By variety and richness color range this culture has no equal. Pansies, behind them, growing seedlings are the main stages of work, which are not always easy for novice gardeners. Despite their fragile appearance and touching name, pansies (violas) cannot be classified as sissies and prudes. They are suitable for cultivation throughout Russia. Violas are planted in gardens and front gardens, and they decorate parks and city streets. All this makes them a real hit in spring flower beds.

Their appearance distinguished by exquisite panache, especially 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, 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 are large-flowered;
• varieties with small flowers are multi-flowered.

At the most large flowers reach a diameter of 10 cm, for small ones - about 6 cm, and for 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, the better. Experience shows that the hardiest, strongest plants have just 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 the 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 dominate 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 frosts. 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 amateur gardeners make 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 straight lines sun rays. 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. Planting winter seedlings on permanent place produced in the spring, and summer - in the fall.

How to plant pansies for seedlings

Sow the seeds in moist soil for seedlings, sprinkle them thin layer 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 germinate seeds at home under a lamp daylight, 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. open place 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 put them on 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 with a relatively high content of phosphorus and potassium and a small amount of 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 you still have them blooming in August, don’t forget to cut off the seed pods and 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.

Growing flowers with such a poetic name is widespread in our gardens, both in flower beds and flower pots and containers.

Pansies (another name is viola) in ancient times were attributed magical property- to bewitch love. It was believed that all one had to do was sprinkle the juice of this plant on the eyelids of a sleeping person, then wait for him to wake up, and the one he saw first would become the object of his adoration.

The French and Poles usually present these flowers to their loved ones during an upcoming long separation.

They are perennials that are often grown as biennials or annuals.

They, along with other annuals such as nasturtium, perfectly decorate any garden, terrace, or balcony.

Perennials or annuals?

Pansies can be grown as annual or perennial flowers. It all depends on the climatic conditions in which the plants are grown and the labor you are willing to put in.
These flowers are quite frost-resistant, but even in central Russia they are not always able to survive the cold winter. Particularly vulnerable are plants that were planted late, had little growth and went into winter weakened.

Viola does not tolerate wintering well in winters with little snow; spring thaws followed by night frosts are especially dangerous for flowers.

In order to prevent the viola from freezing, you need to avoid low, damp places for planting, cover the flowers with covering material for the winter, and in winter carry out snow retention in the flower bed with pansies.

In order for the viola to bloom earlier, it is better to cover the flowerbed with film in early spring.
Growing annual viola is a more predictable process.

Viola varieties

Numerous varieties of these flowers are hybrids of several types of violets. All varieties are widely used in floriculture to create borders, flowering carpets, flower beds, ridges, as well as for decorating windows and balconies.

Viola can be compact or spreading bushes.
Violas are distributed throughout the globe. The most common groups among our flower growers are as follows:

• Erfurt early,
• winter chimalis,
• Swiss grandiflora (Roggli),
• trimardo abundantly flowering.

Pansies have an incredible variety of colors and colors, the most popular is viola tricolor - the top of the petals - purple, the middle petals are yellow and the lower petals are light yellow or white.

Landing conditions

Pansies are heat-loving plants. They should be grown in sunny or slightly shaded areas. In partial shade, their flowers become small, and the plant itself grows for a long time.

But in a sunny place the plant has large, bright flowers. Plants do not tolerate lowlands and damp places and spring stagnation of water quite well. Loamy, fertile, moist, neutral soils are suitable for pansies.

Growing methods

You can grow these flowers from seeds, planting them directly in open ground, or grow seedlings from seeds.

In addition, it is possible for pansies to self-sow in the spring in the place where they were planted last year.

In this case, the flowers are cross-pollinated, their species differences are lost, and the color and size of the flower changes.

These flowers are cross-pollinated plants, when planting you need different varieties plant at a distance from each other to maintain the purity of the variety.

To collect seeds from your flowers in the country, you need to select strong specimens, wait until the seed pods turn yellow and collect the seeds before the pods crack and the seeds spill out onto the ground.

At the same time, it is possible to prepare seeds of exactly those varieties of flowers and colors that you like. The seeds are very small - there are almost a thousand pieces in one gram.

Growing from seeds in open ground

Seeds are planted in open ground in June - July, and pansies will not bloom this year. Flowers will begin to bloom profusely next year early spring.

Seeds are sown in rows in a nursery - a special bed with well-prepared soil. After the emergence of seedlings, they are planted, i.e., replanted by pinching the central root by one third for better root formation.

This is done if there are two true leaves and transplanted to a permanent place within 25 by 25 centimeters. The plant should develop well over the summer, but not bloom.

Growing seedlings

The seeds are sown in early March in small containers with a drainage hole. The soil for seedlings is shed with potassium permanganate a day before. The seeds are laid out, moistened from the sprayer, covered with glass or the boxes with seedlings are placed in a plastic bag and placed in a warm, dark place.

