When to plant pansy seeds for seedlings. Growing pansies from seeds, when and how to plant seedlings. Sowing seeds in peat tablets

08.02.2022 Diseases

No one will be indifferent to pansies, growing from seeds, when to plant - such information will be useful to gardeners who like this delicate flower. The plant is herbaceous and attracts with its variety of colors. The most famous is the tricolor viola, the top of its petals are purple, the middle is amber, the bottom is white or yellowish.

Pansies - growing from seeds

Growing pansies is easy, they are not capricious. The flower is propagated by seeds; it is recommended to plant them in an open area or as seedlings. To collect seeds, you need to select a powerful specimen and wait until the boxes with grains turn yellow. It is important to stock up on seeds before they spill onto the soil when the pods are plowed. At the same time, there is a chance to prepare seed from crops of the color and variety you like. Pansies Grow normally in shade and sun. Viola is best planted where bright light illuminates it only part of the day.

How to grow pansies from seeds in an open area:

  1. When planting in the ground, furrows 0.5 cm wide are made with a distance between rows of 2 cm, they are shed with water.
  2. Seeds should be planted every 2 cm (this is best done with a small sheet of paper), they are covered with a moistened substrate and the soil is lightly pressed down.
  3. The crops are protected with film and ventilated periodically.
  4. When seedlings emerge and the first pair of true leaves peck, the seedlings are plucked, shortening the main root by a third, and planted according to a 25x25 cm pattern.
  5. Subsequent care consists of loosening the soil and watering.
  6. Before budding, it is better to fertilize the flower - water it with dissolved nitrophoska - 1 tbsp per bucket. spoon of composition.
  7. For the winter, the seedlings are covered with spruce branches.

When to sow pansies for seedlings?

Sowing pansies when growing from seeds, when to plant - the solution to these issues depends on when you want to see the first flowers. Experts recommend cultivating violet as an annual or biennial - this way it has the most attractive appearance and lush flowering. Sowing pansies for seedlings - how to calculate the timing:

  1. If you want to bloom the same year in June-July, it is recommended to plant seeds in January-February for seedlings.
  2. Pansies - growing from seeds, when to plant for early spring flowering in the second year: planting should be done in open ground in June. They will overwinter and begin flowering in early spring in April.
  3. If you plant it in the ground earlier, in May, the buds will bloom in the fall.

Germinating pansy seeds

To enhance germination energy, pansy flower seeds are soaked in a solution of biogrowth stimulator "" for a day before planting. The product gives the sprouts energy and at the same time performs disinfecting functions. Placing the seeds in a burgundy potassium permanganate solution for 20 minutes will provide additional resistance to disease. It’s a good idea to soak them in a solution of wood ash: 1 tbsp. Dilute a spoonful of the product in a liter of water and leave the grains in the composition for 2 hours. There is no need to germinate the seeds before sowing - they are very small and take root well in the soil.


Pansy seedlings at home

When cultivating pansies, growing seedlings from seeds will speed up the start of budding. For sowing, select shallow boxes and purchase commercial soil for violets. You can prepare your own substrate from 1 part of garden soil, 1 part of sand and 0.5 part of humus or peat. Before planting, the soil is steamed in a water bath and sprinkled with fungicide to destroy pathogens and weeds. A dark solution of magranium is suitable as a disinfectant.

How to plant pansies for seedlings?

Planting pansies for seedlings:

  1. The simplest option for seeding is to place the seeds in containers on top of the soil and place them in a dark place at a temperature of +20-22°C.
  2. The seedlings are covered with film and ventilated every day for 10 minutes. Water the crops using a fine sprayer.

How many days does it take for pansy seeds to germinate?

When asked how long it takes for pansy seeds to sprout, experienced gardeners answer - if the sowing is done with high-quality material, then after 1-2 weeks the seedlings will sprout. Sometimes (depending on the variety and quality of the grains) germination can take 3-4 weeks. Before this, it is better to cover them with a dark, thick garbage bag - the seeds like to germinate in the dark.


