Pansies, planting and caring for them, growing seedlings are the main stages of work that are not always easy for beginning gardeners. In terms of variety and color saturation, this plant has no equal. Despite the fragile appearance, the touching name, pansies (viola) can not be classified as sissies and shy. The basic rules for sowing seeds, choosing a planting location, viola varieties, nuances of cultivation will help to avoid many problems. They are suitable for cultivation throughout Russia. They are planted in the garden and front gardens, they adorn parks and city streets. All this makes pansies a real hit of spring flower beds.
Their appearance is distinguished by exquisite panache, especially in early spring, when they decorate the garden with juicy brush strokes. Another name for these flowers is viola.
A wealth of colors, winter hardiness, compactness - this is what makes this culture so attractive. It is not for nothing that for several centuries gardeners have been cultivating this domesticated subspecies of tricolor violet.
Pansies get along well with tulips and daffodils, look great on their own in containers, hanging flowerpots, baskets. Winter-hardy hybrid varieties that tolerate hot, cold weather are bred. So the viola can be planted in spring, summer, autumn. But what is especially nice, this culture is extremely unpretentious.
Thanks to the tireless work of breeders, flowers are becoming more diverse every year. Do not believe? Take a look at your nearest seed store or order from the catalog online. Along with the classic violet, white, yellow, you will find there new varieties of viols of different colors - pink, orange, pastel shades. Most of them are still decorated with characteristic spots that give the “anniversaries” a unique charm, but there are one-color ones, so to speak, with “clean faces”.
In addition, varieties with flowers looking up on a short stem were bred. Such viols are much more noticeable on the flowerbed than those looking down. It is also important that they tolerate bad weather better.
What sort of pansies to choose
Breeders and seed sellers divide them into two categories:
- varieties with large flowers - large-flowered;
- varieties with small flowers are multi-flowered.
The largest flowers reach a diameter of 10 cm, the smallest - about 6 cm, and the rest - somewhere in between.
When choosing a variety of pansies, you should not think that the larger the flower, the better. As experience shows, the most hardy, strong plants have just small flowers. In addition, small multiflowered varieties are better suited to rainy weather and temperature extremes. Although they have small flowers, they are many. So the overall effect is brighter than from the same number of bushes with large flowers.
Experience shows that where the climate is colder, small-flowered varieties win. But small-flowered viols have also become leaders in the south. In fairness, it must be admitted that in the south the large-flowered plants have one interesting feature: the hotter the weather, the smaller the number of pans. Thus, planting small-flowered varieties in the spring, by the end of the season you will get very small flowers. That is why large-flowered viols traditionally prevail in urban flower beds, for example, they look great in hanging baskets or containers.
When to plant pansies
So, the hardest part is behind: the variety is selected. You can go along the line of least resistance, but at the same time save a lot of time - buy seedlings, bring them home, plant in a country house or plot.
However, if you prefer to germinate the seeds yourself, then you must know: so that in your garden pansies showed off this spring already, you will have to take on the job even in winter. Two and a half, or even three months, will be needed to make seedlings from the germinated seed, which can be transplanted into the ground.
Since viols tolerate cold well, they are transplanted two to three weeks before the last spring frost. Remember the vulgar season, when then the last frost occurred, count from this date three months ago - and get down to business.
The most common mistake made by amateur gardeners is that they begin to sprout seeds too late. Remember that these flowers love coolness, because they were never tropical plants.
The ideal temperature for seed germination is relatively low: 18 ° C. You should not germinate them where you dried or stored bulbs of gladioli. Gladioli are often infected with thrips, and these pests love to feast on seedlings of butterflies!
Sowing is carried out in January in a greenhouse or in April (in the Kuban) in open ground, the seeds are lightly sprinkled with earth. Sprout for 7-14 days. Shoots shade from direct sunlight. The best temperature for plant growth is + 16-18 ° C during the day and + 10-15 ° C at night. It is necessary to monitor the constant moisture of the soil. Winter seedlings are planted in a permanent place in the spring, and summer in the fall.
How to plant pansies on seedlings
Sow the seeds in moist soil for seedlings, sprinkle them with a thin layer of vermiculite or sand. In the light, the seeds of "pansies" do not germinate.
