Pansies– beautifully flowering, cultivated plants. They are also called tricolor violets or violas. These beautiful plants have been known to everyone since childhood. They occupy one of the main places in the world of floriculture lovers.

They have a variety of varieties (up to 400) and color shades. They bloom profusely from spring until frost. Many gardeners always set aside an area in the garden for these beautiful flowers.

Why was Pansy called that?

The true origin of the flower's name is unknown. There are only legends and myths. One of these legends tells that there once lived a girl named Anyuta. One day she met young man and fell in love with him very much. After some time, the young man decided to leave, but swore an oath that he would return to his chosen one.

Anyuta many times went out onto the road along which her lover had left. She peered into the distance, hoping to see him. She waited for a long time, but the young man never returned. Gradually fading away from loneliness and melancholy, Anyuta died.

After the burial, flowers grew on her grave, resembling little eyes that tirelessly looked somewhere into the distance. This is how the popular name pansy appeared.

Pansies varieties photos and names

– the variety has pure white flowers with wavy edges. The size of the opened bud varies from six to eight centimeters. The total height of the bush reaches thirty-five centimeters.

– this variety has white flowers with yellow splashes. The size of the opened buds reaches seven centimeters. The length of the peduncle varies from eight to twelve centimeters.

– the flowers of this variety are colored blue and purple. The petals have smooth edges and a smooth surface. The size of the flowers varies from six to seven centimeters in diameter. The length of the shoot is about eleven centimeters.

– the flowers of this variety have cherry and red tints with brown inclusions. The petals are smooth with ribbed edges. The size of the flowers is eight centimeters in diameter.

– from the name of the variety it is clear that the flowers have a golden hue. The size of the opened buds reaches seven centimeters in diameter. The length of the shoot does not exceed ten centimeters.

Varieties with large flowers

– the flowers of this variety are brown and red. The lower petals have brown spots. The size of the flowers varies from five to six centimeters.

– the flowers have a bluish tint. The size of the opened buds is no more than five centimeters in diameter. The total height of the bush reaches thirty centimeters.

– the flowers of this variety have a purple and violet hue at the base, and become white closer to the edges. The lower petals are completely white. The size of the opened buds reaches five centimeters. The length of the shoot is small, about seven centimeters.

– flowers are bright yellowish with purple patches. All petals have ribbed edges. The length of the stems reaches nine centimeters, and the diameter of the flowers is five centimeters.

– this variety has flowers that appear dark purple in color, but turn black after two days. The petals have a velvet surface and smooth edges. The flowers grow up to five centimeters in diameter. The length of the shoots is ten centimeters.

– the flowers of this variety appear blue, but after two days the petals begin to lighten, acquiring a light bluish tint. The size of the flowers reaches five centimeters in diameter. The length of the shoots is about nine centimeters.

- the flowers of this plant have White color with long, purple streaks. There are varieties with petals that have white, yellow, purple and green shades. The height of the bush reaches twenty centimeters, and the diameter of the flowers is five centimeters.

Varieties with small flowers

- flowers with a dark red hue with a black base. The lower petals are colored yellow. The flowers have a diameter of four centimeters. The total height of the bush is twenty centimeters.

– the variety was named after a girl from folk tale, who had a red cap. Likewise, the flowers of the plant have a light or dark shade of red at the edges, and black in the center of the petals. The size of the flowers is small, only three centimeters.

- flowers with velvety petals of pure white tone. The size of the flowers can reach four centimeters in diameter.

– this variety has delicate petals with a blue and light blue tint. The flowers grow up to four centimeters in diameter.

Growing pansies from seeds

To please yourself with flowers in the first year, you need to know how to plant this plant correctly. It all starts with sowing seeds at the end of February. To do this, use any plastic boxes filled with slightly acidic soil.

Seeds should be planted to a depth of 5 mm. Then place the boxes in a dark and warm place. In five days the seedlings will germinate. Having noticed the first shoots, move the seedlings to a bright place where the temperature does not exceed +17° C. Monitor moderate soil moisture, feed the seedlings with soluble fertilizer containing potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus.

When the seedlings grow well and two leaves appear on each stem, begin planting them in cassettes. After completing the replanting, place the boxes in a cool place, where no more than +13 ° C. During this period, continue to monitor the soil moisture and fertilize.

Violet is a very beautiful flower that can be grown and cared for at home, the main thing is to follow the rules of care and you will not have problems with it. You can find all the necessary recommendations in this article.

Soil for viola

For tricolor violet, you need to choose a nutritious soil. In poor soils, such as sandy or clayey, flowers grow poorly, becoming inconspicuous dwarfs.

To improve infertile soil, you need to mix it with fertilizer. Add 5 kg of vegetable compost or last year's manure per square meter.

Pansy planting

Tricolor violet is not demanding when grown in open ground. The only thing she needs is a large space and warmth. For planting, choose an open, sunny area. When you start planting seedlings, maintain a distance between seedlings (15-20 cm). Plants will take root in 3-4 days.

Important! Plant the seedlings in open ground two months after planting. The number of leaves of a seedling must be at least 4 pieces.

Watering the viola

You need to water the flowers three times a week, and if the weather is hot, then every day. Try not to flood the seedlings, but maintain moderate soil moisture. Pour water right to the root.

Important! Do not allow water to stagnate in the soil, as this can cause flowers to rot. After watering, loosen the soil.

Fertilizer for tricolor violet

The first feeding of flowers should be done two weeks after transplantation into open ground. Any mineral complexes (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium) are suitable as fertilizers. The next feeding should be done during the appearance of buds and before flowering.

Important! This plant should not be fertilized with fresh manure.

Pansy pruning

Violets reproduce quickly by releasing seeds into the soil. If you do not want the flowers to grow too much in one place, then you need to remove the seed pods in time. Flowers should be cut at a distance of five centimeters from the ground.

In three weeks you will have new inflorescences. Pruning is also done if the bushes begin to turn yellow and dry out, and the flowers begin to fade and shrink. In two weeks the bush will produce new shoots.

Important! Leave two leaves on each stem after pruning.

Pansy flowering period

Violets bloom abundantly from May until frost, that is, 4-5 months a year. Such a long flowering occurs due to the constant change of flowers, which occurs imperceptibly.

Old flowers fall off after 3-4 days, and new ones appear in their places. If you want flowers to begin to appear in early spring, then sow the seeds in open ground in the second half of summer.

Tricolor violet in winter

Tricolor violets easily survive the cold season. But they need help preparing for winter.

After the onset of persistent frosts, prune the bushes. Then cover the plants with dry leaves. Remove the leaves in early spring to prevent the flowers from dying.

Growing pansies from seeds when to plant

This is the main method of propagation of violets. Seeds can be purchased at a flower shop or collected yourself from bushes that have bloomed. They are planted in seedling boxes or directly in open ground.

