Pansies - planting and care

The richness of colors, winter hardiness, compactness - this is what makes this culture so attractive. Not without reason, for several centuries gardeners have grown this domesticated subspecies of the tricolor violet.

Pansies photos - spring flowerbed

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

Pansies photo - white perfection - Weiss variety

Thanks to the tireless work of breeders pansies flowers every year are becoming more diverse. Do not believe? Take a look at the nearest seed shop or order the catalog online. Along with the classic purple, white, yellow pansies, you will find there new varieties of viola in different tones - pink, orange, pastel shades. Most of them are still decorated with characteristic spots that give pansies a unique charm, but there are single-colored, so to speak, with “clean faces”.

In addition, varieties are bred with flowers looking upwards on a short stem. Such pansies are much more noticeable on the flowerbed than looking down. It is important that they tolerate bad weather better.

What sort of pansies should choose

Breeders and sellers of seeds divide pansies into two categories: varieties with large flowers - large-flowered and varieties with small flowers - many-flowered.

The largest flowers reach a diameter of 10 cm, in small ones - about 6 cm, and in the rest - somewhere between.

Pansies photos - self-seeding

When choosing a variety of pansies, you should not think that the bigger the flower, the better. As experience shows, the most hardy, strong plants have just small flowers. In addition, small multi-flowered varieties are better adapted to rainy weather, temperature extremes. Although they have small flowers, but they are many, so that the overall effect is obtained brighter than from the same number of bushes with large flowers.

As experience shows, where the climate is colder, small-flowered varieties win. But small-flowered pansies became leaders also in the south. For the sake of justice, it should be admitted that in the south there is one interesting feature of the large-flowered pansies: the hotter the weather, the smaller the pansies become. Thus, having planted a spring plant with small flowers, by the end of the season you will receive very small flowers. That is why large-flowered pansies traditionally dominate in city beds, for example, they look great in hanging baskets or containers.

When to plant pansies

So, the most difficult thing behind: the grade is selected. You can go along the line of least resistance, and at the same time save a lot of time - buy seedlings, bring them home, plant them in a country house or plot.

However, if you prefer to germinate the seeds yourself, then you should know: in order to have pansies in your garden this spring, you will have to start working in the winter. Two and a half, or even three months, it will be necessary for the seedlings to be transplanted into the ground from the germinated seed.

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

Pansies photos - Dynamite Orange

The most common mistake of amateur gardeners - they begin to germinate seeds too late. Remember that these flowers love cool, because they have never been tropical plants.

The ideal temperature for seed germination is relatively low: 18 ° C.You should not germinate them where you dried or stored gladiolus bulbs - gladioli are often infected with thrips, and these pests love to feast on the seedlings of pansies!

Sowing is done in January in a greenhouse or in July in open ground, the seeds are slightly sprinkled with earth. Germinate on day 7-14.Shoots pritenyayut from direct sunlight. The best temperature for plant growth is + 16-18 ° C during the day and + 10-15 ° C at night. It is necessary to monitor the constant soil moisture. Planting of winter seedlings to a permanent place is made in spring, and summer ones - in autumn.

How to plant pansies on seedlings

Sow seeds in moist soil for seedlings, sprinkle them with a thin layer of vermiculite or sand - seeds of pansies do not germinate in the light.

Moisten the soil, but not too much, until shoots appear( as a rule, this happens after about a week).If possible, water through the drip tray. To retain moisture, you can cover the box with a film, just do not forget to provide ventilation, otherwise cool pansies under the film just cook.

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

If you germinate 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).A month later, transplant seedlings in pots. As soon as the air temperature reaches + 5 ° С, take the pots outside in the afternoon.

When the plants are 10-11 weeks old, proceed to hardening, which will help them to adapt more easily after landing in the ground. A protected garden bed is also suitable for this purpose. If severe frosts are expected, cover the seedlings with a thin layer of straw or covering material.

Pansies - plant care

Thanks to winter hardiness and endurance, it is easy to grow modern varieties of pansies. Open space and soil with good drainage - that’s probably all they need. If you live in the south, plant them in a lace shade - this will help the plants to survive the heat more easily. Regardless of the climate, the soil should have good drainage. If the earth is dense and moist, the pansies will get root rot. To avoid this scourge, for a start, plant them on a high bed.

What to feed? Compost, of course. No other fertilizer is needed. If you do not have compost, use any other organic fertilizer with a relatively high content of phosphorus and potassium and a low content of nitrogen.

Pansies photos - a mixture of varieties

If you want to maximize the period of flowering pansies, regularly remove wilted flowers. Since they have rather shallow roots, with the onset of heat, mulch them with straw or grass clippings - this will also prolong the flowering period. If in August you have pansies bloom, do not forget to cut the seed boxes, and flowering will continue throughout autumn.

Growing pansies - tips

• Want to extend the spring? Then leave the pansies to winter. We assure you, this is not a joke! Plant seedlings of pansies closer to the end of summer - they will bloom all fall, during the winter thaw, even next spring!
• This culture boasts extremely healthy heredity: its ancestors are tricolor field violet and yellow forest violet. In fact, modern garden pansies belong to perennial plants and, if you cover them for the winter, live for several years, although more often we treat them as annuals and with the onset of heat ruthlessly pull out of the ground with the root.
• If you plant them from August 15 to September 10, then Vittrock's violets will perfectly take root, decorate your garden not only in the fall, but also next spring. After wintering, they will bloom in early spring, will bloom all March, April, and especially magnificently in May.
• Small-flowered varieties tolerate wintering especially well. Pansies of classic colors( golden, purple, white with spots, yellow with spots) overwinter better than modern orange, red, pink and pastel.
• If you decide to plant pansies in the fall, 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, land with poor drainage will kill wintering plants. Planted them in the ground at least one month before the onset of frosts, so that the roots could adapt to the beginning of winter.
• We recommend planting pansies interspersed with bulbs of tulips or daffodils - in the spring you have a garden with an exquisite carpet.
• The best cover for pansies is snow cover. If the winter will be cold, but 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, crush, damage the plants.
• If you live in the northern territories, you want to plant these flowers in the fall, even leave them for the winter, find out in advance if there is a seedling of pansies in the nursery. If it does not, sprout the seeds of suitable varieties themselves. They must be germinated in the middle of summer. Prepare a cool place( cellar), get to work.
• You can wait for the fall, sow the seeds in a cold greenhouse or a protected garden bed, and transplant the seedlings in open ground in early spring. In the fall, you will not wait for flowering, but from early spring pansies will decorate your garden.
• As a rule, there are no pest problems in pansies. However, sometimes, when there is dryness, heat, red mites appear. It is necessary to treat the plants with any insecticidal soap solution.

Pansies Photo - Viola Vitrok Blend