Heartsease

Heartsease: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Small, loose plant 10–20 cm tall and about 15 cm across, with branching, sprawling to ascending stems.

Leaves

Oval to oblong, with a scalloped edge; at the base of each leaf sit large, deeply cut stipules.

Flower

Small flowers of 1–2.5 cm with five petals, from April to September; the lowest petal has a spur.

Colour

Usually purple, yellow and white, with dark lines towards the centre; sometimes almost entirely yellow or purple.

Fruit

A capsule that splits into three valves and flings out the seeds.

Flowering: April–September · Harvest and fruit: April–September · Sowing: March–April and August–September · Plants: March–April and September–October · Pruning: July

Why grow it?

• Flowers for months on end, from April to September.
• A native plant that feeds bees and bumblebees; fritillary caterpillars feed on violet leaves.
• The edible flowers brighten up salads, soups, cakes and drinks.
• Self-seeds: sowing once is often enough for years.
• Small and modest: fits in a rock garden, between paving, in a window box or along the edge of the vegetable plot.

Heartsease: where does it grow best?

• Sun or part shade; in full sun it flowers most, in part shade the plants stay fresh for longer in summer.
• Any well-drained soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky.
• Moderately moist; in a long drought flowering stops.
• Thin out or plant at 10–15 cm; in a window box or pot they can be closer together.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.2 m tall, 0.15 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -20 °C)

Goes well with

• Forget-me-not: A blue haze in spring, and another easy self-seeder.
• Thyme: A low, fragrant neighbour in a sunny spot or a herb box.
• Pot marigold: More edible flowers, in orange and yellow, for the vegetable plot.
• Chives: Purple pompoms in the same spot along the edge of the vegetable plot.
• Daffodil: In spring heartsease fills the gaps between the bulbs.

Heartsease: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and September–October.

1. Sow thinly where it is to flower in March–April or in August–September and cover the seed very lightly; an autumn sowing flowers the following spring.
2. Keep the soil moist until the seedlings appear, after two to three weeks.
3. Thin to 10–15 cm or move the seedlings to their final spot.
4. Plant bought plants in March–April or September–October, at the same depth as in the pot.
5. Firm the soil and water.

Care

Watering

Water in dry spells, especially in pots and window boxes.

Feeding

Needs little: some compost in spring. In pots, a little liquid feed now and then.

Deadheading

Remove faded flowers for longer flowering; leave a few to set seed if it may self-seed.

Cutting back

If the plants get long and floppy in summer, cut them back to 5–10 cm: they regrow and flower again.

Harvesting

Pick the flowers in the morning once dry and use them the same day, only from plants that have not been sprayed.

Tip: Use the little flowers as an edible decoration on a salad, a cake or in ice cubes. Only pick them from plants you sowed yourself or that have certainly not been sprayed.

Heartsease: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July.

When: Real pruning is not needed. In July, when the plants become long and straggly, you can cut them back for a second flush.

How:

• Cut long, floppy stems back to 5–10 cm above the ground.
• Remove faded flowers regularly for longer flowering.
• In late summer let a few plants set seed, so new heartsease appears next year.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow where it is to flower in March–April or August–September. Collect seed by picking ripe capsules before they split and letting them dry in a paper bag.

Self-sown seedlings

Let a few plants ripen: the seeds are flung out and germinate on their own. Move seedlings in the wrong place in spring or autumn.

Heartsease: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −20 °C.

• Hardy to about −20 °C: plants and seedlings from an autumn sowing overwinter without protection.
• After a severe winter some plants may have gone, but the seed in the soil germinates in spring.
• In window boxes: keep them out of cold, wet wind and make sure the pot is not standing in water.

Diseases and pests

• Slugs: They eat flowers and young leaves. Pick them off in the evening or lay down a board for them to hide under.
• Aphids: On shoot tips and buds. Spray off with water; ladybirds help.
• Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves in hot, dry summers. Water, give space and cut the plant back.
• Leggy plants: Long, floppy stems with few flowers in summer. Cut back to 5–10 cm or sow again.

Through the year

• March: Sow or plant. Add compost.
• April: Flowering starts. Sow or plant.
• May: Full flower. Pick flowers for salads.
• June: Flowering. Deadhead.
• July: Cut leggy plants back to 5–10 cm for a second flush.
• August: Sow for flowers next spring. Collect seed.
• September: Sow or plant. Last flowers.
• October: Plant. Thin seedlings.

Edible and useful

Flowers (April–September)

Pick the flowers from April to September as soon as they open; the more you pick, the longer the plant flowers. They taste mild, slightly sweet and fresh, and are above all pretty: on salads, soup, cakes, in ice cubes or on bread with soft cheese. The flowers of horned violets and garden pansies are edible too.

Storing

Pick the flowers just before use; in a box with a damp piece of kitchen paper they keep for a day in the fridge. You can also press or crystallise them, like sweet violets.

Caution: The flowers are edible in normal amounts; do not eat too many at once, as the plant contains saponins. Do not eat the seeds or roots. Use flowers from plants that have not been sprayed: let garden-centre pansies grow on for a few weeks first.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Spring salad with heartsease (Dish · 4 people · 15 min)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• Heartsease is one of the ancestors of the large garden pansy, bred in England in the 19th century.
• The name pansy comes from the French pensée, ‘thought’: the flower was a symbol of remembrance.
• In Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ the juice of this flower is used as a love potion.