The Violas have remained much as they were when planting because of weather conditions, Jonathan, assuming you've not crammed them altogether in a small pot.
As for the pansies, when did you plant those? If they are from last autumn, they will, by now, be leggy - happens to them all eventually. If they're newer ones, planted this spring, cut them down to encourage new, bushier growth and give them a feed.

Hi Bamboo. You're a shot from a gun. The violas have just an inch and a half between then. I had suspected just the weather. Hoping therefore that improved temperatures will stir them. The pansies went in about a month ago. I have some others which went leggy and useless like this, so I have already given them the chop so as to let them rejuvenate. But what causes them to behave like this?

Pass, I've no idea how to add two pics Jonathan - maybe the site's playing up.
I can't see anything wrong with the pansies in the picture, well, except they're pretty crowded together.

Solved the pics. You can't see anything wrong with them? I think partly this isn't working as a photo. They have grown tall and loosely so that they are falling over each other. They've reached about a foot. I've been suspecting the problem is to do with their not being crowded enough, ie, planted closely enough. A chop it is anyway.

Are they reaching for light and growing leggy?

No. Plenty of light all day long. Fully green in leaf and stem also. I've just chopped them to 10 cm now, to try to give them a second go at growing right.

My pansies are doing exactly this, and are the same every year, but then, they were planted about September time. It's what pansies do best! Are you dead-heading them efficiently? I think Bamboo's right about the need to feed and the rotten weather.

I saw trailing pansies in the gc last week, they are very leggy plants but tumble nicely and do give a good display in a basket.

Oh yes Gattina, I'm always dead-heading. Pulling off the old flowers and removing pods. I hope this burst of heat makes them put on and perform for us all.

Actually, Jonah, having seen this blog, I emptied all my winter pansies out of their tubs on Sunday, replanted them round the garden, having chopped all the really leggy bits off and fed them, and after just three days of rain and warmth, they have already started perking up and I've just noticed a new flush of buds and leaves. It's worth a try! Could it be that yours were maybe a little overcrowded in the first place?

You should see my geraniums that have been in the gh all winter I didn,t realise how leggy they'd got until I moved them outside......I,m going to have to chop them but the flowers are lovely.........

I've got the same probs with my pansies, planted last year, about 12 to a trough. I did think of cutting them back and seeing if that would do any good. I'm not very efficient at dead-haeding