Oh, those Pansies! How to plant a beautiful flower

Popular at all times, Pansies (another name - Viola) from the Violet family have several hundred varieties that differ not only in color, plant height (up to 30 cm in height), but also in their ability to bloom from mid-spring to late autumn. If your choice for your site fell on this unpretentious, cheerful flower, then you should know that with its delicate appearance it will capture the attention of many!

Choose Viola from large-flowered or terry, or multi-flowered, or even ampel varieties. You can plant it in house beds, in a mixborder, flowerpot or rockery. You can also at home on the balcony! Some varieties successfully take root on the northern balcony and delight the eyes of the owners and passers-by.

Pansies are basically a biennial flower, buds appear only in the 2nd year. It can grow in the third year and even bloom, but the appearance of such flowers leaves much to be desired. Better to grow new ones. With the exception of some perennial Viols, such as Viola fragrant or Horned Viola. They are easily grown as perennials.

3 ways to plant pansies with seeds

Without preliminary preparation, seeds are planted in open ground (dates - August-September). They will bloom in mid-spring.

Planted for seedlings in late winter or early spring. They will bloom in about 2.5 months. And in the second year, in case of a successful wintering, Pansies will again delight you with bright colors.

Late sowing - in late spring or early summer. In this case, the "eyes" will appear in late summer or early autumn and bloom again next spring.

Some propagate Viola using cuttings or by separating fluffy bushes.

All about how to grow Pansies from seedlings

In general, this is a fairly simple process, but some subtleties are still present.

We take store soil and mix with sand in a 2: 1 ratio. Treat small planting containers with a strong manganese solution. Sowing dates - from late February to late April. Accordingly, the earlier you sow, the earlier Viola will bloom. It is best to first process the seeds in a weak manganese solution with a growth promoter.

We put the earthen mixture into containers, moisten it and make small grooves 5 mm deep, very close to each other. We place the seeds an average of 1.5 cm apart, sprinkle with a thin layer of soil and cover everything with something glass or plastic transparent film. It turned out such a "greenhouse"! For a week, such a "greenhouse" should take a whole week in a warm and always dark place (sometimes ventilate this farm so that mold does not appear). So the shoots have sprung up, hurray! Now we transfer everything to a lighted room or turn on the phytolamp and illuminate it with its help.

Viola is often sown without embedding in the ground, i.e. they simply lay out the seeds on the surface of the moistened soil about 1.5 cm from each other and put a warm and dark place (you can slightly sprinkle it with earth). This option helps to accelerate germination.

So, the seedlings appeared. From this time on, the seedlings should be ventilated more often in order to gradually accustom them to low temperatures. After seven days, completely remove the film or glass. It's time for the first feeding (any mineral flower fertilizer will do). Carry out the second in a week, and so several times.

Viola sprouts love a cool place (from 12 to 18 degrees), so if the weather permits, you can take them to the balcony. Do not allow the soil to dry out. For irrigation, settled soft water at room temperature is suitable.

Feeding and watering Pansies is best done in the morning. Otherwise, by the evening the earth may not dry out, and against the background of high humidity and low evening temperatures, pathogens may start.

What does it mean to "dive" pansies?

To dive means to transplant a young plant, and for viola, like many flowers, this is vital. You need to wait until 2 strong leaves grow, and transplant into a container about 6-7 cm in size. Do not be afraid that you will touch and somehow damage the roots. Nothing bad will happen to the viola. Then feed the young shoots weekly.

If the plant has lengthened a lot, then deeply deepen the stem into the ground. Then additional roots will begin to grow and the viola will strengthen.

In order for the viola to grow more bushy, it is pinched when two or three pairs of strong leaves appear.

Viola sprouts will grow and get stronger until mid-May. It's time to transplant them into open soil.

We plant pansies in open ground

The place is suitable at least a little shaded in the midday heat. Often, pansies are planted in the near-stem circle of apple, pear or plum trees. For example, a flower garden is also suitable, but not from the north or south part of the house.

The composition of the earth for pansies is not fundamental, as long as there is looseness in it and the ability to let air through. Damp lowlands will not tolerate pansies. So is the soil that is too heavy. Before planting a viola there, dig up the ground (first add peat and sand) and do not forget to add a complex mineral dressing.

When planting, dig holes about 5-6 cm deep and 15 cm apart. And in the end, do not forget to pour warm water.

Regular care of Pansies consists of moderate watering, feeding a couple of times a month with mineral fertilizers, loosening the soil to avoid the formation of a superficial crust, weeding and removing dried flowers in order to minimize the risk of harmful insects and unnecessary sores (this can be a nematode or spotting).