Pansy flowers– beautiful flowering plant with flowers of various shades, in the center of which there is a speck, it can be different shapes and colors. Pansies are representatives of the Violet family. Latin name plants sounds like Viola tricolor. The flower is also known as tricolor violet and Viola Vitrocca. The plant is a thin stem with rounded leaves and single flowers (see photo). Japan and China are considered the birthplace of pansies. IN growing wild flowers are common in Europe. Viola can be found on forest edges and clearings; it grows both in gardens and along roadsides. In the language of flowers, violet means reflection, meditation.
There is a touching legend that pansies are Anyuta turned into delicate flowers. The girl saw off her beloved to defend his homeland, but the guy did not return home. Even having turned into a flower, the girl looks out for her beloved, “peers” into the distance. Pansies have long been a symbol of love and fidelity. In France and Poland, it is customary to give these flowers as a souvenir to a loved one during separation. In England, there is a tradition of sending a dried flower with your name to your chosen one if the guy is embarrassed to confess his feelings to her. Also in England, pansies are presented to the beloved girl on Valentine's Day. Flowers were also used in love magic: people believed that if the juice of the plant was anointed on the eyelids of a sleeping lover, then after waking up he would love this girl forever.
Pansies are often planted as an ornamental plant. They are often used for floral decoration. Touching violets look great together with tulips, daisies, forget-me-nots, and daffodils. Violets are unpretentious, tolerate transplantation well, and can be combined with many ornamental plants. Pansies are widely used in cooking and medicine. It is better to collect flowers for gastronomic and medicinal purposes in the field, since violets collected in city parks can be not only of little use, but also dangerous. For culinary experiments, it is better to collect flowers early in the morning, when they are filled with dew.
Growing: planting and care
You can grow pansies in the garden, in open ground, the plant is cold-resistant and unpretentious. Flowers can grow in both sunny and partial shade. The only thing is that violets planted in partial shade will not bloom so abundantly and brightly. Flowers are preferred fertile soils. Pansies are propagated by seeds and cuttings. The time for sowing seeds depends on the desired flowering time. To get maximum flowering early spring, you need to have time to plant the seeds at the end of June.
Plant care consists of regular watering and fertilizing. When watering, it is important not to overwater the plant, otherwise it will simply rot. It is better to water flowers only during drought. You can feed pansies with mineral fertilizers containing nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. The period of violets occurs in April - May, depending on planting. The plant can bloom until late autumn. In order to prolong flowering, it is recommended to remove flowers that have bloomed, since otherwise the plant will stop blooming and the seed stage will begin.
Collection and storage
Pansies, or tricolor violets, are collected during their flowering period, which occurs from May to September. The plant's herbs are harvested for medicinal purposes. Tricolor violet can easily be confused with fragrant violet; the main difference between these species is that the former does not have a characteristic violet aroma. When preparing medicinal raw materials, it is important to separate the plant’s grass from roots, seeds, and flower remains. Dry pansies in a cool place, away from direct sunlight.
Medicinal properties
The medicinal properties of pansies have long been used to treat certain diseases. Pansies have found their use in official medicine thanks to the presence expectorant, diuretic, diaphoretic properties. The aerial part of the plant is rich in vitamin C (up to 300 mg), carotenoids, and flavonoids. Viola grass also contains mucus, bitterness, and salicylic acid.
Pansy flowers are part of a homeopathic remedy that is used for skin diseases, vaginal candidiasis, and vaginal itching. Externally, a decoction of pansies is used for eczema. For acne treatment a collection is prepared from the herbs of pansies, veronica officinalis, and string. All herbs are taken from equal quantities. To prepare the decoction, pour 2 tablespoons of the herbal mixture into 200 ml of boiling water and leave for about 10 minutes. Take 800 ml of infusion an hour after meals.
For skin diseases, prepare homemade effective remedy called "violet oil". To prepare the product, take 100 ml olive oil, 10 grams of pansy flowers, 5 grams of ivy leaves. All ingredients are mixed and boiled for 10 minutes in a water bath, then the oil is filtered and stored in a glass jar. Soak a napkin in violet oil and apply it to problem areas.
Use in cooking
In cooking, pansies have found use in the preparation of floral desserts. Pansies are edible flowers, which allows chefs around the world to prepare a wide variety of dishes from them. In Western restaurants that serve these flowers, such dishes are very expensive. Pansies are added to salads, the flowers give them an appetizing appearance And good taste. Flowers of dark shades are often added to vinegar to give it an interesting, soft lilac color.