The timing of sowing seeds for seedlings may vary. To get early flowering specimens, you can sow in January and February. But for this you will have to provide the seedlings with additional lighting. The first flower buds will appear in late spring and early summer.

Sowing seeds in open ground is carried out in early summer and autumn. In the first case, the plants will show abundant flowering in August and September. And in the second case, sowing will ensure flowering in early spring next year.

Pansy propagation by cuttings

For example, large-flowered varieties degenerate over time and begin to produce small flowers. The cutting method can save and propagate such a rare specimen.

To do this, cut a small shoot with two leaves from the plant and plant it in a cup with soil. Such a cutting will sprout roots on its own without additional stimulants.

Important! Use soil from the area where you plan to plant flowers. This will help the plant immediately adapt to the characteristics of your soil.

Reproduction of tricolor violet by dividing the bush

This method is used for propagating perennial varieties. Violets should not grow in one place for more than four years. They degenerate and disappear.

To prevent this, large shrubs are divided into small parts. The plant should be divided in early spring before flowering begins.

Diseases and pests

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that appears on leaves and stems in the form of a white coating. If the plant has small spots, you need to treat the surface of the leaves with fungicides such as Clearflower or Topaz. If the fungus spreads more strongly, the plant must be pulled out of the garden bed so as not to infect other flowers.

Gray rot is a disease of fungal origin. It appears as a grayish mold that covers the affected areas of leaves and stems. To stop the spread of infection, you need to remove the leaves. Sprinkle the remaining affected areas with wood ash or chalk. If the fungus has spread extensively throughout the flower, you need to spray it with a fungicidal preparation (fundozol, pure flower, paradise, speed).

Bacterial spot – the cause of this disease is phytopathogenic bacteria. It appears as brown or black spots that affect the leaves. To stop the spread of the disease, you need to pull out the affected plant and spray neighboring shrubs with a fungicide of moderate toxicity, for example, copper oxychloride.

Pansies medicinal properties

Tricolor violet – unique treatment plant, which contains many useful substances: vitamin C, carotenoids, rutin, salicylic acid, trace elements, etc. Thanks to its chemicals the plant helps cope with cough, bronchitis, stomach and intestinal diseases, bladder infections, neuroses and insomnia.

There are also contraindications to the use of viola. Do not use the plant if you have liver inflammation (hepatitis) or kidney disease (glomerulonephritis). Frequent use of tricolor violet decoction can cause stomach irritation.

Flu decoction : Pour one glass of hot water into the container. Add one tablespoon of dried, ground herb. Place the container on the fire and boil for 15 minutes. Wait for the broth to cool and strain. Take one teaspoon three times a day after meals.

Cough syrup : Add five tablespoons of dried, crushed herbs to a container. Pour five glasses of boiling water. Leave the solution for twelve hours and then strain. Add five tablespoons of sugar and put on fire. Boil the mixture until the syrup becomes thick. Five minutes before the end of cooking, add lemon juice. Use the syrup with hot tea - one tablespoon of syrup per glass of tea.

Pansies or viola - a symbol of separation in France and Poland - are familiar to every person. Low bushes with 2-3 flowers of various colors often decorate city flower beds and garden plots, and simply bloom on their own in parks and alleys. Growing pansies from seeds or seedlings is simple, taking into account some subtleties.

Pansies: cultivation and care

The main problem facing those who want to plant pansies on their property is how exactly to grow this lovely flower. Although it is part of the perennial group, you can work with it as an annual or biennial. The choice of a specific strategy depends on the region in which the planting is taking place. In particular, in the middle zone, viola will not survive the harsh winter, and therefore it grows as an annual. But in the southern regions, pansies are grown as a biennial.

However, this flower cannot be called fragile and not resistant to cold. Those bushes that were planted late in open ground and, therefore, did not have time to get stronger in time will not tolerate frost. In addition, if the winter turns out to be practically snowless, and in the spring the daytime warmth is actively replaced by night frosts, the pansies will die. It is precisely these temperature jumps that are characteristic of a sharply continental climate and the middle zone in general. All these nuances force gardeners to breed viola using the method used for annuals.

For example, pansies must be protected from the cold by covering material, thrown onto the flowerbed not only at the end of autumn, but also at the very beginning of spring. This will protect the plant from March temperature changes and promotes early flowering. In winter, it is additionally necessary to trap snow on top of the covering material to increase warmth. And under no circumstances should violas be planted in lowlands, where low temperatures and moisture accumulation are typically observed.

It should be noted that pansies can be grown and propagated not only by seed, but also by cuttings. For this purpose, shoots with 2-3 nodes are cut off from flowers growing in open ground, often closer to July (if we are talking about specimens planted in May). Without any preliminary preparation, they are simply placed in the ground in a bed with the same soil composition as their “parents” and moistened with a spray bottle.

Their root system will develop within a month, and flowering can only be expected next year. Thus, this method is suitable only for areas with mild winters. But cuttings are considered the best option cultivation of pansies, allowing to prevent excessive growth of the bush.

Pansies: photos of flowers and the best varieties

Beginning gardeners believe that pansies have no color other than the classic purple-yellow and less expressive white-lilac color. However, this flower has many varieties, differing in bush size and, of course, color. Which ones should you choose for your flowerbed?

Among the small-flowered varieties, “Snegurochka” deserves attention. These are wonderful snow-white flowers with a diameter of 3-4 cm, contrasting with dark leaves. They are most often found on summer cottages, sow and grow independently, more than unpretentious. A rather unusual variety is “Little Red Riding Hood”. Its flowers are bright scarlet, as small as those of the previous specimen, but definitely do not go unnoticed.

The group of large-flowered varieties is more popular among gardeners. The height of the bushes themselves can reach 15-20 cm, and the diameter of the flowers is 5-7 cm. “Winter Sun” is distinguished by a yellow tint with lower velvety brown petals. “March Magic”, on the contrary, is a cooler-toned flower - the color is dark purple, turning into black as it blooms, the diameter is no more than 5.5 cm.

Another 1 group is gigantic. In fact, the bushes here are not that high (up to 30 cm), they just seem like giants in comparison with their lower counterparts. The diameter of the flowers can reach 10-12 cm, the height of the stem is up to 11 cm. Interesting among them are the varieties “Golden-yellow”, whose name directly indicates the color, and “Blue”: this specimen also has purple blotches on blue petals .