Picking pansies

Boxes with green shoots are placed on a lighted window. During the initial 7 days of growing, seedlings are accustomed to air. To do this, every day the cycle of its open presence is increased from 10 minutes to 5-6 hours, then the covering can be removed from the seedlings. Watering is done when the top layer dries. When to pick pansies after germination:

  1. When 2-3 true leaves appear, place the seedlings in separate containers or a common box according to a 5x5 cm pattern.
  2. When picking, young plants are buried down to the cotyledons.
  3. When growing violas, when the young shoots have 6 leaves, pinch the top of the central stem so that the violets form a lush bush.
  4. Feed the viola once every 2 weeks with fertilizer for seedlings, and monitor the moisture content of the substrate in the pots.

With proper care, in a month (by the end of May) the viola will bloom and be ready to be planted in the garden. Before transplanting the sprouts to an open area, they are hardened off. To do this, place the seedlings under the sun's rays, start with an hour a day and increase the time by an hour every day. Scheme for planting pansies in a flower garden - 20x20 cm. Caring for pansies:

  1. For generous flowering, the plant needs frequent watering, especially in the heat. After moistening the bush is better.
  2. Feeding with mineral supplements such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus has a beneficial effect on the development of viola. It is advisable to start fertilizing flowers 2 weeks after planting with a solution of ammonium nitrate or superphosphate at the rate of 20-40 g per 1 m2.
  3. Dried viola flowers and leaves should be removed. If you implement these simple requirements, then the bright carpet will delight the eye until frost.

Pansies are one of the first flowers to appear in a country flower bed. Already in spring, delicate bright flowers delight the gardener's eye with a riotous variety of colors: from pure white to deep black with various shades of red, yellow and blue. In the center of pansies there is always an unusual spot of a unique shape and color.

Since ancient times, various myths and legends have been associated with pansies. This flower is considered a symbol of love, fidelity and renewal of nature. However, gardeners love pansies not for their beautiful stories, but for their unusual combination of colors and unpretentiousness. However, even such an undemanding flower has its own characteristics and secrets of growing.

First, let's figure out what we will grow: garden pansies, Wittrock's viola or garden violet?

Choose between Viola and Violet to suit your needs

The affectionate name of pansy belongs to the viola flower or, as it is also called, tricolor violet, a herbaceous perennial plant from the violet family. There are 300 different varieties of garden violets, which are grouped into 15 groups.

The groups differ in flower color and size, flowering time, bush height and other characteristics. Such a variety of varieties will allow even the most demanding and experienced gardeners to choose the right species for planting!

The choice of variety depends not only on your color preferences, but also on the region in which you plan to grow and care for viola. In areas with a warm climate, violets can begin to bloom as early as early April; for cold regions, this period shifts to early summer.

Most pansies are heat-loving plants that enjoy indirect sunlight, so if you live in cooler regions, be careful when choosing a variety.

There are two most famous varieties of Viola:

  1. - an annual or biennial plant with small flowers. The tricolor violet reaches a height of 30–45 cm. This type of plant spreads well by self-sowing. Due to its well-known proven medicinal properties, this tricolor violet often finds its use in folk medicine.
  2. Wittrock violet- it's perennial herbaceous plant. It is this variety that can often be found not only in garden beds, but also on summer balconies in flower pots and cache-pots. Wittrock violet flowers can grow up to 10 cm, the height of this plant is 40 cm.

Flowers can be smooth or corrugated at the edges, plain or a mixture of a variety of colors. The Wittrock violet has many varieties, among the most popular are Alpensee with large flowers of rich purple color, Bambini with small yellow flowers separated at the spot by dark stripes similar to eyelashes, snow-white PureWhite, orange SkylineOrange and many others.

Preparing the seeds for planting

Once you have chosen the variety that suits you, you need to think about planting. Pansies are planted in a flowerbed with seeds or seedlings. If you want to see early bright flowers in the flowerbed in the first year of planting, then grow viola using seedlings. In the second year, planting seeds in the ground in June of the previous year will help achieve early flowering.

In the first year, viola is usually planted in early to mid-May. To do this, make small holes no deeper than 1 cm, at a distance of 5-7 cm, put 2-3 seeds in each. After this, lightly sprinkle the pansy seeds with soil, be sure to water, and mulch the surface on top to retain moisture.

You will see the first flowers 20 days after planting, that is, at the beginning of summer. If you decide to grow viola seedlings, you will be able to see the first flowers earlier.