Like other edible flowers, pansies are great for making dessert dishes. The delicate petals of this plant are added to fruit jelly, yogurt. Pansies are great for decorating a cake. A popular recipe for preparing pansies is sugaring flowers. In order to prepare such flowers, it is enough to select the freshest and most beautiful pansies, wash and dry them. Then beat the egg white and apply the resulting mass with a brush on both sides of the petals. The last step is to sprinkle the flowers with powdered sugar; the flowers are left at room temperature until completely dry or dried in the oven. Candied flowers can be consumed as a separate delicacy or used to decorate desserts.
Small flowers can be served in homemade cocktails if you first freeze them in ice cubes. In order to diversify the jelly, the bottom of the mold can be decorated with pansies, and then filled with any light jelly. Pansy petals are often brewed with tea, resulting in a very gentle and healthy drink.
The benefits of pansies and treatment
The benefits of violets are obvious if you have skin diseases . Decoctions are prescribed as lotions on the affected area of the skin.
Pansies are effective and for diseases respiratory tract . Violet infusions and decoctions are prescribed as a diuretic and choleretic agent. Violet has proven itself well in the treatment of whooping cough and bronchitis. Healing infusion prepared from a tablespoon of dry raw materials, which is poured with a glass of boiling water. Infuse the resulting decoction for two hours. The infusion should be taken 1 tbsp. l. 3 times a day. The infusion is effective for gout, rheumatism, and arthritis.
Traditional medicine uses pansies much more widely. A decoction of pansies is used as an enveloping agent for gastritis. For the treatment of sore throat a herbal mixture is brewed from pansies, dead nettles, string and strawberry leaves. One spoon of the collection is poured with 200 ml of boiling water, and the decoction is taken 3 times a day.
Harm of pansies and contraindications
Pansies can cause harm to the body due to individual intolerance. Long-term use may cause digestive problems, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Botanical characteristicsPansy (Viola tricolor) - this plant has other names, I will list them: tricolor, tricolor violet, willow-herb, kamchug. It belongs to the violet family.
This herbaceous plant It can be biennial or annual. Its stems are hollow, triangular, rather thin and branched, up to twenty centimeters high. The leaves are alternate, rounded-heart-shaped, and can be petiolate or sessile.
The leaves are small in size, slightly grooved at the edges, with an uneven edge. The root system is fibrous. The special value of these flowers lies in their early, long and abundant flowering. IN middle lane In Russia you can admire them already at the end of April.
The flowers are single, very beautiful, with variegated multi-colored petals, they are located on long stalks in the axils of the leaves. Pansies bloom from April until the end of September. The fruit is a small capsule; when it dries, ripe seeds are forcefully ejected from it.
Even in ancient times, pansies were credited with a bewitching property. All you have to do is sprinkle a little juice of this plant on the eyelids of a sleeping person, and after waking up, he will fall in love forever.
The French and Poles love to give these delicate flowers as souvenirs. And in England there is a tradition: young man If you are embarrassed to declare your love, you just need to send this dried flower to your chosen one, write your name, and everything will be clear to the girl.
Spreading
Often found in meadows, fields, and forest edges in the European part of Russia, the Urals, and Siberia. It is one of the favorite flowers among gardeners, and on almost every summer cottage you can meet these lovely creatures.
Part used
The herbaceous part of this plant is used. It contains quite a lot of useful substances, for example, ascorbic, ursolic and salicylic acids, carotenoids, many different flavonoids, and rutin.
Violet flowers contain essential oil and glycosides belonging to the anthocyanin group, for example, violanine, delphinidin. The roots contain minimal amounts of alkaloids.
Collection and procurement of raw materials
It is customary to collect flowering grass. It is usually tied into small bundles and hung in a shady, ventilated place, or laid out on a cloth in a thin layer and put under a canopy to dry. This procedure should not be delayed, as the raw materials may become moldy. It can be stored for two years.
Cultivation, reproduction and care
Ivan da Marya prefers to grow in a sunny or shaded place. The soil should be loose and loamy. The plant is undemanding and quite easy to grow. It is propagated by seeds and small green cuttings, and sowing is carried out depending on the planned time of flowering.
