Planting viola seedlings in open ground. Viola (Pansy) - growing, planting and care
The bright beauty viola, she is also called pansies and violets, will decorate any flower bed. Viola is easy to grow and propagate. The seeds of the plant can be sown immediately in warm soil. For long-term flowering of viola with brighter and larger flowers, the gardener will have to follow several rules. Let's take a closer look at this plant, talk about the features of planting and care open ground.
Viola is a plant growing up to 30 cm, with decorative flowers on a high stem.
Viola tricolor - There are pansies perennial and annual.
- Used to decorate borders and low bushes.
- Low plants It's good to decorate alpine slides.
- Viola can be easily replanted even during flowering. She gets used to it quickly.
Bloom
Mix of different viols The plant prefers to grow in a sunny spot in the garden. However Excessive sun exposure depresses the viola. She needs at least a little time in the shadows. The flowering of the plant depends on the variety and time of planting.
In low light conditions, viola flowers will be smaller in size and less bright than flowers planted in open areas.
Ampel view
Viola Ampelnaya in a hanging pot Many varieties of violets have been developed. Among them, it is especially in demand ampelous viola. She looks like ball with a lot of flowers. It should be planted in a hanging pot. She tolerates cold weather does not require maintenance. After half a month of sowing seeds, the plant already pleases its owners with flowers.
In bright light, ampelous viola blooms with bright, large-diameter flowers. Only they wither faster than viola flowers growing in partial shade.
Flower propagation
Planting seeds
Violets can be propagated by seeds. Before sowing, they are treated with a solution "Zircona" or "Epina". At the end of spring, the seeds are sown in warm, fertile soil, where the groundwater lies quite deep. The ideal option for soil is a mixture of loamy soil with humus. You can mix humus equally with peat and add sand.
Viola does not tolerate stagnant moisture, so it will not grow in lowlands.
The seeds should be scattered into the grooves (50 seeds per meter is enough). Experienced flower growers sow 3-4 seeds per hole, at a distance of 60 cm. The seeds are buried 6 mm, sprinkled with a little soil and watered. To prevent the soil from drying out, the planting site must be sprinkled a layer of sawdust. Viola will begin to bloom in early June. Weak shoots must be shaded from the bright sun for at least the first 10 days.
Viola seeds different types which can be bought at a flower shop Two-year-old violet seeds should be sown in midsummer., care using the same technology. It should be planted in a permanent place at the end of summer, and covered with spruce branches for the winter. Violets will bloom next summer.
Seedlings
Seeds are sown in containers with fertile soil. The temperature should be around 25 degrees. When the seedlings sprout, the temperature can be reduce to 15 degrees.
Viola seedlings On the third day after germination, the seedlings dive. After half a month, the grown seedlings are planted again in 6 cm increments. Seedlings are planted in the garden 8 weeks after germination.
Planting viola in open ground Cuttings
Perennial varieties of viola grow over time, fewer flowers appear and they are smaller in size. To rejuvenate the bush, it is necessary to cut cuttings and transplant them into previously prepared grooves or holes. They should be in the shade and with sufficient humidity. For propagation, cut off the top of the shoot with 3 nodes. The cuttings are buried 5 mm into the soil and covered with film or glass.
Planting viola from cuttings The cuttings must be constantly sprayed with a spray bottle, and then ventilated. After a month the cuttings will take root, they need to be transplanted separately. New plants begin to bloom in early summer next year. In order for the plants to bloom in late summer, cuttings will have to be taken in late spring.
Care and cultivation of violets Pansies in open ground
Although viola does not require care, it cannot be left completely unattended. She needs watering, fertilizing, loosening and weeding. For better flowering, the viola should be planted in a lighted area of the garden, but the plant should be in the shade for several hours a day. Then the flower is not in danger of drying out at high temperatures.
Watering
The viola needs to be watered every day. Especially during flowering and in hot weather, the plant needs to be watered heavily. However, excessive moisture can cause root rot and plant death. Watering should be done moderately.
Viola loves water very much Top dressing
In order for the plant to please its owners with flowers longer, it needs to be fed with mineral fertilizers. Depending on the fertility of the soil, fertilizers are applied to the soil 1-2 times a month. For feeding, take 30 g of superphosphate or saltpeter per 1 square meter. m. The plant should not be fertilized with organic matter, especially with fresh mullein.
Weeding
Weeds should be constantly pulled out. They compete with violets in the fight for lighting, nutrition and moisture.
To increase the flowering period, the gardener needs to remove wilted flowers.