Growing pansy seedlings: methods

• It is necessary to understand both algorithms for growing pansies in order to subsequently choose the only one convenient for yourself. And you immediately need to note the timing of sowing seedlings for each method. If viola is grown as an annual, sowing is carried out already in early February. In this case, the beginning of summer will be marked by the opening of buds. If you want to see flowers only on next year, you can sow pansy seedlings towards the end of June.
• According to the algorithm for annual plants, viola is grown in cold regions of Russia. For this purpose, large boxes or pots are filled with a substrate consisting of turf soil and compost that has had time to rot. The ratio of these parts is equal. And after filling the containers, the soil must be carefully moistened and laid out in thin, shallow (1.5 cm) rows. Seeds will be poured into them, covered with a thin layer of substrate. Finally, it is carefully trampled down.
• While waiting for germination, it is recommended to cover the seedling container with glass. For the same purpose, thick film or even a plastic bag is used. However, condensation must be shaken off from them daily. And the boxes themselves are kept in relative heat, however, not as strong as for other seedlings: the upper limit of the temperature corridor is 15 degrees, the lower – 10 degrees.
• As soon as the sprouts hatch - this will happen in 12-14 days - it is necessary to place containers with seedlings in an area that receives a sufficient amount of sunlight. This could be a windowsill or even a balcony. But the air temperature should not exceed 10 degrees. Picking is done when the plants get stronger. And the planting of pansy seedlings in open ground is carried out no earlier than the 1st of May for annuals.
• How is picking done? To do it, you need to wait until 3-4 leaves appear on the plant, and then prepare separate pots. They need to be filled not with turf and compost, but with soil from the area where flowers will subsequently grow. Seedlings should be removed from the current box carefully, trying not to damage the roots.
• After this, the hardening stage begins, lasting a whole month. Pots with young plants are taken out onto a ventilated balcony, under the sun's rays, where they are kept first for only 30 minutes, then 1.5 hours, then 2.5 hours, etc. If further transplantation into open ground is planned, it is carried out only a month after the picking. If pansies grow on a balcony or terrace, they can be redistributed into a flowerbed at any time.

Pansies: growing from seeds in open ground

Pansies are sown in open ground only in the southern regions, and even there most often - under a film or in a greenhouse. Nevertheless, the initial stage of growth in flowers should take place in the mildest possible temperature. In terms of timing, this is also June, and the sowing process itself differs little from what was done for seedlings. Unless the bed is filled with turf and compost, but the most fertile area with well-drained soil is simply selected. In the loosened soil, grooves 1-1.5 cm deep are drawn, and seeds are densely planted in them. They are covered with earth and carefully moistened.

Picking in open ground is also done after 3-4 sheets are found, and is carried out according to a 20 by 20 pattern. They are spread across flower beds only after a month. Until this moment, you will have to carry out an active campaign to care for pansies. In particular, pay attention to the issue of feeding them. To do this, gardeners use mineral fertilizers, which must contain nitrogen and phosphorus. Ammonium nitrate and superphosphate work well. For 1 sq.m. These drugs are taken in 20-30 g doses.

Before the flowering period, the viola is diligently watered, especially if the summer is hot. Additionally, it is necessary to remove drying leaves and fading flowers.

In order for pansies to survive the winter well, it is not recommended to shift their sowing dates to earlier dates.

Otherwise, the rules for caring for and growing pansies are simple. These are standard procedures typical for other flowering plants. What’s especially nice is that viola easily coexists in the flowerbed with any bulbous plants. This means it will fit exactly into the design of your site.

Describe all existing varieties and hybrids of pansies(Wittrock violets, violas) is very difficult, so we will tell you about the most popular of them.
For convenience, we will use the generally accepted classification by flower size.

Plants whose varieties differ only in flower color are usually grouped into variety networks, so we give their descriptions.

Small-flowered violets (pansies)

The diameter of the flowers is up to 6 cm.

Medium-flowered Wittrock violets

Diameter 6-7.5cm

Photo	Description
	Trimardo. The variety series was created in France at the end of the 19th century. Gardeners love them for their fast growth, lush greenery, abundant flowering, and classic flower shape. The best varieties of pansy Trimardo: Adonis - soft blue, Cardinal - dark red, Morenkönig - black, Lord Beaconsfield and Super Beaconsfield - blue-violet lower petals, white upper ones.
	Schweitzer Risen(Swiss giant). Large flowers on low bushes, bred in 1927. The main advantages are early flowering, abundant flowering, excellent winter hardiness. The most famous varieties: The finest is pure white, Firnengold - golden yellow, brown spot, Orange Marie - orange-apricot, Flamme - brick red, Abendglut - dark red, Alpensee - blue, Bergwacht - blue-violet.
	Crystal Bowl F1(Crystal Bowl F1). Dwarf variety series, includes 12 varieties. Uniform color of flowers, numerous buds, dark green small leaves. They look best when planted in groups. An important advantage is that they tolerate heat better than other varieties, which is why they are chosen for planting in open areas.
	Maxim F1(Maxim Series F1). Hardy varieties that tolerate both heat and cold. Early and quite long flowering. The variety series includes 12 varieties, reflecting shades in the name (Maxim Orange, Maxim Rose, etc.), the distinctive feature is a dark eye.
	Giant Forrunner F1 (Giant Forerunner F1). One of the best in terms of winter hardiness. Includes 15 varieties.
	Joker F2(Joker F2). The name is given because of its eye-catching color: the flower petals are painted in two and sometimes three bright colors, and have an interesting corolla shape. Includes 7 varieties of pansies that winter well. The Jolly Joker variety has medals at exhibitions.
	Veseler Ice F1(Weseler Eis F1). 8 varieties, all characterized by abundant flowering. The coloring is different.
	Spring Time F1(Springtime F1). Early and long flowering, compactness, winter hardiness. There are 20 known varieties, one of the best is Spring Time Cassis, with a thin white stripe along the edges of purple petals.
	Padparadscha F1(Padparadja F1). Orange-orange flowers, bright and long-lasting flowering.
	Quedlinburger Risen(Quedlinburger Riesen). Sometimes the variety is called Quedlinburg giant violets; the variety has been known for a very long time. Advantage - early flowering, disadvantage - poor winter hardiness.

Large-flowered pansies.

The diameter of the flowers is 7.5-8.5 cm.

Photo	Description
	Crown F1(Crown F1). Magnificent, bright, correct form and colors (without spots) flowers on dwarf bushes. They look great in group plantings, and they also branch strongly. There are 9 varieties and variety mixtures on sale.
	Imperial(Imperial) A very long-flowering variety. Flower with a large spot. 12 varieties of various colors, of which the best are Imperial Frosty Rose and Imperial Antique Shades.
	Regal F1(Regal Series F1). Almost similar to the Crown variety series. The difference is the dark eyes on the petals. 7 varieties and variety mixtures.
	Cats F1(Cats Series F1). The variety series received the name “cats” because of the original pattern on the lower petals of the flowers - thin stripes of contrasting colors, like a cat’s whiskers. There are 4 varieties.
	Fama F1(Fama Series F1). A series of pansy varieties for growing on the balcony, in pots or containers. Includes 17 varieties, flowers both plain and variegated.
	Shalon Supreme(Chalon Supreme). Original strongly corrugated petals in white-yellow-lilac-violet tones. 5 varieties.
	Fancy F1(Fency Series F1). 24 varieties of various colors, some plain and some with spots.
	Power F1. Attracts with the brightness of the color combinations of the petals (for example, lemon with purple, red-brown with yellow). Compact bushes, flowering throughout the season. There are 13 known varieties.
	Dynamite. An interesting variety series with an unusual color. 13 varieties have bright spots on the lower petals, 10 varieties are plain. Particularly unusual Strawberry variety(Strawberry), part of this variety series - it changes shade depending on the weather, becoming brighter in the cold, and lighter in the heat.
	Ultima F1(Ultima Series F1). Resistant to cool weather - they were planted in Moscow on City Day (early September) and bloomed almost until it snowed. In turn, Ultima is divided into 3 groups. Ultima Baron- varieties with very bright colors: Red - red and yellow pansies, Merlot - burgundy with a white spot and light shading, Mahogany - purple with a bright yellow center, Ashes are purple with a lemon spot.
	Ultima Biken- calmer color, mostly white with shades of yellow, orange, purple.
	Ultima Raidens- absolutely amazing shade transitions in each flower. Pink - from light pink to dark pink, Red - from orange to dark red, Blue - from cream to dark lilac.