In order to get early spring, quite abundant flowering, it is necessary to sow the seeds in the summer of last year. The plant is winter-hardy, but in some regions its partial freezing is observed, most often this occurs in excessively damp places and with incorrect sowing dates.
To obtain seedlings, seed material is added to the soil of the nursery or to the beds; the seedlings will delight you within 6-14 days. Care is completely normal, it consists of watering - medium frequency, loosening the rows, as well as pest control.
In order to speed up flowering, it is recommended to cover the beds with film in early spring. Seedlings can be fed with superphosphate and ammonium nitrate, but in no case with fresh manure. To prolong flowering, it is necessary to remove faded flowers in a timely manner.
Application
IN folk medicine It is customary to use this plant for neuroses, palpitations, and sleep disturbances. The collection is also prescribed for inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract, as it has a mucolytic effect.
Violet is included in many preparations and is used to treat the urinary tract due to its diuretic and anti-inflammatory effects. This herb has a diaphoretic and blood purifying effect.
It is also prescribed for diseases of the joints, and is also used for dermatological problems, for example, furunculosis, acne.
Infusion recipe
To prepare the infusion, you need to take a tablespoon of this raw material, then pour 200 milliliters of it hot water, after which it is recommended to heat the mixture in a water bath; fifteen minutes will be enough for this.
Then cool the prepared infusion and filter through a strainer, or use a triple gauze layer. Take the drug with therapeutic purpose, about a third of a glass after meals, about three times a day.
Contraindications to the use of tricolor violet
You should not take an infusion of this plant if you have kidney diseases, in particular glomerulonephritis. And also in case of liver pathology, for example, hepatitis, you should also refuse to use this raw material. If doses are exceeded, dyspepsia may occur, which will manifest itself in the form of nausea and vomiting.
Conclusion
Before using this herb, you should consult a specialist with higher education. medical education. If a disease appears, first consult a doctor, and only then folk recipes, so there is a greater chance of recovery from any emerging pathology.
The popularity of pansy flowers is explained by their frost resistance and long term flowering. At correct landing and leaving pansies will delight you with early spring until the first frost. They can be planted in mixed borders and along the banks of reservoirs. Find out how to grow pansies and get down to business!
Varieties of pansy flowers and their photos
The most tender and romantic spring flowers- pansies. These are charming primroses in which everything is surprising. Nature has done its best, creating the shape and color of the buds of these plants, endowing them with aroma, as well as unsurpassed endurance. Another name for the flower is tricolor violet (Viola tricolor), which is why it is also called viola, and is popularly nicknamed Ivan da Marya, surrounded by many legends and beliefs. The uniqueness of these flowers lies in the fact that almost all of their varieties can be used as both spring-blooming and summer-blooming. And when proper care Pansies will bloom in your garden from early spring through fall.
Pansies are separate species herbaceous plants from the genus violets of the violet family. Their bushes reach a height of 10-30 cm. The stem is branched and can be covered with downward-pointing hairs.
As you can see in the photo of pansy flowers, their flowers have interesting shape and consist of two upper petals, two lateral and one lower, which can have different or the same color. The colors are varied - from purple and blue to yellow, red, brown and snow-white. Leaves are small, oblong, with stipules dark green. The root is taproot, vertical. The fruit is a capsule.
There are a great many varieties of pansies, since this plant has been successfully cultivated for a long time, and, consequently, breeders are creating more and more new hybrids. In addition, pansies are perfect for selection, because the petals of their flowers are unevenly and bizarrely colored.
Below are photos of pansy varieties with plant descriptions:
Variety "Spring Flash" differs in early and long flowering. The flowers are velvety. The inner petals are deep yellow, the outer petals are burgundy-brown. Some flowers are entirely deep burgundy or yellow. The elegant and noble combination of shades makes these flowers ideal for planting in vertical flower beds.
The variety is popular "Blue Boy" with blue-blue petals.
Pay attention to the photo of the pansy variety "Little Red Riding Hood"- they have bright red flowers up to 4 cm in diameter. The “Heavenly Queen” variety has bright blue flowers, which subsequently fade in the sun and become soft lilac. At the same time, the edges of the petals are pink.
Varieties "Snow Maiden" And "Firnen Schnee" have snow-white monochromatic flowers. Pansies of the Rococo variety bloom very intensely and abundantly, and are distinguished by a terry edging of the petals. Less commonly, gigantic varieties of violets are grown as spring-flowering plants: blue, white and golden yellow violets. Their flowers reach 7 cm in diameter.