Loosening
Loosening the soil saturates the soil with oxygen.
Pansies love regular loosening. Pest protection
The main cause of powdery mildew is excessive nitrogen application or lack of moisture. For treatment, viola is watered a solution of soda ash with the addition of laundry soap. Will also help against powdery mildew solution "Fundazol". They will also help in the fight against gray rot and blackleg.
Fungicide Fundazol and instructions for use Shelter for the winter
Perennial violas need to be covered for the winter. To protect them from low temperatures, they are covered leaves, branches of spruce or pine. The shelter must be removed with the onset of warm days. Viola seeds need to be collected as soon as the testes turn yellow until the seeds fall onto the soil. If you follow simple rules of agricultural technology, viola will bloom for a long time. Its bright flowers will not be lost against the background of neighboring flowers.
Viola belongs to the violet genus. The genus of these flowers includes 400−700 species of plants. Violets can be found in all parts of the world where the climate remains temperate. Violet grows on mountain slopes and in tropical forests, subtropics and in New Zealand. Viola is popularly called pansy. This flower has remained popular for many centuries. They decorate houses for the holidays and collect flower garlands. Viola, when grown, does not require constant attention from the gardener, so it can be cultivated by a novice gardener. Plant easily adaptable to external conditions. Dwarf varieties are grown in indoor floriculture.
Description of common species and varieties
The plant has several names. Violet (Violaceae) belongs to a genus of plants in the violet family. Viola is the name given to the flower on Latin. Pansy, or tricolor violet, is a perennial plant, the species of which belongs to the genus Violet.
The viola flower is found in nature as an annual and perennial plant. Viola can be found in the form of a small subshrub, but rarely. On average, the plant grows from 15 to 30 cm in height.
In Russia, the viola became famous at the end of the 18th century. It was brought to St. Petersburg from Altai and subsequently received the name Altai violet. The most famous and popular types and varieties of flowers:
- Altai violet, tricolor and horned.
- Viola wittrock is white, red, pink and many others.
- Fragrant violet odorata (“pleasantly fragrant” in translation from Greek) and spotted viola, ampelous violet.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century this plant was widely studied, and the famous Swedish botanist Veit Wittrock developed the most popular to date, a new hybrid species of violets by crossing three colors: yellow violet, tricolor violet and Altai violet. This hybrid plant species is called Vitrock violet and currently has several hundred varieties.
The hybrid is a dense branched bush, reaching a height of 30 cm. The flowers grow large, up to 11 cm. They are irregular in shape and have many different shades. Single-color petals are almost never found in this species. Many varieties of viola are combined into series for ease of classification:
- Swiss giants are a large-flowered species with a flower 7 cm in diameter. The plant is not tall, 25 cm. It blooms until the first frost.
- Rococo - the flowers of the plant have a grooved edge; they are of unusual lilac, orange, and purple shades. Cultivated as an annual and biennial crop. When grown from seeds and sown in open ground the next year, it blooms from May to October.
- Bambini is a plant with an average height of 20 cm. It differs in color and the obligatory presence of a white or beige “butterfly” in the center of the flower.
perennial. It got its name due to the presence of a spur on the back of the flower, similar to a horn. The bush is low, up to 25 cm. The flowers are medium-sized, 4−5 cm. The petals of the plant are painted in bright lemon, purple, lilac and sky blue colors. Horned viola is distinguished by darkening or lightening in the center of the petals.
Perennial horned violet - unpretentious plant. It withstands frost and is not afraid of snow cover; it does not require additional shelter.
There are varieties that bloom three weeks after germination from winter dormancy.
Tricolor violet, or pansy, differs from other varieties in its coloring - the famous tricolor. The upper petals are dark purple, while the lower petals are bright yellow. Closer to the center of the flower on the petals dark stripes, and the edges of the petals have a velvety border.
Ampelous violet received widespread thanks to its shape. A plant with narrow leaves resembles a ball. There are a lot of flowers in hanging varieties. The flower size does not exceed 4 cm, and they are usually painted in one color. You can meet ampelous viola with variegated petals.
Bushy ampelous violet grows up to half a meter. When flowers appear, the shoots begin to droop in a cascade. Flowering lasts until the first frost.
Features of planting and care
Before you grow violets, you need to study it 
varietal characteristics and growing techniques. Viola is a winter-hardy and shade-tolerant plant. However, you should pay attention to the choice of location for the flower bed. Lack of sunlight will affect the duration of flowering. Hot, open sunlight will speed up the flowering period and make it short. The peduncle with bud will stretch out, and the size of the flower will become small. The best place for growing violets will be a place open to sunlight in the morning and evening and with shade during the day.