Giant pansies

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. The color palette of the plant varies from snow-white milky to black and 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 garden plot, flower bed or lawn with their charming appearance.

Description of the plant

Pansies (Wittrock's viola) belong to the group of perennial garden plants. 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 occurs 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 a combined name for numerous varieties of 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. The most famous varieties of Hemalis: Nordpol (white flowers), Helios (bright yellow), Mars (rich blue color), Jupiter (white-red petals);

Helios

• 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 - a blurry yellow spot in the center of a 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);

Adonis

• 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. The petals of this hybrid species are colored in 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. 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. This species has large flowers with small bushes. Great for decorating flower beds. 9 varieties are presented;

Crown F1

• 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 viol series. 13 varieties have single-color petals with a large spot of contrasting color; 10 varieties are completely monochromatic. The most unusual variety of 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 with a relatively small bush size. The color of the petals is represented by a wide range of colors from beige to purple;
• Magnum F1. Most the new kind 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

Pansies are not difficult to grow, so they are great even for novice gardeners. There are two methods by which you can grow flowers - planting seeds or cuttings. Planting seeds should take into account climate conditions, as well as the planned flowering time. Planting is often done in the summer of the previous farming season. In unfavorable climate conditions, planting can begin at the end of July. In regions with frequent frosts and cold summers, it is best to choose the most frost-resistant plant varieties.

Seeds

If you plant seeds only in early summer, there is a chance that pansies will bloom only at the end of autumn, which increases the risk of plants freezing. As a rule, bushes that do not bloom until autumn tolerate cold weather better and bloom profusely the following year.

It is best to plant seeds in sunny and light areas in moderate wet soil. Violas do not tolerate shade and stagnant water in the ground. In addition, it is advisable to plant plants in a place where there were already violas before; as a rule, this has a beneficial effect on appearance plants. Seeds, pre-soaked, are planted over a short period, depending on the desired density of the bushes. Sprouts appear two weeks after sowing. But to speed up the growth of plants, you can cover the area with flowers with plastic film to create a greenhouse effect. Caring for them is not difficult - you just need regular watering and loosening the soil. You can also feed the flowers with a weak urea solution to stimulate the growth of green mass.

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 plant growth 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 is prohibited. Read more about the types and features of applying mineral fertilizers here;

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 bushes. Therefore, this type of 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 save and improve everything species characteristics individuals.

Cuttings

1. Shoots with several ovaries are harvested from early May to late July. Next, they are planted in the prepared soil;
2. 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. Up to 400 plants can be planted per 1 square meter;
3. 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;
4. To better adapt the colors, you can cover the area with damp paper or a glass jar. This will protect the plants from unfavorable external conditions. In the future, care is the same as for seed planting.

Using cuttings, you can rejuvenate perennial plants that lose their quality and grow strongly 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:

• 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;

Rot

Only regular preventive treatment and compliance with growing conditions will help avoid the appearance 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. These are very small insects that live 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 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;
• garden slugs. 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.

For a clear example of growing pansies from seeds, see Ivideo

Conclusion

Pansies or viola 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. Read more about the varieties and cultivation of garden viola here.

Charming pansies rarely leave anyone indifferent. Today it is a flower actively cultivated to decorate flower beds in summer cottages and city parks. The ancestor of the Viola genus, which includes pansy flowers, is considered a small wild field plant.

Domesticated varieties, of which there are more than 250, are larger - reaching a height of up to 30 cm. Large bright flowers invariably attract attention. The plant does not require complex care.

There are annual, biennial, and perennial pansy flowers. A variety of colors allows you to create a flower bed to suit every taste.

Features of caring for pansies

In order for lush, long-lasting flowering to please the eye, the following care features must be taken into account:

• a sunny place that is illuminated and warmed by gentle rays for at least 6 hours a day is the best choice for growing this flower;
• watering is carried out weekly, shifting the moisture schedule depending on current weather conditions;
• fertilizing is carried out at the same frequency as watering, since the plant requires strength for an active set of buds and prolonged flowering;
• the flower is highly resistant to cold, so it can survive even minor frosts;
• You should wait for flowering only in the 2nd year, because in the 1st year the plant only gains green mass.

Growing pansies

Pansies are an unpretentious plant, but planting and care require attention and compliance with certain rules.

Planting pansies

To quickly achieve flowering, experienced gardeners recommend planting in mid-summer. To begin with, pansy seeds are planted as seedlings indoors. As soon as the heat subsides, the plants grow and are transferred to open ground.

The seedlings are placed at a distance of 20-25 cm, because subsequently the bush increases significantly in size. The plant should be transferred along with the root soil. The planting depth should correspond to the size of the earth ball on the roots.

The main condition for planting is the absence of sunlight when the seedlings are moved. The soil must be moistened and fertilized. Until the plant takes root, it is necessary to provide regular watering. The soil around the planted plants is mulched. Seedlings are provided with protection from wind and cold.

Features of caring for adult plants

Planting and caring for pansies is not particularly difficult, but for the plant to feel good, you must follow some recommendations:

• the soil for flowers should be soft, fertilized, and regularly loosened;
• the plant is provided with frequent feeding and watering, while the soil must have time to dry out as root rot may occur;
• It is better to shade the plant from direct sunlight because heat slows down the development of buds, reduces the intensity and duration of flowering;
• provide a ventilated place of growth, do not allow stagnation of water or the formation of an earthen crust;
• it is necessary to form a bush - pinch out insufficiently strong shoots;
• wilted flowers are removed in a timely manner to prevent the formation of seeds and prolong abundant flowering;
• dried specimens need to be trimmed and the bushes fertilized;
• from the moment of a steady decrease in air temperature, the plant is prepared for wintering: feeding is stopped, pruned, covered with insulation (sawdust, peat).

Diseases of pansies

Pansies are often susceptible to diseases. The plant should be protected from diseases and pests. The main ones are:

• powdery mildew;
• bacterial spot;
• gray rot.