Growing seedlings without errors

Beginning gardeners are sometimes afraid to grow pansies at home on their own and buy ready-made seedlings in the store. You shouldn’t buy unknown, expensive seedlings when you can grow your own without any problems. It’s worth doing this in early February.

To do this you will need:

  1. Prepare containers for seedlings with a fertile, moist substrate, which should consist of half turf or leaf soil and the other half rotted compost.
  2. Before planting pansies, it is necessary to disinfect the soil, for example, using a fungicide.
  3. After the soil has dried, make shallow grooves in it, place the seeds there and sprinkle with soil. Place containers with seedlings in a dark but warm place.
  4. The first shoots can be seen within a couple of weeks. When they appear, you need to expose the pansies to the warm sun. In this place the air temperature should not be colder than 10 degrees.
  5. When more than two leaves appear on the plant, you need to transplant the plants into separate containers. After this, you can briefly display and harden the pansies on the balcony.
  6. Once a week, feed the plant with any flower fertilizer, but it is better to choose one that is suitable for violets.
  7. At the beginning of May, seedlings can be planted in a flower bed.

When growing seedlings indoors, you need to pick pansies twice. It is better to do this for the first time when more than two leaves appear on the plant, approximately 14 days after planting.

After this, it is better to plant the viola in individual containers. The second time the seedlings are planted after two weeks - 20 days according to a 6 by 6 cm pattern.

Planting and care in the ground at the dacha and at home

We described planting pansy seeds in open ground above. Pansy seedlings are planted in a flowerbed at a distance of 20-30 cm. This distance is enough for the full growth and development of plants.

Violets grow well in soil that consists of turf soil, manure, peat and sand in proportions where sand is half as much as the other components.

Pansies are a very unpretentious plant, but they also require care. It is necessary to systematically loosen the soil, remove wilted flowers, fertilize the plant with mineral fertilizers and water frequently.

But first, it is important to choose the right place for the plant on the site. Viola may die under the bright scorching rays of the sun, but in the shade its flowers will be small and faded, so choose a place with diffused light.

When leaving the viola in the garden for the winter, do not forget to cover the plant with spruce branches, and open it in the spring to avoid damping off.

The same rules for caring for the plant will apply if you decide to grow viola on the balcony at home. If you have a southern balcony, then in order to avoid the flowers fading in the bright sun, try to slightly shade the place where the container with pansies will be located.

One of the very first spring flowers, delighting with bright and chic blooms after a long winter, are pansies. This interesting name is preceded by a long-standing legend.

A very beautiful and devoted girl, whose name was Anyuta, accompanied her betrothed to the war to defend her native land. The dear one did not return, and the girl, not having survived such grief, turned into a luxurious flower with the same beautiful eyes as the unfortunate one.

Types of Pansies

Wittrock's violet can bloom in the garden for several years. It grows from fifteen to thirty centimeters in height and is characterized by a straight stem and fibrous root system.

The leaves gather in a rosette at the roots or bloom one by one on the stem. Large flowers appear from the axils of the leaves. Flowers are wavy, simple, double or ruffled. They can be plain or multi-colored.

Horned perennial violet has been grown in flower beds for many years. It does not lose its decorative properties. However, it depends on the variety whether the horned violet can survive the winter cold. Viola ampelous is an annual plant that reaches a height of twenty centimeters. The plant blooms small flowers of various shades. Ampelous pansies bloom from the spring months until the onset of cold weather. This variety is widely used in landscape design to decorate areas.

Tricolor violet is an early flowering species. She has gained a special favor among gardeners. Tricolor viola is planted at different times, and this does not affect flowering.

The flower reaches a height of twenty to twenty-five centimeters. It is assembled from five petals, painted in single or mixed colors.

The tricolor violet is famous medicinal properties. It fights inflammation, has a diuretic and expectorant effect. This flower is widely used in folk medicine.

Viola Williams is a perennial variety, but it is generally grown for no longer than two years. It grows as a bush and grows up to twenty centimeters. Often plants are planted closely to create a vibrant living carpet. The flowers are characterized by a delicate blue hue and small size.

Viola Sororia blooms early: flowers appear in May. It is a lush shrub with abundant flowering. The leaves, shaped like a heart, are located at the roots. Flower growers especially love this variety for its abundant self-seeding.