Violet needs protection from drafts. Planting a plant on alpine slide will help you get excellent results. The optimal temperature for growing flowers is 15 °C.
For proper development For the growth and reproduction of viola, it needs fertile soil. The flower grows well on loamy and sandy soil. In this case, the plant needs to provide good drainage. The absence of excess moisture will preserve the root system of the flower, which is located superficially in the violet, from damage by rot and disease. When setting up a flower bed, the soil is dug up and sand and peat are added. The composition is thoroughly mixed.
Viola responds well to various types fertilizers and fertilizers. The florist can use purchased mineral mixtures and fertilize. Organic fertilizers can be used. The only thing that viola cannot tolerate is feeding with fresh manure. The plant dies.
Flowers require periodic and moderate watering. The flower can withstand drought, but this will affect flowering, so it is necessary to water the flowerbed as the top layer of soil dries.
Violet loves loosening, so it provides its root system with oxygen. It is not worthwhile to loosen deeply; the roots can be easily damaged.
Methods of growing viola
There are several ways to grow viola wittrock:
- Seeds.
- Seedlings.
- Bush division.
The choice of method for propagating flowers depends on the goals of the grower and the final result he will receive. Flowers grown in an annual crop bloom in mid-summer in the year of planting, but this method is carried out using seedlings. The gardener’s desire to admire flowering from May to October is feasible if the seeds are sown in the summer. In this case, the violet will bloom next year. An existing violet bush can be propagated even while it is blooming. In this case, the plant will calmly survive the division and will not suffer, continuing grow and bloom.
Seed propagation method
To cultivate the plant, you can purchase seeds at a specialty store or use the seeds of flowers that grew on the site before. Pay attention to the expiration dates of the seeds. If seedlings do not appear within 10 days, then there's no point in waiting for them. Germination time depends on the variety. When purchasing seeds, pay attention to this. The manufacturer must indicate the germination time for a particular variety.
Before planting seeds, if desired, they should be prepare in advance. The seeds are soaked in a stimulant solution for 24 hours. You can use root, zircon or epin. The decision which drug to prefer is made by the grower independently. Seed germination is low, so a large number of seeds should be planted. Approximately 50-60 pieces per half-meter bed.
You can plant seeds from May to the first ten days of June. In this case, the plant will bloom at the end of August or September under good weather conditions. In winter, the viola leaves with flowers. The next year flowering begins in May.
The common practice of planting seeds before winter, in August - early September. During this time, the plant sprouts, develops its root system well and goes into dormancy healthy. The violet will bloom next year.
Seeds are sown in prepared soil, and the seeding depth does not exceed 5 mm. A thicker layer of soil will not allow the seeds to germinate. The soil needs to be loose and light.
At first, the plant needs sunlight, so you should not shade the seedlings. Moderate watering is needed. Try to keep the soil moist and not allow the soil to dry out.
Growing seedlings
The seedling growing method is the most common among flower growers. You can get flowers that can grow in open ground by sowing seeds in February or March. Before planting seeds in seedling containers, it is recommended to stratify them by creating an artificial winter. In January, the seeds are placed in a cool place and kept until they are sown in the ground.
A fertile, loose substrate will help to grow violet seedlings. You can buy soil for violets in the store, or you can prepare it yourself by mixing garden soil with sand, peat and humus. Containers, seedling cassettes, peat cups are filled with soil; the choice depends on the individual preferences of the grower.
A shallow groove of 0.5 cm is made in the container, the seeds are laid out on the surface (a distance of 1-2 cm from each other). The groove is lightly sprinkled with earth. Water the containers with warm, settled water or spray with a spray bottle. The boxes are covered with film and provide warmth. Lighting does not matter until there are shoots. The containers are periodically ventilated. The emerging seedlings are gradually accustomed to the surrounding climate on the window. To do this, the opening time of the film is gradually increased, and over time it is removed completely.
Caring for seedlings involves timely watering. Do not allow the top layer of soil in the container to dry out. The amount of water should be such that the surface of the earth is moistened and not wet. Do not fill the drawers; pour out excess water from the pan.
Picking the plant is required as soon as two true leaves have grown. Small violets are planted in separate containers. The plant is buried down to the cotyledon leaves.
Good bushiness of the viola will be ensured by pinching the crown of the flower. It must be done when the flower grows six true leaves.