Aphids and slugs hold the palm among pests that “love” pansies.

Among unpretentious flowers, pansies occupy not the last place. They do not require complex care and respond gratefully to caring treatment. In the photo of pansy flowers you can see how charming these babies are.

Photo of pansies

Behind them, growing seedlings are the main stages of work, which are not always easy for beginning gardeners. This plant has no equal in the variety and richness of colors. Despite their fragile appearance and touching name, pansies (violas) cannot be classified as sissies and prudes. Basic rules for sowing seeds, choosing a planting site, viola varieties, and cultivation nuances will help you avoid many problems. They are suitable for cultivation throughout Russia. They are planted in gardens and front gardens, and they decorate parks and city streets. All this makes pansies a real hit in spring flower beds.

Their appearance is distinguished by exquisite panache, especially in early spring, when they decorate the garden with rich strokes. Another name for these flowers is viola.

The richness of colors, winter hardiness, compactness - this is what makes this crop so attractive. It is not without reason that gardeners have been growing this domesticated subspecies of tricolor violet for several centuries.

Photo of a spring flower bed

Pansies get along well with tulips and daffodils and look great on their own in containers, hanging flowerpots, and baskets. Winter-hardy hybrid varieties have been developed that can tolerate hot and cold weather. So viola can be planted in spring, summer, and autumn. But what is especially pleasant is that this culture is extremely unpretentious.

White perfection - Weiss variety, photo

Thanks to the tireless work of breeders, flowers become more diverse every year. Don't believe me? Visit your local seed store or order from a catalog online. Along with the classic purple, white, and yellow ones, you will find new varieties of violas in different tones - pink, orange, pastel shades. Most of them are still decorated with characteristic spots that give the “pansies” a unique charm, but there are ones of one color, so to speak, with “clean faces.”

In addition, varieties have been bred with upward-facing flowers on a short stem. Such violas are much more noticeable in a flowerbed than those looking down. It is also important that they can withstand bad weather better.

Which type of pansy to choose

Seed breeders and 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 small ones - about 6 cm, and the rest - somewhere in between.

They sprout on their own, minimal care - self-seeding, photo

When choosing a variety of pansies, you should not think that the larger the flower, the better. Experience shows that the hardiest, strongest plants have small flowers. In addition, small multi-flowered varieties are better adapted to rainy weather and temperature changes. Although their flowers are small, there are many of them. 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 violas also became leaders in the south. In fairness, it should be admitted that in the south, large-flowered plants have one interesting feature: the hotter the weather, the smaller the “pansies” become. Thus, by planting small-flowered varieties in the spring, by the end of the season you will receive very small flowers. That's why large-flowered violas traditionally predominate in urban flower beds; for example, they look great in hanging baskets or containers.

When to Plant Pansies

So, the hardest part is over: the variety has been chosen. You can follow the line of least resistance, and at the same time save a lot of time - buy seedlings, bring them home, plant them in your dacha or plot.

However, if you prefer to germinate the seeds yourself, then know: in order to have pansies in your garden this spring, you will have to get down to business in the winter. It will take two and a half, or even three months for the germinated seed to turn into seedlings that can be transplanted into the ground.

Since violas tolerate cold well, they are transplanted two to three weeks before the last spring frost. Remember the last season, when the last frost happened, count three months ago from this date - and get down to business.

Dynamite Orange, photo

The most common mistake made by amateur gardeners is that they start germinating seeds too late. Remember that these flowers like cool weather, 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 gladioli bulbs. Gladioli are often infested with thrips, and these pests love to feast on pansy seedlings!

Sowing is done in January in a greenhouse or in April (in Kuban) in open ground, the seeds are lightly sprinkled with soil. They germinate in 7-14 days. Seedlings are shaded from direct sunlight. Best temperature for plant growth +16-18°C during the day and +10-15°C at night. It is necessary to monitor constant soil moisture. Winter seedlings are planted in a permanent place in the spring, and summer seedlings in the fall.

How to plant pansies for seedlings

Sow the seeds in moist seedling soil and sprinkle them with a thin layer of vermiculite or sand. Pansy seeds do not germinate in the light.

Until the shoots appear (usually this happens after about a week), moisten the soil, but not too much. If possible, water through a drip tray. To retain moisture, you can cover the box with film, just do not forget to provide ventilation, otherwise cold-loving plants will simply cook under such cover.

As soon as the seeds germinate, place the box where it is light and cool - so that the seedlings do not grow too long and skinny. A cold greenhouse or a protected bed is perfect for this purpose: there is a lot of light and a suitable temperature of 13-16°C.

If you are germinating seeds at home under a fluorescent lamp, choose a cooler place. Place the box next to the light source, but no closer than 5 cm. After a month, transplant the seedlings into pots. As soon as the air temperature reaches +5°C, take the pots outside during the day.

When the plants are 10-11 weeks old, start hardening off, 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, growing modern varieties of violas is not difficult. An open area and soil with good drainage is probably all they need. If you live in the south, plant them in lacy shade - this will help the plants survive the heat more easily. Regardless of the climate, the soil must have good drainage. If the soil is dense and damp, pansies will develop root rot. To avoid this misfortune, first plant them in a high bed.

What to feed? Of course, compost. They do not need any other fertilizer. If you don't have compost, use any other organic fertilizer that is relatively high in phosphorus and potassium and low in nitrogen.

Mixture of varieties on the lawn, photo

If you want to maximize the flowering period, regularly remove wilted ones. Since their roots are quite shallow, when the weather gets hot, mulch them with straw or grass clippings - this will also prolong the flowering period. If they are still blooming in August, do not forget to cut off the seed pods, and the flowering will continue throughout the fall.

• Do you want to extend spring? Then leave the violas to winter. We assure you, this is not a joke! Plant seedlings towards the end of summer - they will bloom all autumn, during winter thaws, even next spring!
• This culture boasts an extremely healthy heredity: its ancestors are the tricolor field violet and the yellow forest violet. In fact, modern garden pansies are perennial plants and, if covered for the winter, live for several years, although most often we treat them as annuals and, when the weather gets hot, mercilessly pull them out of the ground by the roots.
• If you plant them from August 15 to September 10, then Wittrock violets will take root well and decorate your garden not only in the fall, but also next spring. After overwintering, they will bloom in early spring, blooming throughout March, April, and especially magnificently in May.
• Small-flowered varieties tolerate wintering especially well. Violets of classic colors (golden, purple, white and yellow with spots) winter better than newfangled orange, red, pink and pastel ones.
• If you decide to plant violas in the fall and 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 a wall or some other shelter. Wind and soil with poor drainage will destroy overwintering plants. Plant them in the ground at least a month before the onset of frost so that the roots have time to 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 pansies is snow cover. If the winter turns out to be cold but with little snow, cover the plants with mulch, for example, pine spruce branches. You should not use fallen leaves for this purpose - they absorb too much moisture, they will crush and damage the plants.
• If you live in the northern regions and 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 there is none, germinate seeds of suitable varieties yourself. They need to be germinated in mid-summer. Prepare a cool place (cellar) and get to work.
• You can wait until autumn, sow the seeds in a cold greenhouse or protected bed, and transplant the seedlings into open ground in early spring. In the fall you won’t see any flowering, but from early spring violas will decorate your garden.
• As a rule, pansies do not have problems with pests. True, sometimes, when it is dry and hot, red mites appear. It is necessary to treat the plants with any insecticidal soap solution.