Viola fragrant is common in western Russia. It belongs to perennial crops. The plant has been grown for about five hundred years. It is distinguished by almost round leaves and flowers of various shades: snow-white, red, purple. This variety is often used to decorate garden plots.

We approach the choice of varieties responsibly!

There are a huge number of varieties and varieties. In addition, breeders continue to work. New bright and unusual options. To choose the right variety, you need to decide on the purpose of cultivation. If you plan to grow in pots or containers, the Wittrock violet is a good choice. This hybrid has larger flowers and is better adapted to closed ground conditions. For open ground, choose viola. For those who want to get their own seed material, it is better to abandon first-order hybrids (F1). Plants grown from varietal seeds will produce more predictable offspring. Although hybrids have great decorative properties.

So, you have decided which variety suits you best. All you need to do is choose the color, size and shape. The colors of violet flowers are white, yellow, blue and violet. Plants differ in the shape and size of the flower, the size of the bush, and the timing of flowering. The nature of the color may also change: some varieties have “lost” the spot, gaining dashes and streaks of a darker color on the petals. Depending on the combination of these properties, plants are divided into series. Among the most popular: "Shalon Supreme", which is distinguished by ruffled petals, "Cats" with dark strokes on a lighter base. The “Fancy” series is represented by varieties with huge flowers of bright red shades. There are many series that are constantly updated with new varieties.

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. Viola blooms depending on the time of sowing the seeds and continues for a long time - literally all summer.

Growing pansies from seeds

On average, sowing in open ground is carried out in June-July. But don’t expect the plants to bloom this year. Flowering will only occur next early spring.

Seeds are sown in rows in a special bed with prepared soil. After germination, replant by pinching the central root by 1/3. Thanks to this diving, roots will form better.

Afterwards they are planted in a permanent place within a radius of 25 centimeters from each other. Over the summer, the plant will reproduce well, but will not bloom.

When to Plant Pansies

Pansies can be grown not only on the plot, but also at home on the usual windowsill, and in the summer on the balcony. For any seedling best time- spring. But this is not a deadline for pansies. Depending on when the seeds are sown, you will get either an annual or perennial plant.

If you want to get earlier and abundant flowering, then choose early spring for planting (late February - early March). And, if you start planting in July (in the second half), you will see flowering next season.

Precisely in the second half of July, not earlier and not later. If earlier, then by autumn the plant may bloom, then pansies are unlikely to survive the winter. And if you plant later (for example, in August), then the seedlings will not have time to get stronger by winter.

Seedlings that have been growing since February are transplanted into the ground in May, after the main frosts have passed.

In July, sow the seeds directly into the ground. After 14 days, shoots will appear. After the formation of 2-3 leaves, make a dive and transplant the sprouts immediately to a permanent place. Maintain an interval of approximately 20 by 20 cm. To speed up the germination of seeds, cover the bed (or container) with the seeds with film. But remember to remove it from time to time to moisten the soil.

Pansy planting dates

If you want to see a pansy flower in April next year, you need to sow the seeds in early June this year. If you sow the seeds in the first autumn month, flowering will occur in May. Seeds sown in March will delight you with flowering at the end of this summer.

Some novice gardeners wonder how to plant pansies on seedlings and don’t know where to start. It is better to sow pansies for seedlings in July, then in March the seedlings will be strong, with 5-6 leaves and a fairly powerful bush.

You need to make drainage holes in the boxes, cover them with polyethylene, lay a layer of acacia leaves from last year (after rubbing them through a fine strainer), moisten the leaves generously on top and sow the seeds, sprinkle with water from a spray bottle.

In general, you can start sowing seeds in February or March, or much later, it all depends on when you want to enjoy the flowering of pansies.

How to plant pansies for seedlings

Sow the seeds in moist soil for seedlings, 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 the cold-loving pansies under the film will simply cook.

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 suitable temperature 13-16°C.

If you are germinating seeds at home under a fluorescent lamp, choose a cooler place and place the box next to the light source (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 a hard frost is expected, cover the seedlings with a thin layer of straw or covering material.

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Choosing a place and soil for planting pansies

How to plant pansies so that the plant develops safely and blooms profusely? First you need to choose a good place for planting.

Pansies are a light-loving crop, but they grow well in a slightly darkened area, on its northern side, so that this corner is illuminated for several hours a day.

