When to plant a viola for seedlings and how to do it correctly
Miscellaneous / / April 02, 2023
With this instruction, pansies will bloom two seasons in a row.
When to plant viola seedlings
Pansies bloom about 3-4 months after germination. Therefore, in most regions, viola is sown for seedlings from early February to mid-March. So by the beginning of summer, strong flowering bushes will be ready to decorate street flower beds or balcony boxes.
How to choose viola seeds
Depending on the type pansies differ in the size of the bush and the diameter of the flowers. For example, Wittrock's Viola grows up to 20β30 cm and produces many large flowers in a variety of colors, which can reach 11 cm in diameter. A little less often you can find the ampelous form of Wittrock's viola, which instead of a bush grows with falling shoots up to 40 cm long and is used mainly to decorate hanging planters. Her flowers are usually smaller - up to 5 cm in diameter.
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Bush Viola Wittrock. Frame: Biotech / YouTube
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Bush Viola Wittrock. Frame: Biotech / YouTube
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Ampel viola Wittrock. Frame: Biotech / YouTube
Viola horned is from 15 to 25 cm in height. The flowers are 3 to 5 cm in diameter, and most often they are painted in shades of purple, blue and lilac with a characteristic yellow eye in the center. True, you can also find hybrids with a richer color range - from white to bright red.
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Viola is horned. Frame: Biotech / YouTube
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Viola is horned. Frame: Biotech / YouTube
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Viola is horned. Frame: Biotech / YouTube
Bush viola Williams grows up to 30 cm, and the ampelous form produces shoots up to 40 cm long. Both options decorate flowers up to 3-4 cm in diameter, which are plain or painted in several shades at once. For example, there are white-yellow-violet, lilac-blue, completely white or lilac viols.
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Bush viola Williams. Frame: Biotech / YouTube
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Bush viola Williams. Frame: Biotech / YouTube
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Ampel viola Williams. Frame: Biotech / YouTube
Fragrant viola grows up to only 15 cm in height and produces small flowers of only 2 cm in diameter. But it is distinguished by a subtle pleasant aroma, which other types of pansies cannot boast of. Due to its compactness, fragrant viola will look favorably on a flower bed, forming a lush carpet. Its flowers are most often purple, white and blue.
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Violet fragrant viola. Frame: Flower girl / YouTube
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White viola fragrant. Frame: Garden and Garden All Year Round / YouTube
By the way, all types of viola are considered biennial plants. This means that with proper care, they will bloom two seasons in a row.
How to plant a viola for seedlings
The seeds of these flowers do not require pre-soaking and are immediately ready for sowing.
Prepare containers for seedlings
For sowing viola, boxes about 10-15 cm high are suitable. You can take small food containers or special larger seedling containers - the size depends on how many seeds you plan to plant. Fill the bowl with universal flower potting soil to a depth of 8-10 cm. Seal its surface with the palm of your hand. Moisten the soil liberally with water using a spray bottle.
Sow the viola
Scatter the seeds evenly over the entire surface of the soil in seedling capacity.
Pour soil over the seeds with a layer of no more than 0.5 cm. Smooth the surface with a spoon.
Lightly moisten the crops with water from a spray bottle. Do this carefully so as not to wash out the soil.
Cover the container with a transparent lid or cling film. Put it in a warm dark place with a temperature of 25-27 degrees.
Wait for shoots
Sprouts will appear in about 7-10 days. When the viola seeds hatch, remove the cover from the container and place it in a cooler place with a temperature of about 22-23 degrees so that the seedlings do not stretch. In addition, the viola will need artificial lighting for 14-16 hours a day. To do this, use special phytolamps or ordinary fluorescent with a power of at least 36 W per 1 mΒ².
How to care for viola seedlings
If everything is done correctly, the plants will turn out strong and lush.
Pick up the viola
When the sprouts have at least one pair of true leaves, it's time to transplant them from a common container into separate containers.
Take pots or cups with a volume of at least 200 ml. Make sure there are several drainage holes in the bottom to allow excess liquid to escape. Fill the pots to the top with soil (the one used for sowing seeds is suitable). Water the soil with water so that it is moistened to the entire height of the container. In the ground, in the center of the cup, make a hole 1.5β2 cm deep with your finger or a thick marker.
Using a knife or fork, carefully remove the viola sprouts one at a time from a common container.
Place the roots of the sprout into the hole in the soil and cover them with soil, lightly compacting it with your fingers around the stem. Viola can be buried in the ground to the lower leaves.
Place cups with viola under the phytolamp and provide the plants with additional lighting for 12-14 hours a day. The optimum temperature in a room with seedlings is 15-20 degrees.
water the viola
The soil in seedling cups should always be moist. At the same time, do not overdo it and do not flood the plants. Moisten the soil when its surface is slightly dry. At first, until the viola gets stronger, pour water under the root of the seedling with a syringe or douche.
Feed the viola
For seedlings, nitroammophoska or other mineral fertilizer with a uniform distribution of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium - for example, 16:16:16 or 18:18:18. Consumption rates and method of preparation are indicated in the instructions and may vary depending on the manufacturer. The first top dressing is carried out two weeks after picking. Subsequent - every two weeks until landing in open ground. At the same time, the viola can be fed both by the root (by applying a solution under the root of the plant), and by the foliar method - by spraying the leaves.
Regardless of the method, do it in the evening, and then turn off the phytolamps at night so that chemicals in combination with artificial lighting do not burn the viola leaves.
When to plant viola seedlings in open ground
Although pansies are considered a fairly cold-resistant plant, you should not rush to relocate them to the street. Wait until the night air temperature becomes stable positive and the threat of return frosts has passed. In most regions of the middle lane, suitable conditions occur around mid-May.
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Text worked on: author Victoria Kuracheva, editor Alina Mashkovtseva, proofreader Elena Gritsun