Where do pansies grow and where is the best place to plant them?
When choosing where to plant pansies, remember that these flowers do not tolerate stagnant moisture, so they grow better on slopes and hills. At the same time, they develop well in partial shade and even in shaded areas, so they decorate, for example, areas near walls country house or by the hedge.
If you don’t know where pansies grow best, feel free to give them a place on the alpine hill along with daisies and nasturtiums, then the flower bed will continue to bloom from early spring and throughout the summer. These flowers can be planted in separate groups or used to form flower arrangements in flowerbeds of various shapes.
On the lawn, pansies do not look very advantageous, as well as in chaotic irregular plantings.
After spring bloom the plant may bloom again in the second half of summer. In shaded areas, pansies can bloom throughout the summer if you promptly remove the seed pods that form in place of wilted flowers. The seeds can be used for planting next year.
How to grow pansies: soil, fertilizing and propagation
Pansies are demanding when it comes to growing soil. They prefer fertile loams, loose and moist. Violets need fertilizer every month. Fresh manure is contraindicated for feeding pansies; it is better to prefer humus or complex mineral fertilizers. Shortly before the start of flowering, violets can be fed with nitrophoska.
These violets can be grown either on garden plot, and at home. This is a herbaceous plant whose life cycle lasts from one to two years; perennials are less common. Pansies bloom in early spring if they were planted last summer. They are also used as annual crop, then you need to sow them for seedlings in February, and plant them in open ground in early May. When propagating pansies, seedlings are grown at home or. To do this, use boxes or pots that are pre-filled loose soil. Having distributed the seeds evenly on the surface of the soil, they are sprinkled with earth, after which the container is placed in a dark place. When the shoots appear, the pots or boxes are exposed to light. Pansies are planted in the ground either at the end of May or at the beginning of June. The most important thing is that the earth has warmed up sufficiently by this time. Plants bloom at the end of summer.
Planting pansies in open ground
To achieve spring flowering, tricolor violet seeds are sown in June - early July on specially prepared beds, well drained and fertilized, the acidity of which is neutral. These are the so-called breeding ridges, on which all conditions are created for intensive germination and development of “young growth”. Pansy flowers are usually planted on an earthen or peat embankment; if necessary, a shelter is built over them. Pansy seeds are not sown too deep. After 10-15 days, the first shoots appear. At the same time, you need to ensure that the soil in the beds is loose and well moistened. When 1-2 true leaves develop on the sprouts, they are picked. On permanent place seedlings are transferred in August - early September. When planting, leave a distance of 10-15 cm between plants.
When planting pansies in open ground, it is necessary to observe the timing, especially if it is planned to bloom in early spring. If you plant it earlier, for example, in May, flowering will begin in the fall, the flowers will weaken and overwinter poorly, which will affect their condition next spring. In the first year, when planted in summer, violets should not bloom.
Caring for pansy flowers in spring
Pansies are unique spring flowers; for all their tenderness, they are extremely winter-hardy and can easily tolerate April frosts. They bloom already when many other flowers are just beginning to sprout.
However, violets are quite demanding to care for. They need regular moderate watering. After watering or rain, the soil needs to be loosened and weeded. It is recommended to fertilize frequently, but in moderation.
Caring for pansies in the spring requires a mandatory inspection of the plants for signs of disease. Most often, tricolor violet is affected by black leg, black, root and stem rot, powdery mildew and viruses. Sick flowers must be destroyed.
To prevent diseases, it is necessary to carefully select seeds, properly care for seedlings, preventing them from becoming waterlogged, and also pick seedlings in a timely manner. When affected by aphids and caterpillars, violets should be treated with fungicides.
Pansy or tricolor violet (viola) is a common variety of flowers, loved by many gardeners because of its ease of care and variety of flowering. Color palette plants vary from snow-white to black-purple. Thanks to the unusual pattern of inflorescences and seed pods, reminiscent of a human face, pansies are associated with many legends and superstitions. It is believed that the plant helps to find love and bewitch a loved one. And in France and Poland, this particular flower is given after a long separation. Pansies will decorate any personal plot, flowerbed or lawn with its charming appearance.