Seedlings are transplanted into open ground when stable warm temperatures are established. On a glazed balcony, viola can be planted in containers and flowerpots at the end of March. The volume of soil in the pots should be 2 liters per bush. Flowers are usually planted in open ground flower beds in May or June. The distance between the bushes is left at 10-15 cm.
Reproduction by dividing the bush
It is recommended to divide an existing violet bush in spring or autumn. However, the reason for division will be education small flowers on the plant and their quantity is small. The violet will survive division in the summer. The divided plant will continue to bloom profusely, and the flowers will restore in size.
As the plant grows, it forms shoots that take root in the soil. They should be separated from the mother bush and transplanted into a separate hole. Sometimes this method is the only way to propagate viola. Some varieties and hybrids are not capable of producing seeds with maternal qualities.
Shoots with two or three buds are suitable for propagation. There is no need to bury them. Make a hole 1 cm deep. New bushes are watered. Rooting occurs in about a month, the young bush produces new leaves.
During the rooting period, the violet must be shaded and the top layer of soil should not be allowed to dry out.
Rules for watering and fertilizing
The main requirement for good growth and flowering of violets is timely watering. Root system flowers develop in the soil at a depth of 15-20 cm, so in dry summers it should be watered more often, but only when the top layer dries out. The violet needs enough natural moisture, which comes with precipitation.
Timely removal of faded buds will promote the development of new ones. This way the gardener will have flowering plants all season long. Dry leaves should also be removed.
You can fertilize the bushes once a month. Buy fertilizers for flowering plants with the least amount of nitrogen.
For the winter, the violet is covered with spruce branches or leaves.
Viola is not only a very beautiful flower, but also a universal decoration, because with its help you can improve not only the balcony, but also garden plot. Aesthetic value is not the only advantage of the plant. Another obvious advantage is the low cost of viola seeds. Combining all of the above, we get the following result: a beautiful, well-groomed and bright balcony (site) for almost nothing.
Viola belongs to the Violet family, the main habitats of which are concentrated in mountainous regions, as well as in those places characterized by a temperate climate.
Today, experts identify from 400 to 700 species of the Violet family. If you think that you don’t know a plant called “viola,” then you are very mistaken, because each of us, if not grown this flower at home, then, in any case, saw and smelled it. And all because the second, common name for viola sounds like a pansy.
Wittrock violas - garden pansies
The charming simplicity and discreet attractiveness of the flower have attracted connoisseurs of beauty for a long time - two and a half thousand years ago, ancient European peoples used the plant to weave festive garlands and wreaths, as well as to decorate rooms where celebrations were traditionally held. The categorical popularity of the viola has survived to this day: now the garden viola is one of the most sought-after plants among lovers of green “decorations”. The variety of varieties allows you not to limit your imagination.
Viola is a plant whose “life” ranges from one year to many years prosperity. Viola has a fibrous root system and erect shoots. The leaves of the plant are equipped with stipules and can either be collected in a basal rosette or grow alternately along the stem. Viola flowers are amazing, striking in their diversity: they can be single-colored, two-colored, tricolored, double, wavy. The diameter of single flowers reaches 7 centimeters.
Viola Vitrocca "ROCOCO"
Growing conditions
Gardeners and summer residents love viola for its abundant and frequent flowering. If a person’s choice falls on a plant hybrid, then it will delight the eye with bright colors for three summer months or twice a season. The flowering time depends on when the viola was planted: either from March to the last month of spring, or from August until the first frost.
A characteristic feature of the viola is its resistance to cold, as well as shade tolerance, that is, the conditions in which it can exist can be quite harsh. The only thing that viola lovers need to remember is that in the shade the plant will not produce as many flowers as when exposed to direct sunlight. Loamy, moist soil is ideal for viola growth. Dry sandy soil is also suitable, but in such conditions the size of the flowers will decrease.
Viola Vitrocca "Inspire White Visa Red Block"
By and large, this is all the information that anyone who is going to plant viola should arm themselves with. Since ready-made seedlings can empty your wallet, it makes sense to grow them yourself, especially since it is not at all difficult.
Preparing seedlings
So, you bought several packets of pansy seeds. The most common mistake made by inexperienced gardeners is sowing viola in the spring with the expectation that in the summer the plant will delight the eye with lush flowering. But it’s not like that, because it’s a two-year-old flower. In fact, pansy seedlings should be planted in the summer, in July.
First, you should treat the seeds with fertilizer that accelerates growth. The finished seeds are placed in a half-centimeter groove and sprinkled with earth. The next step is to water the seedlings. The soil must be poured completely, but very carefully to prevent the soil from being washed away.
