Hmmmm...I see that pansies are listed as biennials at some websites. Strange for a plant that doesn't act like a biennial in any sense of the word. Pansies clearly bloom their first season. Yes, they have a very short life span, no matter what kind of nurturing we may give them. Honestly, I don't see anything about this plant that qualifies as a biennial....a plant that grows vegetatively it's first season, goes dormant, then produces flowers and seeds in the second year before it dies. Not that it matters for this discussion, but it's interesting. I just dragged my Hortus Third off the bookshelf to see what was said about Viola in general and Viola X Wittrockiana (Pansy) in particular. All 500 or so spp. of violas are cited as perennial or annual 'herbs' or (sometimes) sub-shrubs. Viola X wittrockiana is categorized as a perennial, but it states that it is often TREATED as an annual or a biennial. Sheesh, we can list a boat load of plants that fit into that category, can't we? Boring, I know, but I love getting to the bottom of things like this. I hadn't hoisted my Hortus III around in a long time, so I thank you for the opportunity!

For the first time this fall i've planted bulbs in my pots to have bloom for the spring. I usually plant in the ground so I don't have any experience with how the winter will be on the bulbs in the pots. Do you have to protect the pots somehow so they don't freeze??? I'm in Michigan and it gets really cold here. I have planted the bulbs in a 20" in diameter pot, and have put leaves on top along with landscape fabric to hold the leaves in. I have also grouped the 3 pots together in the corner of my house. Hopefully this will be enough to keep them alive for the spring. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Donna, That is great! I would be very interested in hearing what varieties didn't survive, which survived and flowered, and which survived and did not flower, if you have the information. I am mostly interested in knowing the ones that did not survive. Last year I planted extra seed from my crosses directly in the ground to see if any young seedlings could survive the winter. I did not mulch many of them. With the harsh winter, the ground sometimes froze at least to the depth of the little seedling bulbs, so I thought they would all be dead. But nearly all of them survived. They are now much smaller than their siblings that I kept under lights all winter, so they will probably take many years to bloom, but it gives an option to grow many more seedlings than I would otherwise be able! Bill

Hey Joe, I did get the pic finally, it's 2:05 AM now though, I have been going through my emails, I can't seem to find my camera. I know I took about pics, when I find the camera I'll post the pics, but, anyhow, the QMLO is actually budding up now and most of my other trees aren't. The weather here is the reason why. We've been having pretty much warm weather for most of the last 3 weeks with an occasional cold spell that lasted a day or 2 maybe 3 days at most, so a southern tree could get confused and think it could bud out, we've had a consistent 3 weeks of mostly warmth and only maybe 1 night a week of cold, not enough cold to make a QMLO think it had to worry at all about relaxing and pushing out some new growth. I should say though, the buds are just a bit swollen, not ready to start growth yet. As soon as I find the camera I'll show you the bed swell. It is pretty much like your pics Joe. I have about 3 pics. At first I thought my camera was broke, but, I had to charge the battery. Anyway, I'll get the pics to you within the next couple days, okay? I saw a old leader that I will replace that the Cicadas killed. No big deal. Okay later.