The soil for viola needs fertile, loose soil with the addition of organic matter. Then you need to loosen the soil, moisten it and plant pansies, either in a row or in a beautiful pattern.

Pansies - plant care. The most important rule for caring for a crop is watering it. Under no circumstances should the plant be flooded, but only watered when the soil dries out.

In winter, watering should be kept to a minimum, as excess moisture leads to downy mildew. With overwatering and lack of light, most often the roots do not develop and the crop begins to rot.

If this happens, you need to loosen the soil, wait until it dries slightly, water it with a diluted mixture of pencozeb and water, in the proportion of 1 tbsp. for 10 liters.

To prevent such a disease, it is recommended to treat pansies every two weeks with special preparations (for example, topsin and alette), treating them alternately each time so as not to cause the culture to become addictive.

Of course, you need to weed the crop, loosen the soil and feed it with liquid fertilizer. The flower tolerates transplantation quite well, and you can even do it in a blooming state.

The most common of the large-flowered varieties are pansies with spots on the petals and with corrugated petals, and of the gigantic varieties - Trimard, Doctor Faust, Adonis, Rogli, Cardinal.

Such beautifully flowering plants as pansies decorate flower beds, rocky hills, balconies, they are planted in hanging pots or flowerpots. Since the crop is not tall, flowers of the same height should be planted next to it.

Pansy care

For abundant and long-lasting flowering, one condition must be met - regular watering. Flowers do not tolerate drought.

Fertilizing is applied every 10 days, starting from the 10th day after planting. Use Kemira fertilizers or nitrophoska, alternating with a solution of bird droppings or mullein. Fresh manure must not be used!

Faded pansies are cut off, leaving shoots up to 5 cm long above the surface of the ground, so that after 2-3 weeks new shoots will form and the next wave of flowering will begin.

Pansies self-sow, so if the set seed pods are not removed in a timely manner, when they dry out, they can crack, crumble, and even shoot out, ending up in an unexpected and possibly unnecessary place.

For the winter, pansies must be covered with mulch. It protects the roots from temperature fluctuations in early spring. The layer of mulch should not completely cover the flowers so that they do not “suffocate” in the spring. To protect against frost, make snow retention.

Collect pansy seeds when the seed pods turn pale in color. Seed germination lasts for 3 years.

Fertilizer application

Feed pansies once every 30 days, use superphosphate or ammonium nitrate. You can also use complex fertilizers that are rich in potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and other useful microelements.

Watering pansies

With the onset of hot days, the root system may begin to dry out due to its close location to the top layer of soil. To avoid this, violas need to be watered regularly, but without fanaticism. Excess moisture, as mentioned above, the plant will not like, and the roots begin to rot. At average temperatures, watering is carried out up to three times a week, but when it gets hot, the flowers can be watered daily.

Features of propagation of pansies by seeds

Seeds when sowing directly on the ground;

Vegetative method (stem division);

Seeds with preliminary preparation of seedlings.

Sowing seeds in greenhouse conditions- the simplest and most effective option for propagating pansies in our climate. It can be roughly divided into two stages: germination of flowers in greenhouse conditions and subsequent planting of seedlings on the ground. Each of these stages has its own characteristics, which will be discussed below.

Many experienced gardeners plant pansies directly in open ground, but it is no less common seedling method growing pansies at home, which makes it possible to grow healthy plants that will bloom much earlier and most likely even more abundantly.

Caring for viola is not so complicated and painstaking, so gardeners with great desire grow this flower on their plots.

When to plant viola seedlings

The timing of planting violas varies depending on the method of their propagation. Thus, there are 3 ways to grow pansies:

  • Spring planting seeds for seedlings late February - early March. The advantage of this method is that the plants will begin to bloom early and will decorate your garden this summer. Some of the seedlings can not be planted in the garden, but transplanted into flowerpots or balcony boxes.
  • Viola can be planted from seeds and directly into open ground in the summer. This is usually done in late spring - May-early June. Flowering should be expected by autumn or earlier (in August-September).
  • It is common to plant pansies by seeds in the fall or even in late summer (usually in August - early September). After successful winter rooting, the seedlings will begin to grow, and flowering will begin almost immediately upon the arrival of spring.

According to the lunar calendar in 2020

This can help you choose the optimal date for sowing seeds. Moon calendar.