Description of the plant
Pansies (Wittrock's viola) belong to the group. However, due to their wide distribution in mid-latitudes, they are often grown for no more than two years. The height of the bush depends on the variety and climatic conditions, usually 15-30 centimeters. Externally, the flowers are very similar to violets, from which they were bred. The plant has a fibrous root system and an erect main stem.
Pansies
In the first month after planting, the bush is compact, and by the end of the first year of life it can grow significantly in width. The flowers are single, but on one bush their number can be more than 10, the diameter of one inflorescence is up to 7 centimeters, depending on the variety. The color range of pansies is varied, which is often used by gardeners to decorate a flower bed or terrace. There are single-color varieties and three-color hybrids.
Many gardeners love this plant for its early flowering, which falls in April-May, when other plants are still in a state of growth.
Types and varieties
With the help of selection, numerous varieties of pansies have been developed, which are distinguished by their growth characteristics and resistance to adverse climatic conditions, diseases, and also have different shades of petals. There are more than 400 varieties of this plant, divided into groups depending on the size of the flower.
Small-flowered
The diameter of one flower in these species does not exceed 6 centimeters.
- Hemalis winter. This is the combined name for numerous varieties pansies, characterized by early and very long flowering. They are frost-resistant and compact, which makes it possible to grow them even on the balcony. Most famous varieties Hemalis: Nordpol (white flowers), Helios (bright yellow), Mars (rich blue), Jupiter (white-red petals);
- Station wagon F1. This group includes 10 varieties, distinguished by small bushes and abundant flowering;
- Rococo. This variety is characterized by ruffled petals of a purple hue;
- Flamenco F1. A variety that does not tolerate frost well, but has a unique color - spreading yellow spot in the center of the red-orange petal.
Medium flowered
These varieties have flower diameters from 6 to 7.5 centimeters.
- Trimardo. One of the oldest types of pansies. They have a spreading bush and abundant flowering. The flower shape is classic, the color depends on the variety. For example, Adonis (light blue petals), Cardinal (dark red), Morenkönig (black);
- Swiss giant. The advantage of this species is the early onset of flowering and unique resistance to frost. The most famous varieties of this species are Firneshnee (white petals), Flamme (orange-red), Bergwacht (purple-blue).
- Joker F2. Petals of this hybrid species painted two or three very bright colors. 7 varieties have been developed, the most famous of them is Jolly Joker;
- Veseler Ice F1. This species is represented by 8 varieties of different colors;
- Quedlinburger Risen. A fairly common type of pansy in Europe. It has abundant early flowering, but poor resistance to low temperatures.
Large-flowered
The diameter of these types of pansies reaches 8.5 centimeters.
- Crown F1. In this species large flowers with small bushes. Great for decorating flower beds. 9 varieties are presented;
- Power F1. The petals of plants of this species have bright colors and long flowering. The most common are 13 varieties;
- Shalon Supreme. The species is represented by only 5 varieties, the peculiarity of which is corrugated petals of various shades of purple;
- Dynamite. One of the most interesting series viol. 13 varieties have single-color petals with a large spot of contrasting color; 10 varieties are completely monochromatic. Most unusual variety This species is Strawberry; the flower petals of this hybrid change color depending on the air temperature.
Giant violas
Varieties of this type have flowers with a diameter of 8.5 centimeters.
- Super Majestic Giants F1. This type of pansy is represented by 8 varieties with a long flowering period. The diameter of the flowers reaches 11 centimeters at a relatively small size bush. The color of the petals is represented by a wide range of colors from beige to purple;
- Magnum F1. Most new look series, with early flowering. 12 varieties have been developed.
These are not all types and varieties of violas. Using breeding methods, new hybrids are regularly developed that have unusual colors and flowering characteristics.
Features of growing from seeds
Some gardeners plant pre-grown seedlings in prepared soil. This method reduces the risk of plant death while still in seed state and is excellent for regions with unfavorable climatic conditions.
Care during the flowering period
During flowering, plants need special care; they need constant watering, loosening the soil, and also getting rid of weeds. This improves flower quality and prolongs flowering time.
- immediately after planting, regular loosening of the soil and daily moderate watering are necessary;
- For active growth plants and successful formation of ovaries, it is important to feed pansies. Complex mineral additives can be used as fertilizer, but the use of organic fertilizers. More details about the types and features of application mineral fertilizers read ;
Mineral fertilizers
- During the flowering period, faded buds must be removed in time to allow new ones to grow. Plus, this technique allows you to avoid fruiting, which will lead to the cessation of flowering;
- When growing spring varieties of viola, after flowering they need to be dug up, after which summer varieties can be planted.
