Pansies happily reseed everywhere, even in situations that aren’t ideal. As long as you aren’t covering the seeds (they should be lightly pressed into the soil), the main reason your pansy and viola seeds are not germinating all that great is because the seeds are old. Pansies are one of those seeds that are really only good for one year. Past that, the germination rate drops significantly, or they don’t germinate at all. Let me give examples.
I got some Spring Matrix Sangria seeds from Hazzard’s Home Gardener website. I sowed all 22 seeds in the pack on August 18th, along with quite a few other varieties of pansies from other online sellers. The picture below was taken August 31st, about 2 weeks after sowing.
ZERO germination. All the other varieties around it were germinating nicely (those seeds were purchased elsewhere). I waited another week to make sure before tossing them. I took a gamble and ordered some more from a seller on Etsy, and 22 out of 25 seeds germinated! The seeds from Hazzard’s were definitely old duds.
I also ordered Cool Wave Blue pansy seeds from Hazzard’s Home Gardener. I sowed all 11 seeds that were in the pack, back in August. Only 4 seeds germinated. A 36% germination rate equals old seeds. Two of those that germinated never formed cotyledon leaves and died off, so I had 2 out of 11 seeds growing. The picture below is from Sept 24th.
Which is infuriating because I needed 3 plants for the container they were going to be planted in, and out of 11 seeds, I couldn’t get 3 to grow well. I am growing two other colors in the Cool Wave series, seeds that were purchased elsewhere, and those did great with germination and are growing well.
I finally broke down and purchased the Cool Wave Blue elsewhere and sowed 35 seeds in 5 cells. The below picture was 14 days after sowing (that last row of seedlings).
This past weekend I potted up 33 seedlings to grow out. 94% germination rate. Since I had to buy these in bulk, I actually have some of these seeds for sale in my Etsy store if anyone is interested.
One of the 2 plants I stared from the Hazzard’s seeds is finally blooming. I planted these in the planter at the garage flower bed instead of where I had originally planned. I’ll use the new seedlings for that area, plus extras to fill in other spaces in other various areas.
Next up from Hazzard’s is the Spring Matrix Pink Shades pansies. I sowed these on September 8th, and at the time of this picture (September 24th), only 6 out of 22 seeds had germinated. You can’t see well in the picture below, but the cell on the right has 3 that have popped up and hadn’t formed cotyledon leaves in a timely manner. They were just sitting there. I finally just tossed what I had because I needed 12 plants for the 2 containers they were supposed to go in. So disappointing. I will just use extras of some of the other varieties I have already sown.
6 out of 22 = 27% germination rate. OLD SEEDS. Vendors should not sell pansy and viola seeds after being in stock for one year. The worst part? I have contacted Nate with Hazzard’s Home Gardener twice regarding these seeds, letting them know they are old. Zero customer service. I have not heard a word back, so I’ll take my business elsewhere from now on and advise others not to purchase from them. I just wanted replacement seeds that were fresh, and if that wasn’t possible, a refund.
My advise: DO NOT buy pansy and viola seeds from Hazzard’s Home Gardener. I am not buying any seeds from them ever again because of their lack of customer service in this matter.
My mom had a leftover pack of Pandora’s Box pansy seeds that she gave me since I was going to grow those again this fall/winter, and hers were purchased in Fall 2023, packed for 2024. I wasn’t expecting the germination to be high for these. I sowed 24 seeds on Sept 8th, and 12 germinated (50%), which is more than I expected and way better than Hazzard’s.
This leads me to believe that Hazzard’s Home Gardener might be selling seeds that were intended for use in 2023 because of the really low germination rates. Buyer beware! Their seed packs used to have the year they were packed for in the lot number on the seed packets when you purchased from them, but they took that off last year or earlier this year. So it’s hard to know what year they were packed for. In the case of pansy and viola seeds, that would also be the year you would need to use them for the highest germination rate.
When purchasing in the fall, I always wait until seed websites like Swallowtail Garden Seeds and Johnny’s Select Seeds have their 2025 catalog on display. I’ve never had issues with either of their pansy seeds germinating for me. I also buy from 2 sources in bulk when I was selling a LOT of seeds on Etsy or when I needed a larger amount of a variety. Next year when I start planning which pansy and violas to grow in each area and in my containers, I will make sure my trustworthy sources carry that series and color. Because Hazzard’s Seeds is NOT it.