Viola can be either an annual or a perennial plant, each of which has its own dates according to the lunar calendar. However, most often (in cold and harsh winter conditions), it is grown as an annual plant.

So favorable days for sowing annual viola in 2020 according to the Lunar calendar are:

  • in February – 1-8, 10-20, 25-29;
  • in March – 2-8, 10-14, 29-31;
  • in April – 1, 2, 5-7, 9, 17-20, 24, 25;
  • in June - 2-4, 7-9, 11-14, 16-19.

Favorable days for sowing perennial (biennial) viola in 2020 according to the Lunar calendar are:

  • in February - 1-8, 10-20, 25-29;
  • in March - 4-6, 12-14, 26-31;
  • in April - 1, 2, 5-7, 9, 13-15, 24, 25;
  • in May - 2-6, 15-17, 20, 21, 25-31;
  • in June - 2-4, 6-9, 11-14, 23-25;

Unfavorable days according to the lunar calendar for 2020 for sowing annual and perennial pansies are the following dates (Full Moon and New Moon days, as well as the period when the Moon is in Aquarius, since this is a barren and dry sign - italicized):

  • in February - 9, 21-22 , 23;
  • in March - 9, 19-21 , 24;
  • in April - 8, 15-17 , 23;
  • in May - 7, 13-14 , 22;
  • in June - 5, 9-11 , 21.

According to lunar calendar from the magazine “1000 tips for a summer resident.”

How to plant pansies for seedlings: rules and methods

Container and soil mixture

You can sow and grow viola seedlings in any landing tanks, these can be plastic and wooden boxes, cardboard and peat cups, disposable plastic cups, special trays and cassettes for seedlings, peat tablets. You can make the container yourself, for example, by cutting plastic bottles or milk cartons and other food containers.

When you think about choosing a soil, there are always exactly 2 options. Buy a ready-made mixture for flower seedlings in the store or make it yourself. There is no fundamental difference, everything depends on your time and capabilities.

To prepare substrate for growing pansy seedlings with your own hands The following components will be required in equal parts:

  • turf land;
  • humus;
  • peat;
  • sand.

Then the resulting soil mixture must be mixed well and preferably sifted. You can disinfect the soil by steaming it.

Do not forget! To successfully grow any seedlings, including violas, proper drainage is necessary.

Preparing seeds for sowing (processing)

To speed up seed germination and increase their resistance to disease, viola seeds are pre-planted treated with growth accelerators. The most popular means for soaking before sowing seedlings are “Zircon” and “Epin”.

Direct sowing

A step-by-step guide to planting viola seeds for seedlings at home traditional way as follows:

  1. Moisten (for example, you can also pour a 1% solution of potassium permanganate or to increase protection against rot and other dangerous diseases), and then lightly compact the soil in the planting container.
  2. Sow pansy seeds over the surface (some gardeners plant them in shallow furrows, maximum 5 mm, and then lightly sprinkle with soil). Try to distribute the flower seeds as evenly as possible; for this, for example, use a small piece of white paper and slowly sow the seeds along the edge.
  3. Using a spray bottle, thoroughly moisten the crops again.
  4. Then cover with a lid or plastic wrap. You can also put the container directly into the bag or put shoe covers on it.
  5. Place the container with the plantings in a dark and warm place where the air temperature averages 22 degrees.

Video: sowing viola seeds for seedlings and germination results

By the way! Viola can be sown to the snow. To do this, lay a small layer of snow on top of the soil and place the seeds on it. The snow will gradually melt and draw the seeds into the soil.

Caring for viola after planting seedlings

As practice shows, friendly shoots will begin to appear after 1 week or a week and a half. Now you need to move the container from a dark place to a sunny window (you can even directly to the south).

It is important that the soil of the seedlings is always slightly moist. Therefore, do not forget to implement regular watering.

Important! The soil must be kept moderately moist, since excess moisture leads to plant disease.

After 6-7 days from the moment of formation of the first shoots - the cover will need to be removed, but first you need to start ventilating the soil gradually, increasing the duration over time.

Pansies require 15 hour (+-1 hour) daylight hours Accordingly, due to early sowing, it is recommended to supplement the young seedlings with phytolamps or conventional LED lamps, otherwise they may stretch out too much.