Experts advise mulching the planting with small sawdust to maintain soil moisture.
Ten to fifteen days will pass, and small sprouts will appear, which should be slightly hidden from the sun's rays using a dark film, and after fifteen days, remove it. Around August, pansies will be ready to be planted for their “permanent place of residence.”
If you do everything according to this scheme, bushes with lush, rich and long-lasting flowering will sprout. This cannot be achieved with pansies planted using the simple seedling method, because this is how we give the sprouts a strong and confident start.
Viola planted in the ground needs to be covered for the winter with straw or spruce branches. Such an air cushion will keep your plant safe and sound during the winter and save the roots from freezing. When spring comes, the flowers need to be fed with complex fertilizer twice - even before the formation of buds and at the very start of flowering.
Growing viola from seeds
In regions with cold climates, growing pansies is quite possible, but only in one way - seedlings in containers at home. In this case, grow beautiful plant It won’t be very difficult, but there are three factors that directly affect the successful emergence of a flower: lighting, temperature and soil. And in this situation it will be necessary to take this quite seriously.
To get seedlings, you need to sow viola in February-March at home, in small cups. To begin with, the seeds should be soaked in a growth-accelerating solution. It could be Epin, Zircon or EM-1. You can buy these substances at any specialized store. This fertilizer will greatly simplify cultivation: the germination process will speed up and resistance to diseases and fungi will increase.
It is advisable to select the soil for seedlings very carefully. The best option there will be peat with an approximate acidity of 5.5. It is too early to apply fertilizer; fertilizing will be done just during the phase of formation of full-fledged leaves. Fertilizers are applied for the first time at approximately three weeks of age.
The main thing is to prevent stagnation of water in containers. This may cause various diseases, the plant will begin to rot and die. To avoid this, you need to buy cups with holes in the bottom, or install drainage. On extreme case You can make holes in the bottom with your own hands.
When the soil is ready and the seeds are saturated with a growth accelerator, you can begin to sow. To do this, viola seeds are laid on top of the soil, sprinkled with a thin layer of vermiculite. Before the sprouts emerge, the container with the planting must be covered with polyethylene, glass or any transparent material. Such a “greenhouse” will give our seeds an impetus to grow. But we must not forget to periodically remove the “cape” to ventilate the soil. This will prevent the formation of fungi and prevent the soil from withering away.
For best result, you need to plant several seeds in each glass. When they sprout, you can remove excess sprouts, except for the “healthiest” ones.
With this method of breeding viola, you need to pick the plants twice. Based on the formation of two full-fledged leaves, pansies are sorted and planted for the first time. The next picking will occur only at five weeks of age, already in enlarged containers, with a diameter of no more than ten centimeters.
If you decide to plant viola in large boxes, you must maintain a minimum distance between plants - five centimeters. At this age, pansies will grow quietly in a greenhouse on your summer cottage, even in an unheated one.
For good growth in a greenhouse, it is necessary to water the plants with mineral fertilizers, right at the root. Feeding should be repeated approximately once a month. During the flowering period - twice a month. When watering pansies, you should be very careful and direct the stream of water under the stem, without getting on the leaves. In the first months of spring, there is a real danger of return frosts, so there is no need to experiment with planting. You can plant seedlings in open ground only in mid-May.
The soil should first be drained - pour a handful of sand into a hole, the depth of which should be about five centimeters. In order for the viola to take root, you need to plant a plant with a lump of earth in the hole. The optimal distance between planted flowers is ten to fifteen centimeters; if the plants are large, then it should be increased to twenty centimeters.
At the time of planting, the seedlings are watered generously - thanks to the sand, the water will quickly go into the soil without stagnating in it. This simple method will help prevent the development of blackleg, a common disease among plants. The plant also needs to be shaded for several days.
The nuances of growing viola in containers
The first thing that novice gardeners should remember is the need to supplement the seedlings with phytolamps or regular fluorescent lamps, which are sold in any store. Pansies are very light-loving: ideally, the daylight hours for a flower should be from fourteen to sixteen hours.
To prevent seedlings from growing to unimaginable proportions in the container, it is necessary to use a growth regulator Alar.
Temperature
It is very important to choose the right temperature for seed germination. Ideally, it will be from 18 to 30 degrees. Even minor deviations from the norm can cause seeds to germinate much more slowly. However, already at the moment the sprouts appear above the soil, you can reduce the temperature to 15 degrees, since the grown seedlings can easily tolerate cold (but not frost). If you do everything correctly, you will soon be pleased with the delicate, beautiful blooming of pansies.