Video about caring for, planting and propagating pansies.

Pansies, which are known under the elegant name viola or under the academic name Vitrocca violet, will help you create a multi-colored velvet carpet in your corner of paradise. The traditional colors of this crop are purple and yellow. Over time, breeders have developed about 200 varieties with stunning shades. So the garden violet became a wildly blooming and beautiful decoration of the garden.

The violet family has many features in planting, care, and cultivation. To enjoy such beauty both in spring and autumn, you need to know some nuances. You should also choose the right variety for planting.

Characteristics of the flower

The shades of the petals are so rich that even in the photo the pansies look incomparable. You can see this beauty in early spring, when it gets warmer. Some varieties are pleasing to the eye throughout the summer because they easily tolerate hot weather. Others feel great in velvet season, because they can withstand even frosts. Among other things, varieties have been bred that are resistant to low temperatures. All this diversity is classified as follows.

Variety of shapes and colors of viola

According to the size of the flower they are divided into: large-flowered; multi-flowered; terry; semi-double; gigantic.

The plant form can be: single; potted; ampelous; flowerbed There are flowers of all possible colors and shades. They can decorate any flower bed or grow on: balconies; curbs; outdoor vases; alpine slides; flower beds; in the house. Sometimes they are planted with early bulbous ones. Daffodils and hyacinths fade, but pansies bloom until late summer.

Pansy flower plant description

This perennial crop (although we usually grow it as an annual crop) also has several other names - violet and viola.

The ornamental plant has been quite popular for quite a long time and today there are several hundred varieties of pansies, and up to four hundred types of crops.

There are large-flowered and multi-flowered, gigantic, semi-double and double, single, potted, ampelous, and cube types of pansies.

The plant is not tall, reaching a height of up to 40 centimeters. The colors of the buds are very varied, as is the size and shape of the leaves.

With proper care of the flower and in good weather, the plant develops quite quickly and is capable of blooming already in the first autumn after sowing.

Most often, these are those varieties with a bud diameter of about seven centimeters and usually with a uniform color of the buds. Flowering of viola occurs depending on the time of sowing the seeds and continues long time- literally all summer.

Growing and care

The special value of pansies lies in their early and abundant flowering. Pansies are used for early spring two-shift flower decoration. In the summer, when it loses its decorative value, it is replaced with summer flowers. But depending on the timing of sowing and the adopted agricultural technology, you can get flowering in summer and late autumn. In this regard, pansies are a very flexible, undemanding and easy-to-cultivate plant. Pansies are propagated mainly by seeds and green cuttings. Depending on the planned time of flowering, sowing is done at different times. To obtain abundant early spring flowering, seeds are sown in the summer of the previous year.

In the northern and northwestern zones, for example near Leningrad and Murmansk, seeds are sown in open ground (nurseries) in the second ten days of July so that the plants do not develop too much, are not excessively large, and do not bloom in the fall.

Pansies are winter-hardy plants, but in the North-West, but sometimes in the middle zone they are observed to freeze and damp out. More often this happens in damp places and when sowing dates are violated. If the seeds are sown in late May - early June, the seedlings bloom in the fall and outgrow. Such plants go into winter already weakened; they do not tolerate winter well and often die out. Therefore, plants that are well bushed, but not overgrown or weakened by autumn flowering, tolerate overwintering better, do not wither away and bloom well in the spring of next year. With later, belated sowings, the plants go into winter not strong enough and have little bushiness. They winter worse and bloom later in the spring. A winter with little snow has a negative effect on the overwintering of pansies. severe frosts. Spring can be especially destructive, when the snow melts very early, thaws begin, and at night there are severe frosts. Therefore, it is advisable to retain snow on ridges with pansies. They do not tolerate low, damp places and especially spring stagnation of water.

To obtain seedlings, sowing is done in nurseries or on well-cultivated ridges in rows; seeds are not sown densely in a row; seedlings appear on the 6-14th day. Regular care: watering, loosening row spacing. The seedlings are spread to other ridges or nurseries, where they should overwinter. The picking distance is 20 x 20 cm. Picking must be done in a timely manner, preventing the seedlings from stretching and outgrowing.

The next year, in early spring, the plants quickly begin to grow and bloom. To speed up flowering, the beds can be covered with film in early spring. Pansies in bloom are transplanted into flower beds. To decorate windows and balconies, they are planted in pots or flower boxes.

Caring for plantings in places of registration consists of systematic weeding and loosening. If necessary, water and control pests. It is useful to feed the seedlings with ammonium nitrate and add superphosphate (20-40 g per 1 m2). Pansies do not tolerate fresh manure. To prolong flowering in the summer, it is necessary to remove all faded flowers in order to delay the development of fruits, since when seeded, the plants stop flowering.

On poor, dry, sandy soils, pansies quickly become smaller, especially varieties with gigantic flowers. On such soils it is necessary to apply organic fertilizers in the form of compost and humus (5 kg per 1 m2); applying fresh manure is not recommended. In a sunny place, pansies produce large and bright flowers. In partial shade they bloom a little longer, but poorer, the flowers are smaller and not so bright.

In the summer, when pansies fade and lose their decorative value, they are dug up and replaced with annuals.

To obtain seeds, the most typical strong compact specimens are selected from among the plants dug up and planted on seed beds (they can easily tolerate replanting in a flowering state). Watering is necessary. Considering that pansies are cross-pollinating plants, when planting them for seeds, it is necessary to maintain spatial isolation of one variety from another. This will allow you to obtain pure-quality seeds. Seed collection should begin when the boxes turn yellow, otherwise they will quickly crack and the seeds will spill out.

If desired, pansies can be grown as an annual crop. To do this, seeds are sown in March in a greenhouse or room in bowls or picking boxes. In April they dive into greenhouses, and in May they are planted in the ground. When sown in spring, pansies experience prolonged flowering in the summer of the same year. But in terms of the abundance and size of flowers, the annual crop is much inferior to plants grown from last year’s summer sowing.

For autumn flowering, pansies are sown in April - May; on the 55th -70th day they bloom.

Which type of pansy to choose

Breeders and seed sellers divide pansies into two categories: varieties with large flowers - large-flowered and varieties with small flowers - multi-flowered.