Picking

The time for picking pansy seedlings comes when it has 2 true leaves.

Note! It must be admitted that viola easily takes root after almost any transplant, even not the most accurate one. Thus, young seedlings whose roots are slightly damaged during picking may initially slow down their development a little, but then begin to grow steadily. However you need to approach the procedure with full responsibility!

If possible, try to plant viola seedlings into separate planting containers (pots, cups), or into a common container according to a 5 by 5 centimeter pattern.

The requirements for the soil do not change, except that this time steaming will not be required. However, it is recommended to add mineral fertilizer to the soil mixture, which can be nitrophoska or azofoska, at the rate of 2 tbsp. l. funds for 4 liters of land.

Important! The roots should be freely placed in the hole. They must not be bent when filling them. If, however, they do not fit, then they should be pinched.

Viola seedlings that have become too elongated should be buried down to the cotyledon leaves.

After transplanting, it is necessary to water. If after this the ground has settled excessively, then more soil should be added.

Video: picking a viola

That's all! Now you can again place the seedlings on the windowsill or any other bright place where the temperature will remain at 16 (+-1) degrees.

Once every 2 weeks you can feed pansies with complex mineral fertilizers for seedlings, which include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

When there are approximately 2 weeks left before planting, viola seedlings should be started harden, gradually taking it out into the fresh air. Try to keep the pots out of direct sunlight, otherwise young and fragile leaves may get burned.

If you did everything correctly when planting and grew pansy seedlings at home according to the recommendations, then in the second half of May the violas will bloom, and they can be planted in open ground or transplanted into hanging balcony containers, flower pots or a high flower bed.

Video: how to grow good viola seedlings

When and how to plant viola seedlings in open ground

You should start transferring pansy seedlings into the soil or into a flower bed when the weather outside is consistently warm (no return frosts), that is, in general, this occurs in May.

Place for planting a viola, as a rule, it requires good illuminated(But not open, otherwise the plantings will simply burn), however, it is possible to plant near trees, through the crowns of which diffused sunlight will fall.

Priming to plant pansies there must be loose and airy, so any will do, and it doesn’t have to be the most fertile land on your plot. For example, if your soil is too heavy and clayey, then add peat and sand to it, as well as complex mineral fertilizer (about 35 grams per 1 square meter). Then dig up the bed thoroughly.

Recommended disembarkation scheme and distance pansy seedlings - 20 cm from each other. If you want to plant flowers in 1 row, then the distance between flowers should be reduced to 15 cm. When directly planting viola seedlings in the garden bed, you need to deepen the root collar slightly, about 1 cm.

If you transplant pansies into boxes on the balcony or flowerpots, then their volume should be about 1.5 liters per 1 flower.

The final touch will be to thoroughly moisten the soil around the new plantings.

Further care of viola in open ground

Caring for pansies consists of the following main points:

  • watering;
  • loosening;
  • feeding

Video: growing and caring for pansies

Most suitable fertilizers for pansies there are complex mineral supplements containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, that is, it can be, for example, nitroammofoska.

Worth knowing! Viola should not be fed with fresh manure. Flowers generally do not tolerate such feeding.

Pansies love regular loosening, which rids the plantings of weeds and allows air to better penetrate the root system of the plant. However, do this carefully so as not to damage the roots.

Long flowering of viola is the key to constant soil moisture. Accordingly, if there is not enough moisture, then you won’t have to rely on stormy colors.

To increase the flowering time of viola grown in flowerpots or balcony boxes, as well as in the garden, it is necessary monitor and promptly get rid of the seeds that set.

By the way! Pansies self-sow. So don't be surprised if a lot of new flowers appear on your site next year.

Concerning trimmings viola bushes, then it is highly recommended. For example, after the pansies have faded, they should be cut to 4-5 cm. After half a month, fresh shoots will appear and the flowers will open again. Moreover, this procedure will have a particularly positive effect on flowering next year.

Thus, plant viola seeds for seedlings and in open ground correctly, care for the seedlings according to the recommendations received, and pansies will delight you and decorate your garden plot from spring to autumn.

Video: how to grow pansies

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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 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, which give the “pansies” a unique charm, but there are monochromatic ones, 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 what more flower, all 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 back 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. The best temperature for plant growth is +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, they 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.