Video - How to grow viola from seeds
In the world of gardeners, the viola plant is very popular. There are a large number of varieties and types of viola, more popularly known as pansies.
The wide distribution of these wonderful flowers is due to their beauty and variety of colors and shapes. Viola flowers delight with a long flowering period with proper planting and subsequent care - with early spring until late autumn.
Did you know? Viola has been known for a very long time - more than two and a half thousand years. At that time, the ancient peoples of Europe used these flowers for decoration during holidays.
Where to plant viola, choosing a place for a flower
Viola belongs to the Violet family, which is why it is also called garden violet. The plant can be annual, biennial, or perennial. Depending on the type of viola flower, planting and growing can be done even on the balcony, providing it with proper care.
In open ground, a high flower bed would be an ideal place for a viola, as it meets the plant’s needs for moisture and light.
What kind of lighting and temperature does viola like?
These flowers grow best in a cool location, but they also need plenty of light. Hence, the right choice For planting violas and further care in the open ground, there will be places with slightly shaded areas.
For example, under young trees, which will not cover the main part of the lighting with leaves, but will protect from the drying influence of direct rays of the sun. At home, a balcony on the west or east side is suitable.
If there is not enough light for the viola, the flowering will not be so abundant, and the flowers themselves will be small and not so bright.
What should the soil be like for planting?
The best type of soil for pansies is loamy soil, fertile and moist.
Important!Stagnation of moisture is detrimental to viola, as it leads to rotting of the roots.
The soil for planting needs to be drained and loosened. Fresh humus cannot be used as fertilizer, so superphosphate or ammonium nitrate is suitable.
Also, peat is ideal as a soil for viola, as it retains heat and does not retain moisture. In addition, peat contains the nutritional elements needed by viola, so gardeners often use peat tablets to germinate the plant.
How to plant pansies correctly
Most often, viola is planted in open ground. This happens in April-May, as the plant loves cool weather. It is better to choose the following proportions for the soil:
- turf soil - 2 parts;
- peat – 2 parts;
- humus – 2 parts;
- sand - 1 part.
It is quite easy to follow the basic rules on how to plant viola flowers in open ground and how to care for them afterward.
Holes are prepared for seedlings (the distance between them is 10-15 cm), flowers are placed there, then they are sprinkled with earth, the soil around is lightly compacted and watered.
It is better to plant different varieties separately from each other, because the plant is cross-pollinated.
Did you know?The first to be introduced into cultivation was the fragrant violet, and then the mountain violet. Breeders developed the first violet hybrids in 1683.
Rules for caring for viola
Gardeners often wonder how to grow viola beautiful and healthy. To do this, you need to regularly remove flowers that have wilted. In addition, mulching the roots of the plant in hot weather will help prolong the flowering of pansies. Be sure to also remove ripe seed pods.
If the viola blooms worse, few new buds are formed, then you can trim the plant, leaving the stems about 10 cm long. After this, it is necessary to water and feed the viola abundantly, which will allow it to quickly grow young shoots and bloom with renewed vigor.
How to water pansies correctly
Often in hot weather, the cause of drying out roots is their close location to the soil surface. Therefore, watering garden violets should be done regularly, but not too much, so that the roots do not rot. Optimally – 2-3 times a week, and in hot weather it is possible to water the viola every day.
Fertilizing and feeding flowers
Feeding the viola should be done once a month. To do this, use superphosphate or ammonium nitrate at a rate of 25-30 g per square meter. There are also special complex fertilizers containing potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and microelements. Such fertilizers are sold in stores and used according to the instructions.
Soil care
Viola flowers are unpretentious, but during cultivation it is necessary to maintain the soil in a certain condition. Since the roots are located close to the surface - at a depth of only 15-20 cm, timely watering and loosening of the soil is needed to allow air to flow to the roots. In addition, it is important to promptly remove weeds from the area where viola grows.
Viola propagation methods
If you want to get a new viola plant with beautiful flowers yourself, you should choose a growing method that suits your capabilities. These include propagation by seeds, cuttings of pansies, and propagation by layering.
Did you know? Pansies are divided into large-flowered (the flower diameter of this variety is 10 cm), and multi-flowered - varieties with small flowers with a diameter of about 6 cm.
Propagation by seeds
Viola can be grown from seeds. Sowing occurs at several times, depending on when you want to get flowering.
By sowing pansies in January-February, you will see the first flowers by the end of spring. However, in apartment conditions it is difficult to get good seedlings, since the sown seeds need coolness and plenty of light.