The largest flowers reach a diameter of 10 cm, the small ones - 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. Experience shows that the hardiest, strongest plants have small flowers. In addition, small multi-flowered varieties are better adapted to rainy weather and temperature changes. Although their flowers are small, there are many of them, 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 pansies have also become leaders in the south. In fairness, it should be admitted that in the south large-flowered pansies have one interesting feature: the hotter the weather, the smaller the pansies become. Thus, if you plant a plant with small flowers in the spring, by the end of the season you will get very small flowers. That's why large-flowered pansies traditionally dominate urban flower beds, for example, they look great in hanging baskets or containers.

• Do you want to extend spring? Then leave the pansies to overwinter. We assure you, this is not a joke! Plant pansy seedlings towards the end of summer - they will bloom all autumn, during winter thaws, even next spring!
• This culture boasts an extremely healthy heredity: its ancestors are the tricolor field violet and the yellow forest violet. In fact, modern garden pansies are perennial plants and, if covered for the winter, live for several years, although most often we treat them as annuals and, when the weather gets hot, mercilessly pull them out of the ground by the roots.
• If you plant them from August 15 to September 10, then Wittrock violets will take root well and decorate your garden not only in the fall, but also next spring. After overwintering, they will bloom in early spring, blooming throughout March, April, and especially magnificently in May.
• Small-flowered varieties tolerate wintering especially well. Pansies in classic colors (gold, purple, white with spots, yellow with spots) overwinter better than the newfangled orange, red, pink and pastel ones.
• If you decide to plant pansies in the fall and leave them to overwinter in the garden, find a place protected from the wind, provide them with well-drained soil, for example, a high bed along a wall or some other shelter. Wind and soil 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 have time to 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 pansies is snow cover. If the winter turns out to be cold but with little snow, cover the plants with mulch, for example, pine spruce branches. You should not use fallen leaves for this purpose - they absorb too much moisture, they will crush and damage the plants.
• If you live in the northern regions and want to plant these flowers in the fall, even leave them for the winter, find out in advance whether the nursery has the pansy seedlings you need. If there is none, germinate seeds of suitable varieties yourself. They need to be germinated in mid-summer. Prepare a cool place (cellar) and get to work.
• You can wait until autumn, sow the seeds in a cold greenhouse or protected bed, and transplant the seedlings into open ground in early spring. In the fall you won’t get any flowers, but from early spring pansies will decorate your garden.
• As a rule, pansies do not have problems with pests. True, sometimes, when it is dry and hot, red mites appear. It is necessary to treat the plants with any insecticidal soap solution.

Pansy propagation by cuttings

This method of propagation helps preserve the plant with its characteristics. For example, large-flowered varieties degenerate over time and begin to produce small flowers. The cutting method can save and propagate such a rare specimen. To do this, cut a small shoot with two leaves from the plant and plant it in a cup with soil. Such a cutting will sprout roots on its own without additional stimulants. Water the planted shoots and place them away from the light in a shady place. In a month, the cuttings will become full-fledged plants that can be transplanted into open ground. Important! Use soil from the area where you plan to plant flowers. This will help the plant immediately adapt to the characteristics of your soil.

Reproduction of tricolor violet by dividing the bush

This method is used for propagating perennial varieties. Violets should not grow in one place for more than four years. They degenerate and disappear. To prevent this, large shrubs are divided into small parts. The plant should be divided in early spring before flowering begins.

Diseases and pests

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that appears on leaves and stems as a white coating. If the plant has small spots, you need to treat the surface of the leaves with fungicides such as Clearflower or Topaz. If the fungus spreads more strongly, the plant must be pulled out of the garden bed so as not to infect other flowers. Gray mold is a disease of fungal origin. It appears as a grayish mold that covers the affected areas of leaves and stems. To stop the spread of infection, you need to remove the leaves. Sprinkle the remaining affected areas with wood ash or chalk.

If the fungus has spread extensively throughout the flower, you need to spray it with a fungicidal preparation (fundozol, pure flower, paradise, speed). Bacterial spotting - this disease is caused by phytopathogenic bacteria. It appears as brown or black spots that affect the leaves. To stop the spread of the disease, you need to pull out the affected plant and spray neighboring shrubs with a fungicide of moderate toxicity, for example, copper oxychloride.

Medicinal properties

The medicinal properties of pansies have long been used to treat certain diseases. Pansies have found their use in official medicine due 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 in equal quantities. To prepare the decoction, add 200 ml of boiling water to 2 tablespoons of the herbal mixture and leave for about 10 minutes. Take 800 ml infusion an hour after meals.

For skin diseases, prepare an effective home remedy called “violet oil.” To prepare the product, take 100 ml of 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 a pleasant 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 stage is the powdering of flowers 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.

SONY DSC

Pansies are effective and for respiratory diseases. 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. The medicinal infusion is 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.

Pansies in landscape design

The use of pansies in landscape design has received widespread and quite justifiably:

• young crops bloom in the same year (when sown through seedlings);
• a wide palette of colors makes it possible to choose the appropriate variety for any flower bed design solution;
• The flowering of the crop begins quite early, in the cold spring, when there are few flowering crops.

Viola clumps look great on an emerald green lawn. Carpet ornaments are laid out from flowers, paths are lined with them, and planted in hanging flowerpots. Planting does not cause any trouble or difficulty, and caring for viola is quite simple, so it is often used to decorate areas in landscape design.

It is not known for certain when and how pansies appeared. There are many legends about the origin of this flower., but which of them are true and which are not is unknown. Already during the reign of the Gods on Earth they already existed.

One day, the goddess Venus decided to swim away from human eyes. She found a hidden corner in a remote grotto. She splashed in the water for a long time, and suddenly heard a rustling sound. Turning around, she saw several eyes of curious mortals.

Venus was angry and punished them for their curiosity. Unable to punish them on her own, she turned to Zeus for help, but at the last moment he changed his mind and turned the curious into pansies.

In Germany they call pansies stepmother. This name was not invented by chance.

The lower petal is the largest and most beautiful. It symbolizes a dressed-up stepmother. The other two, which are located a little higher, are beautifully dressed daughters, but the last two remaining are stepdaughters in poor clothes.

The legend has been preserved. At first, the stepmother was upstairs and the stepdaughters were downstairs. That was until God intervened. He took pity on his stepdaughters and turned the flower over. The stepmother got a spur, and the daughters got mustaches.

General description of tricolor violet

Violet tricolor – a plant with an erect, thin and branched stem with a height of 10-20 cm. The arrangement of the leaves is regular. Their shape is round and heart-shaped. They are adjacent to large lyre-shaped stipules.

The stem leaves are sessile, and the lower leaves are petiolate. On long stalks, single, large flowers open with irregular shape. They reach a diameter of 3.5 cm. One corolla is formed by five petals, which do not repeat each other in shape.

The lowest petal is white or yellow color. It is larger than the two upper blue-violet or dark purple petals and the two light purple side petals.

After the pansies fade, a box forms. Once it dries a little, it will crack and expose the seeds.

Is this plant annual or perennial?

