Johnny Jump Up: A Little Bloom with a Big Impact

by Lydia Holley February 3, 2025

Johnny Jump Up (Viola tricolor) is the miniature version of pansy. Native to Europe, Siberia, and Iran, Johnny Jump Up flowers traditionally bloom with three petal colors: yellow, blue, and white. Today, they can be purchased in other colors. Some cultivars retain the “face” on the flower, but you can also find cultivars of Johnny Jump Ups with petals all in the same shade.

In their native countries, Johnny Jump Ups mostly bloom from spring to autumn, but in Texas, they are used as a reliable winter annual. They will continue to bloom through frost and will bounce back from any freezes above five degrees F.

Even though they are grown as a winter annual and can stand extremely cold temperatures, Johnny Jump Ups can also take more heat than large-petaled pansies. Their blooms will last well into the spring. You may even have to tear them out of your pots while they are still blooming to replace them with spring or summer-blooming annuals.

Johnny Jump Ups borrow their common name from wild pansies, Viola rafinesquei (formerly Viola bicolor). Native to the United States, wild pansies are also called Johnny Jump Ups because they seem to bloom overnight, their flowers jumping up above their foliage. Because the plants look similar, the common name Johnny Jump Up came to be used for Viola tricolor, too.

Though most gardeners only care that Johnny Jump Ups are cute and lend color to a winter landscape, scientists are also interested in them. Researchers are breaking down the plant’s molecular structure to determine whether or not it might help with inflammatory skin diseases. Its anti-viral properties are also being studied in HIV research. Proof that you can not judge a plant by its cute face.

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