If you sow viola seeds in March, flowering will begin in late July - August. Next year, at the beginning of spring, both plants will give good flowering.
If sowing is carried out in summer, flowers will also appear next year in spring. However, in the summer, you can sow directly into open ground, bypassing growing seedlings at home.
There are general rules for sowing viola seeds:
- The seeds are poured onto moist soil, lightly sprinkled with earth on top.
- The temperature at which the seedlings stand should be 15-20 °C. It is necessary to maintain constant sufficient hydration.
- The seedlings should be kept in a dark place until shoots appear.
- After 10-14 days, the seeds will sprout, then you need to provide good lighting and reduce the temperature to 10 °C.
- After 2-3 weeks it is necessary to pick up the seedlings.
Did you know? Many varieties of viola self-sow from ripe seed pods.
Propagation by cuttings
Cuttings of pansies are carried out in late spring - early summer in several stages.
It is difficult to find a plant in the garden that is less demanding of its development conditions than cute curly bushes with flower eyes. Growing viola is possible even for the person who first poured seeds into the palm of his hand for sowing.
The name of the plant is a tracing-paper translation of the Latin name of the genus Violet (Viola). Fragrant flowers have been adored for centuries in many countries, especially the French. Emperor Napoleon never returned home to his Josephine without her favorite bouquet of violets. And the great Goethe always went for a walk with a bag of viola seeds and scattered them throughout the outskirts of Weimar.
In the genus Viola of the Violet family, approximately 500 are known, and according to some sources - more than 700 species, distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere in areas with temperate climates. The most popular of them in garden floriculture are violas:
- fragrant,
- horned,
- nursing,
- Labrador,
- canine,
- pubescent,
- Korean,
- tricolor,
- Wittrock,
- ampelous,
- Williams and others.
The plant is very easy to cultivate, but a gardener who decides to plant it in his flowerbed needs to know certain rules of agricultural technology.
Growing viola in the garden
There are several ways to add a cute flower to your garden. The most common is sowing seeds, which is carried out both in open ground and for seedlings. Vegetative method Varietal violas are propagated using cuttings and layering.
Choose a sunny site for planting, with loose and humus-rich loamy soil, well fertilized with potassium and phosphorus.
Sowing seeds in open ground
Propagation of viola by seeds is used more often as a simpler and less expensive opportunity to grow a flower. If you sow seeds for seedlings, you can expect flowering already in the current season. Seeds sown in open ground will produce plants that will bloom next spring.
Viola is planted in open ground in May-June, when the threat of return spring frosts has disappeared. Sowing is carried out sparsely, in rows, and the seeds are embedded in the soil no more than 1 cm. Shoots appear in 10-15 days. If the weather is dry, water them lightly so as not to be washed away by the pressure of water. The soil between the rows is loosened and weeds are removed.
When the seedlings grow up, they are thinned out, leaving a distance of 7-10 cm between neighboring flowers. It is also possible to plant the seedlings after 3-4 weeks in the beds where the viola will overwinter. The first time after picking, the plant is shaded.
Sowing seeds for seedlings
The timing of planting viola seedlings depends on when they plan to wait for flowering. If you sow at the end of January or February, the bushes will produce buds at the end of May. Sowing in March will produce flowers in late summer.
Shallow bowls for seedlings are filled with purchased soil, which is spilled with a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate on the eve of sowing. Small viola seeds are placed in shallow grooves, barely covered with soil. Sprinkle with water from a spray bottle, cover the crops on top with plastic wrap and place a south-west window.
The mini-greenhouse is regularly ventilated and moistened. Shoots appear after 10-14 days. In early April, they are planted in larger pots, deepened to the cotyledon leaves. At the end of this month, they begin to harden the seedlings, placing them on an unglazed or veranda during the day, and returning them indoors at night. Seedlings are planted in open ground in the first or second decade of May, maintaining a distance of 15-20 cm between them. At the beginning of June, viola is already blooming.
Advice from experienced flower growers on how to plant viola beautifully: if, when planting seedlings in a garden bed, some of the plants are placed in the shade and the rest in a lighted place, the flowering will be prolonged.
Those in the sun bloom their petals earlier, those that receive less light bloom later and fade after all the others.
Viola propagation by cuttings and layering
Especially valuable varieties are propagated vegetatively. Cuttings are taken from May to July from well-developed healthy plants. For this, apical shoots with 2-3 internodes are used. Plant them in a shaded bed close to each other so that they touch. The groove is well watered and the cuttings are buried about 0.5 cm. Sprayed on top and covered with film. After 3-4 weeks you can already check what kind of roots the viola has. Usually the plants develop a good root system by this time.