Until seedlings appear (usually this happens after about a week), moisten the soil, but not too much. If possible, pour over the pan. To retain moisture, you can cover the box with film, just remember to provide ventilation, otherwise the cold-loving plants under such a shelter will simply weld.
As soon as the seeds germinate, put the box where it is light, cool - so that the seedlings do not grow too long, skinny. For this purpose, a cold greenhouse or protected bed is perfect: there is a lot of light and a suitable temperature of 13-16 ° C.
If you sprout seeds at home under a fluorescent light, select a cooler place. Put the box next to the light source, but not closer than 5 cm. After a month, transplant the seedlings into pots. As soon as the air temperature reaches + 5 ° C, take out the pots outside in the afternoon.
When the plants are 10-11 weeks old, proceed with hardening, which will help them adapt more easily after planting in the ground. A protected bed is also suitable for this purpose. If severe frosts are expected, cover the seedlings with a thin layer of straw or covering material.
Pansies - Plant Care
Thanks to winter hardiness and endurance, it is not difficult to grow modern varieties of viola. An open area and soil with good drainage - that is probably all they need. If you live in the south, plant them in a lace shade - this will help plants more easily survive the heat. Regardless of the climate, the soil should have good drainage. If the earth is dense and moist, pansies will get root rot. To avoid this scourge, first put them on a high bed.
What to feed? Of course, compost. They do not need any other fertilizer. If you do not have compost, use any other organic fertilizer with a relatively high content of phosphorus and potassium and a small amount of nitrogen.
If you want to maximize the flowering period, regularly remove wilted. Since their roots are quite shallow, with the onset of heat, mulch them with straw or grass trimmings - this will also extend the flowering period. If in August they still bloom with you, do not forget to cut the seed boxes, and flowering will continue throughout the fall.
Growing Pansies - Tips
- Want to extend the spring? Then leave the viols to winter. We assure you, this is not a joke! Plant seedlings near the end of summer - they will bloom all fall, during winter thaws, even next spring!
- This culture boasts an extremely healthy inheritance: its ancestors are three-colored field violet and forest yellow. In fact, modern garden pansies belong to perennials and, if they are covered for the winter, they live for several years, although most often we treat them as annuals and, when the heat sets in, ruthlessly pull them out of the ground with the root.
- If you plant them from August 15 to September 10, then Wittrock's violets will take root perfectly, decorate your garden not only in the fall, but also next spring. Having wintered, they will bloom in early spring, will bloom all March, April, and especially magnificent in May.
- Small-flowered varieties are particularly resistant to wintering. Violas of classic colors (golden, purple, white and yellow with spots) winter better than newfangled orange, red, pink and pastel.
- If you decide to plant the viols in the autumn, leave them to winter in the garden, find a place protected from the wind, provide them with well-drained soil, for example, a high bed along the wall or some other shelter. Wind, land with poor drainage will destroy wintering plants. Plant them in the ground at least a month before the onset of frost, so that the roots can adapt by the beginning of winter.
- We recommend planting pansies mixed with tulip or daffodil bulbs - in the spring your garden will have an exquisite carpet.
- The best shelter for anyutki is the snow cover. If the winter is cold, but not snowy, cover the plants with mulch, for example, coniferous spruce branches. Use fallen leaves for this purpose is not worth it - they absorb too much moisture, crush, damage the plants.
- If you live in the northern regions, want to plant these flowers in the fall, even leave them for the winter, find out in advance whether the nursery has the viola seedlings you need. If not, germinate the seeds of suitable varieties yourself. They need to be germinated in the middle of summer. Prepare a cool place (cellar), get to work.
- You can wait for autumn, sow seeds in a cold greenhouse or sheltered bed, and in early spring transplant seedlings in open ground. In autumn, you will not wait for flowering, but from early spring viols will decorate your garden.
- As a rule, there are no problems with pests in "anniversaries". True, sometimes, when there is dry land, heat, red mites appear. It is necessary to treat the plants with any insecticidal soap solution.
Video about the care, planting and reproduction of pansies: