-bought ones, though. A worthwhile expenditure, IMO.

So far I've never kept any pansies alive past the heat of summer. I have not tried violas. I did try Johnny Jump-Ups but they only reseeded to the next year, then were gone. So I have not bought any recently. If I thought they would come back in the cooler temps of fall or next year I'd go for it.

I feel like I should know this already: but I'm anonymous here and can't get embarrassed, so I'll go ahead and ask. Every year I see them show up in stores before anything else. Does this mean they can be planted out before the last frost date? (which is late May, here) Like right now, in mid-April? If you all do, then what do you do when they fade out? Dig them up and put regular annuals in? Move them? Or overplant?

One fall I bought a six-pack of "Winter Pansies" that I planted in front of my house in October. They bloomed in the Spring and I kept them watered, but they died by July. I have tried growing violas from seed, but have had no success.

Oh...pansies. My favorite annual of them all! Linnea 56, keep in mind that I garden in two zones south of you, but I think I might be able to help you with your question. Here in the deep south, we plant pansies in late October to mid November, just as soon as the temperatures fall into the low eighties or high seventies and the nights begin to cool into the sixties or seventies. (Yes, I know...but you ought to be here in JULY!) They bloom faithfully for us through our entire fall and winter (where the temps rarely go below 20 and if they do, it's for only two or three days. Then it pops back up into the forties or seventies :). They really kick into high gear in the spring (February/March) and bloom their little heads off until the temps begin to climb back into the eighties (nearly always by late April, sometimes sooner). Now, if I were you, I wouldn't pay much attention to the dates I gave you, but I would think about the temperature ranges. I lived in Indiana many years ago, and lots of summers, it didn't get consistently hot (relative to here, that is) until mid to late July. The question to ask yourself is how long a period of time will your area have the right temperatures for pansies? I would think you could plant them in the spring, as early, or nearly as early, as you would plant sweet peas. Then, based on how long it will be before the weather gets too hot for them, (hot weather is certain death for pansies) decide how much of an investment that amount of time warrants. For ME, I think pansies are the best investment of annuals I make all year long, since they bloom for nearly six months. For you? You decide.
If I am completely off base, maybe some gardeners in your zone will weigh in so I don't help you along to a disaster.

Around here they sell pansies in both the spring and the fall. The brand Icicle and other similar ones are sold in the fall, for fall bloom & promise overwintering and spring blooms. Mostly this has worked for me. Occasionally I will get some that will bloom Fall, Spring and then Fall again. I try to plant these in the high part of the yard where it is drier to aid in the overwintering process.

In the spring I will sometimes buy pansies or violas for pots in the front of the house in April and then replace them with other summer annuals at the end of May. I usually transplant some of these pansies to the east side of the house or under one of my benches at that time. They will continue blooming for a month or so, hardly bothered by the move, get sort of shabby looking by the first of July, but hang on and bloom again in the fall once summer is over. I do get some re-seeding from the violas and once in awhile from a pansy but not much.

Thanks for the help! I think I will try them, so I too can have something on the porch; them move them to the ground later. Will they tolerate part shade? The best "permanent" place I have for them (where they can re-seed undisturbed if they can be coaxed to) is part shade.

Yes, they will do just fine in part shade.

I have viola Freckles, it is supposed to be perennial & has come back for me 2 years now. I received it one year as a very tiny plant, didn't bloom or do much the first year. Next spring it came up & spread to about 6" diameter. Right now it is at least a square foot & in full bloom, despite the hard freezes we had last week.

There are some great perennial viola varieties. The ones that are hardy up here will definitely be back year after year. Pansies are pretty much strictly annuals up here. You're better off buying viola varieties labelled as perennial, hardy for this zone.

Hey, if you'd like you came come on over to my house and dig up some of the 1,000 or so violas that are growing in my lawn :p.

does anyone have a favorite online store to buy pansy plants. I never have very good luck with seeds.

Pansies and violas tend to be some of the most widely grown and sold 'annuals' - even many grocery stores carry a decent selection in season and you can find them in profusion at this time of year at any garden center, discounter or home improvement store that sells any kind of plants. I wouldn't waste the time or expense on purchasing them online or by mail order when they are so very widely available at hand.

I learned this from the #1 garden store in NY state, the Garden Factory, which is happily only 2 miles from me.

This is what they told me: don't expect them to live through the summer. They hate heat, although they may reseed for next year. Follow these instructions and you will have TWO seasons of them. I plant pansies every September for beautiful fall blooms well into December. Yes, we have snow by then but they peek through. They LOVE the cold. They droop but always come back fuller in the spring. My garden is thick with them. That is the secret here in NY; plant in the fall (they might be called "icicle pansies") and they greet you in the spring with rich bunches of pansies. Deadhead for many more blooms but keep them out of the sun as much as possible. You will love the reward.