For propagation by layering, the plant is shaded so that it stretches. At the beginning of autumn, the shoots are bent to the ground and sprinkled with fertile soil. By spring, the cuttings take root and are transplanted into the garden bed.
Before winter, viola is planted in a permanent place in early September using the transshipment method. Rooted bushes are covered with dry fallen leaves to protect them from freezing. In winter, make sure that during thaws, water does not stagnate in the beds with wintering violas.
Growing and caring for a viola flower in a pot
In May, the grown seedlings are transferred to flower containers, which are placed in a garden, on the terrace or hung in a flower pot. Violet loves moisture, but stagnation of water causes it to get wet. Therefore, a layer of drainage, for example, made of expanded clay or gravel, is required at the bottom of the pot. Any purchased and fertile soil is suitable for viola. However, the containers can be filled with ordinary garden soil mixed with humus, and for looseness, add a little coarse river sand.
Plants are moistened regularly, avoiding drying out. On the eve of a long absence of the grower, watering into a tray is also possible. Violas are fed weekly with any universal flower fertilizer. With this care, they open their buds almost all summer.
How to care for viola in the garden
The main measures for caring for viola in the garden include timely loosening of the soil, especially after rain, it is necessary to weed and destroy the crust on the ground, which prevents air from penetrating to the roots. Simultaneously with weeding, weeds are removed from the feeding zone of the viola bushes.
Watering and fertilizing
The plant is quite moisture-loving, but from excess moisture in a particularly rainy summer it gets wet if it ends up in a lowland that is constantly flooded with puddles. However, the viola should not suffer from a lack of moisture, otherwise the flowers become smaller, the growth of the bushes slows down, and flowering may stop altogether. If it is too hot, flower buds do not form.
The first feeding during viola cultivation is done on the eve of budding - add a tablespoon of nitrophoska to a bucket of water. The second time is fed during flowering with Agricola-7 fertilizer, diluting 1 tablespoon in 10 liters of water. The solution is watered at the roots of the plants.
After the flowers wither, the stems are cut, leaving 10-12 cm from the ground level, the bushes are watered abundantly and fed. Very soon new young shoots grow, on the tops of which flowers appear again.
How to collect viola seeds
The time to collect seeds comes when the top of the seed pod turns white or yellow, and it itself rises upward on the peduncle. Picked at this moment, they ripen well while drying in a shaded place with active air circulation. Viola seeds remain viable for 2-4 years. There are approximately 800 of them in 1 g.
Viola diseases and the fight against them
Many gardeners claim that viola is resistant to diseases and pests. However, this remark is more true in relation to natural species, but varietal plants are more vulnerable to problems in care.
Most garden violas suffer from blackleg and powdery mildew in high humidity conditions. In order to prevent blackening of the base of the stem, experts recommend not thickening the plantings and disinfecting the soil by watering with a solution of potassium permanganate or foundation. Powdery mildew is treated with a solution of soda ash and laundry soap.
Leaf spotting often affects Wittrock's viola. It is treated with either a copper-soap preparation. Viola tricolor and fragrant from ascochyta are sprayed with copper-containing agents. Phyllosticosis occurs most often on Williams and ampelous viola plants. Treatment before flowering with Bordeaux mixture or Abiga-Peak and Homom preparations helps to save plantings from it.
Tricolor, ampelous and fragrant viola plants affected by pythium (root rot of seedlings) or gray rot are destroyed along with the clod of earth where they grew. The soil under neighboring healthy bushes is shed with Maxima or Alirin-B solutions.
Those infected with fusarium, late blight or variegation virus of Wittrock, fragrant, Williams and tricolor violets cannot be cured. Fungal spores live in the soil for a long time and it is no longer recommended to plant viola in the bed where the defeat occurred. To avoid viral infection, the plant is not planted near cucumber and pumpkin beds.
Viola pests and ways to get rid of them
Systemic insecticides are used against insects, mites are eliminated with the help of acaricides, and to prevent the appearance of nematodes, sodium nitrate is added to the soil a week before planting - 150-200 g per 1 sq. m. m.
Planting and caring for viola in the open ground does not cause too much trouble for the gardener. But the friendly blossoming of cheerful bushes, accompanied by a fragrant aroma, brings a lot of positive emotions throughout the summer.
Secrets of growing viola - video