Growing as an annual crop
Pansies are often used as annual flowers. To do this, the seeds need to be planted in containers that are covered with transparent plastic film. Starting in April, you can transplant the seedlings into a greenhouse or greenhouse; after a month, the plants are completely ready for planting in an open sunny place. IN warm regions Planting is permissible from the beginning of spring; this will allow flowering to occur by mid-June. As a rule, violas begin to bloom 2 months after planting.
Annual flowers are distinguished by a smaller diameter of petals and small dimensions of the bushes. That's why this type cultivation is not suitable for the formation of a large flowering lawn.
Cuttings
Many pansy hybrids can be grown using cuttings. This method allows you to preserve and improve all the species characteristics of an individual.
Cuttings
- Shoots with several ovaries are harvested from early May to late July. Next, they are planted in the prepared soil;
- It is advisable to plant cuttings in well-compacted beds with high density. It is important to monitor the planting depth; it should not exceed a few centimeters. On 1 square meter you can plant up to 400 plants;
- After the cuttings are in the ground, the soil must be moistened with a spray bottle or a small watering can and complex fertilizer must be applied;
- For better adaptation of colors, you can cover the area with damp paper or glass jar. This will protect the plants from unfavorable external conditions. IN further care the same as for seed planting.
Using cuttings you can rejuvenate perennials, which lose their qualities and grow greatly over the entire area. From one pansy bush you can get more than 10 new plants.
Diseases and pests
Although pansies are known for their resistance to disease and pests, there are a number of problems that gardeners may encounter.
The most common diseases are the following:
- rot– affect the stem and roots of the plant, causing blackening of the surface and wilting. If the infection is minor, you can remove the infected areas of the plant, but if the infection is significant, the use of fungicides is necessary;
Regular only preventative treatment and compliance with growing conditions will help avoid the occurrence of pests and diseases. Often the appearance of a disease on one plant can lead to the death of the entire planting.
Pests are no less dangerous for violas. They typically appear in humid climates and on old plants with frequent planting.
- Aphid. This is very small insects living in large colonies. They infect the entire surface of the plant, most often the stem, and feed on its juices. As a result, the flower dies or weakens significantly. You can get rid of aphids using insecticides;
- Root root-knot nematodes . This is a type of worm that appears in the roots of pansies. Settling inside the root system, they eat it away from the inside. As a result, galls or swellings form on the roots, causing the plant to quickly die. The problem can only be dealt with with the help of insecticides. As a rule, it is necessary to treat plants twice, since the chemicals do not affect nematode eggs;
- . Pests eat the above-ground parts of the plant. They affect not only pansies, but also other flowers in the area. To get rid of slugs, you can mulch the soil or make special baits.
Video
For a clear example of growing pansies from seeds, see Ivideo
Conclusion
Pansies or violas are charming flowers that will decorate any garden plot. They have numerous colors and petal sizes, which allows you to create entire flower pictures in your garden. Plus, these are perennial plants that, with proper care, will delight you for many years. More details about varieties and cultivation garden viola read .
Being one of the leaders of early flowering, pansies or violas have gained great popularity among gardeners due to their charm and ease of care. Features of planting in a greenhouse, growing seeds for seedlings and daily care behind these delicate flowers, this article with photos is devoted to.
More about pansies
The official name of pansies is a characteristic feature of the flower from which they got their name - a small contrasting spot in the center of the bud. In modern gardening, viola is cultivated as:
- annual
- biennial
- perennial crop
Viola flowers can be painted in one or more shades. Among the popular and spectacular varieties, the most notable are:
- “Blue Boy” is a small-flowered blue-blue variety, size flower buds 3-4 cm.
- "Little Red Riding Hood" with bright red buds.
- “Snegurochka” is a small-flowered variety with snow-white buds.
- “Winter Sun” is a medium-flowered variety, the upper petals of the buds are colored yellow, the lower petals are a deep velvety brown.
- "White" - large-flowered variety with slightly wavy white petals. The size of the buds is up to 7 cm.
In addition, the following varieties are very popular: “Weiss”, “Fire King”, “Ice King”, “Evening Heat”, “March Magic”, “Ice King”, “Jupiter”, “Heavenly Queen”.