Pansies are perennial plants. Most amateur gardeners buy biennial or annual plants in stores. Why not perennials? The fact is that Over the years, a once beautiful flower loses its beauty and uniqueness. He gets old after 3 years. Because of this, the buds become smaller, and over time they do not form at all.

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Appearance

What does an annual or biennial terrestrial herbaceous plant look like?

Root

At the pansies thin, tap root, lightly branched, brown in color. It penetrates the ground almost vertically.

Stem

It is also branchy. It is triangular. The stem is either pubescent or bare. The hairs are bent downwards. It's hollow inside. Its height is 10-30, occasionally 45 cm. Sometimes several creeping and erect stems extend from one root.

Leaves

The arrangement of the leaves is regular. They are petiolate. They can be either glabrous or sparsely hairy along the veins. The shape of the lower leaves is broadly ovate. The petioles are long.

The upper leaves look different. They already have an oblong-lanceolate shape. The petioles on them are already short. Each leaf has two stipules. Their shape is pinnately lyre-shaped. They are longer than leaf petioles.

Frontal simple raceme – type of inflorescence. In due time, zygomorphic flowers appear on the peduncles of pansies. Peduncles emerge singly from the leaf axils. At the top of the peduncles, very close to the flower, there are two small bracts.

The calyx of the flower is formed by five leaves. It does not fall off after flowering. The shape of the leaflets is elongated-lanceolate, pointed. They are delicately hairy. The lower sepals are larger in size than the upper ones. The corollas are assembled from five free petals.

The color is dominated by blue and its various shades. All the petals that make up a flower different shapes and size. There are many legends about the flowers and their color, but pansies are what they are – beautiful, unique and memorable.

The number of stamens is five. They are pressed to the pestle. They are in contact with the anthers of the stamen filaments, which are short and barely noticeable. The flower has one pistil.

Seeds and fruits

After the pansies fade, the fruit will form. It is a greenish box with a length of up to ten millimeters. The seeds in it are located close to the walls. The box is surrounded by a calyx. When it is fully ripe, three doors will open and the seeds will fall out.

The seeds are small. Their length is 1.25-1.75 mm, and their width and thickness are 0.75-1 mm. Their shape is obovate. There is a small appendage. They are either light yellow or light brown. If pansies are planted early, they will bloom early and produce their first seeds in June.

One box can contain up to 3 thousand seeds with a total weight of 1.5 g. If you collect the seeds and organize proper storage, they will retain their germination capacity for up to 2 years.

The most popular varieties

There are two categories of plant varieties. The first is large-flowered, and the second is small-flowered. Amateur flower growers buy large-flowered pansies. They make a mistake because small-flowered varieties are stronger and hardier. They are not afraid of rain or temperature changes.

Pansy is the name of a garden variety. Scientific name– Wittrock violet.

There are three types of plants: tricolor violet, yellow violet and Altai violet. Breeders have created many varieties and variety groups, using the species listed above as a basis.

Small-flowered

1. Blue boy. This variety has a small flower. Its diameter is 3-4 cm, and its color is blue-blue.
2. Snow Maiden. The diameter of the flower is small - up to 4 centimeters, and the buds themselves are snow-white.
3. Little Red Riding Hood. A variety with bright red flowers up to four centimeters.

Gigantic

1. Golden yellow. The flowers reach a diameter of 7 cm. They are monochromatic and their color is golden yellow.
2. White. The color of the buds is white with a visible yellowish-greenish tint. The edges of the petals are wavy.
3. Blue. The buds are violet-blue. Their edges are smooth. The 7-centimeter flower holds well on an 11-centimeter peduncle.

Medicinal properties

Tricolor violet has healing properties medicinal properties due to its extraordinary composition. It contains ascorbic acid, coumarins, salicylic acid, tannins, saponins, tannins, essential oils, violoquercitrine, etc. The richness of the composition determines effective help in diseases.

• Expectorant.
• Diuretic.
• Anti-inflammatory.
• Antibacterial and antimicrobial.
• Antispasmodic.
• Choleretic.
• Sweatshop.
• Blood cleanser.
• Calming.
• Relieving itching.
• Healing wounds.

Teas, infusions and decoctions are prepared from the plant to help a person recover faster. Along with them, traditional medicines are taken. It is recommended to treat diseases of the respiratory system with infusions and decoctions of pansies.(for example, bronchial diseases, tuberculosis, pneumonia).

Nasal drops made from the plant help with a runny nose and sinusitis. Newborns experience itching and inflammation after mosquito bites. Remedies have been dealing with them for a long time traditional medicine from tricolor violet.

To cure severe diathesis in a child, prepare an infusion:

1. Take four parts of string and violet and one part of bittersweet nightshade.
2. All components are mixed.
3. 10 grams of herbal mixture are poured into 250 ml of boiling water.
4. Two hours after infusion, take the infusion orally.

The dose is 15 ml, and the frequency of administration is 5 times a day. The infusion is added to the bath when washing the baby.

Taking decoctions from it internally, they fight nervous tension, insomnia, fatigue, irritability and anxiety. It helps people with arthritis and dermatitis, gout and eczema. Doctors recommend brewing tricolor violet herb to patients with severe cough, vitamin deficiency, polyarthritis, and skin diseases.

It is taken orally by women who have given birth and whose uterine bleeding does not stop. Decoctions and infusions will help patients with the following diagnoses: asthma, hernia, scrofula, arthritis.

What do they symbolize?

Pansies are a symbol of devotion, fidelity and wisdom.. Since they are the first to bloom after the snow melts in the spring, they symbolize spring.

Many legends have been formed not only about the flower, but also about its origin. An old belief says that one day the girl Anyuta showed excessive curiosity, becoming interested in the details of someone else's life. As punishment they turned her into a flower. The Romans believed that the flower appeared because of Venus’s anger at men spying on her bathing.

Rus' has its own legends. Because of love, the girl Anyuta turned into a flower. She fell in love with the young man, and he reciprocated her feelings. Since he was from rich family, his parents insisted on his marriage to another, wealthier girl. Anyuta could not stand his betrayal and weakness of will. She died.

There was another girl, Anyuta, who sent her betrothed to the war, from which he did not return. She looked through all her eyes, peering into the distance, and died without waiting. In the place where she was waiting for him, a flower of wondrous beauty and extraordinary blossomed.

And absolutely scary tale lastly. In one village there lived a girl Anyuta. She was kind and trusting. One day a handsome young man came to her village. The girl could not resist him, she trusted him, but he deceived her. He promised to return for her, but did not return.

Anyuta soon died of melancholy, and marvelous flowers, similar to her unusual eyes, bloomed on the grave. There were also white people in them ( mutual feelings), and yellow (surprise at the act), and purple (collapsed hopes and sadness) spots.

Conclusion

Pansies are a beautiful flower about which legends and stories are made. It not only has unusual buds with multi-colored spots depending on the variety. He is a real helper in diseases when traditional medicine is less effective.

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