Pansy Pandora's Box

Each bloom on these petite 6- to 8-inch plants measures about 1 to 1½ inches wide, qualifying as a "medium sized" by Pansy standards. But what the flowers lack in size, they more than make up for in numbers -- you'll get many, many more blossoms on every plant than with large-sized varieties! And just look at the colors!

Combining gleaming gold, burnt orange, creamy yellow, and soft rose, each petal of these blooms is a unique palette of pastel color. A fully-blooming Pandora's Box is almost an embarrassment of riches, so lovely is the mix of soft shades! And this is a Pansy you'll want to plant in great numbers, edging the annual bed, filling your patio garden, or gracing your finest baskets, windowboxes, and flowerpots!

Pandora's Box comes to us from Italy's premier Pansy breeders, the good folks who wowed us last season with Acquarelle and Flamenco Mix. Those large-flowered varieties feature the same play of colors, but Pandora's Box gives you much more bloom for your gardening buck! Try them all and pick your favorite. (Or, if you're like me, you won't be able to choose and will end up with all 3 scattered around like jewels in the garden!)

Like all Pansies, Pandora's Box thrives in full sunshine everywhere but the hottest parts of the country, where it appreciates partial shade. It blooms most heavily in spring and fall, though in cool-summer areas you may see intermittent blooms all summer, too. It thrives in any moist, well-drained garden soil. Germinate the seeds in darkness, starting them indoors in summer for fall bloom or in mid-winter for spring flowering. Pkt is 25 seeds.