The average duration of viola flowering is several months. Average height flowering bushes is 15-30 cm, the diameter of flower buds is up to 4 cm in simple and 7 cm in selected species. Regular removal of faded buds prolongs the flowering period and gives the viola a neat appearance.
Attention! Pansies tolerate transplantation well, easily taking root even during the flowering period. After spring violas have faded, they can be dug up and replaced with summer ones, thereby maintaining constant flowering flower beds
Pansies are cross-pollinated plants, therefore, to preserve varietal characteristics, violas different varieties should be planted at some distance.
How to propagate pansies
Viola is bred in 2 ways:
1. Seed method. Biennial viola varieties are famous for their lush flowering, they are planted in the summer - in June or July, sowing directly into open ground, having previously treated the seeds with a growth accelerator. The seeding depth is ½ cm; the crops are carefully moistened and covered with mulch material that protects the soil from moisture loss. It is recommended to shade the emerging seedlings for 2 weeks using a dark film. In August, grown seedlings of two-year-old viola are planted in flower beds.
In the middle zone and northern regions they practice spring planting violas in greenhouses. To receive flowering seedlings, they are sown in February, using for this purpose a peat substrate with a pH of 5.5 - 5.8, sprinkled with vermiculite on top. Before planting, seeds should be treated with Zircon, EM-1, Epin or another stimulant.
To speed up seed germination, crops are additionally covered with film or glass and placed away from heating devices. After the seedlings emerge, the temperature in the greenhouse is reduced to +12-15° C for several days to prevent the seedlings from stretching out. After 15-20 days, the grown seedlings are planted in separate cups; later, in May, they are planted in flower beds.
When growing seedlings from the very beginning in separate peat cups or tablets, seeds are sown 3-4 pieces in each container, as the seedlings develop, leaving only the strongest shoot.
Attention! At spring technology growing, it is important to provide the seedlings with the correct light regime by carrying out additional illumination using phytolamps or lamps daylight. Required duration daylight hours is 14-16 hours.
To obtain flowering bushes in early autumn, viola seeds for seedlings should be sown in April and May.
2. Cutting method. With this method of viola propagation, in May-June shoots with 2-3 nodes are cut from pansies. The prepared cuttings are planted tightly in a shaded area in nutrient soil, maintaining its constant humidity for up to 4 weeks, as well as periodically spraying them. Planting density – up to 400 pcs. per 1 m². Within a month, the cuttings develop a full-fledged root system, the survival rate, when creating appropriate conditions, is almost 100%.
Rooted plants are able to bloom in the same year. When cuttings are carried out in July and later, the rooted cuttings will bloom the next year.
Attention! The cutting method has proven itself to be effective in breeding hybrids, making it possible to rejuvenate mother plants. In adult bushes, you can get from 3 to 10 cuttings at one time.
Features and key points of flower care
Viola – hardy and unpretentious plant, blooming profusely, if planted in well-lit areas, can easily reproduce by self-sowing. Pansies grow best in fertile, but not greasy, soils. When growing viola in shaded areas, its flowers become smaller. Features of caring for viola consist in following the main steps:
- V moderate watering, without waterlogging the soil;
- two-time feeding complex fertilizers– during the formation of flower buds and at the nasal stage of flowering;
- in loosening the soil and weeding.
Advice! It is not recommended to use for feeding pansies. fresh manure. Its application as a fertilizer can provoke damage to flowers by blackleg. Pansies prefer feeding with ammonium nitrate and superphosphate.
To get good flowering, it is better to tear off the buds that form in the first year
In the first year life cycle viola, it is necessary to prevent its flowering by tearing off the emerging buds. This will allow you to get plants with a strong root system.
Biennial varieties that remain to winter in open ground should be covered with spruce branches or straw to prevent it from freezing.
The main threat to plants comes from insect larvae, which can destroy several bushes in a month or two. of this flower. In addition, viola is susceptible to aphids; the use of special preparations will help to cope with pests. Among the fungal diseases found in pansies are:
- root rot;
- stem rot;
- blackleg;
- powdery mildew;
- spotting.
Compliance with agricultural technology conditions is fundamental preventive measure to avoid the spread of fungal diseases.
Attractive appearance and early flowering make pansies a favorite flower when creating alpine slides, flower beds, landscaping balconies. Compliance optimal conditions cultivation is the key to their long flowering.
Growing pansies from seeds - video
Growing pansies - photo