When the sprouts appear, transfer them to the windowsill, being careful not to overcook them under film or glass. Next we proceed in the same way as with the sprouts in open ground– we dive and then transplant into separate cups.

At the end of April, you need to harden off - take the seedlings outside or onto the balcony. Depending on the weather, seedlings are planted in open ground in April - early May, and in a month the viola will delight you with abundant flowering.

Propagation by cuttings

Pansies are also propagated from seeds by green cuttings.
When the bushes grow for more than two years, they can grow greatly and flowering becomes less abundant.

In order to rejuvenate the plant and propagate it, cuttings are used.

From May to July, the most beautiful specimens are selected in several stages, the buds are removed, young terminal shoots with 2-3 nodes are cut off and planted close together in the shade in moist soil.

Cover the top with a jar or paper soaked in water. Cuttings grow well if planted under the crown of a tree. In the fall, after the cuttings have grown well, you can transplant them to their permanent place.
Plant care. For the winter, plants are mulched. Standard care: weeding, watering, loosening, fertilizing. For long flowering faded flowers are removed.

Bloom

Flowering begins in April and continues until frost.

Because of the love of the sun, pansies on sunny side always bigger and more bright color, but they will bloom faster.
Pansies, which are grown as biennial plants, are recommended to be taken from cuttings.

Plants grown from summer crops in the previous year, or grown from cuttings, bloom more profusely and their flower sizes are larger than those of annual flowers.

Watering. Water at the root, abundantly and regularly.
Fertilizers, fertilizing. These flowers love fertilizers containing potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and microelements. The first feeding is carried out at the beginning of butanization.
Diseases, pests. The plant is affected by the following diseases and pests: powdery mildew, leaf spot, root-knot nematode, blackleg, aphid.

Growing in areas with cold climates requires one important procedure - the plants should be dug up for the winter and transferred to a greenhouse. For other regions, it is quite sufficient to cover the plants well with sawdust and covering material. Pansies can be combined with other biennials and perennials such as mignonette.

Good luck, gardeners!

Good afternoon, dear friends!

I want to tell you about my miniature flowers - pansies. It seems that they are correctly called tricolor wild violet - a prototype of the garden viola. But we are more used to it, and this is what I like to call these flowers - perennial pansies.

These perennial flowers in the country or in the garden look great both in mini-beds and in flowerpots.

Perennial pansy flowers

If garden viola is grown mainly as an annual or biennial and has large flowers ranging in size from 4 to 10 cm in diameter of a wide variety of colors, then miniature pansies - perennial. Moreover, they multiply and grow everywhere like weeds simply, just have time to weed, dig, and replant.

I got these flowers about 5 years ago. They brought me only a few small bushes. I planted them in a flowerbed near the house, and the next year I decided to transplant them to another place, and then moved them to a third place - to a mini-bed made of tires.

But perennial pansy flowers reproduce well by self-sowing, so in the spring they bloom everywhere for me - both in old places and in places where I haven’t planted them at all.

Perennial pansies description

Flowers pansies so tiny - only about 2 cm in diameter. They usually have only one color: the upper petals are lilac or purple, the middle ones are white, and the lower ones are yellow. In total, as you know, these flowers have five petals.

Just the combination of juicy lilac color with yellow it is very harmonious and pleasing to the eye, which is why pansies attract attention.

Perennial pansies grow up to 20 cm in height.

They begin to bloom in early spring, in April - May and bloom throughout June.

It tolerates frost easily and is a frost-resistant plant.

If it weren't for our hot summer, perhaps they would have bloomed longer. But during drought, flowering becomes sparse, the flowers become even smaller and then the plant stops blooming altogether.

Perennial pansies planting and care

Perennial pansies should be sown in June-July on planting rows. 2-3 weeks after germination they dive. And in August they are planted in a permanent place.

Pansies tolerate transplants very well, even in a blooming state. So you can replant them both in spring and summer.

They are undemanding to light; sandy or loamy soils, moderately moist and well fertilized, are suitable for them. But fresh manure There is no need to bring it in, pansies don’t like it.

If you don’t already have such miniature flowers in your dacha or garden. I definitely recommend planting it. Such cute perennial pansies always evoke tenderness and joy and create a good mood.

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Beef roll with chicken fillet and sweet peppers - juicy, tasty and healthy. This dish is suitable for a diet and low-calorie menu. Several thin slices of juicy meatloaf with salad from fresh vegetables- what is not breakfast before a working day? You'll have to tinker a little with shaping the product itself, and then watch it cook for a couple of hours - the rolls can be steamed in baking bags or boiled in a large saucepan at a temperature of about 80 °C.

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Among the plants, one species of which seems to transport us to tropical forests filled with aroma, quisqualis is one of the most “atmospheric”. This is a rare and valuable indoor and greenhouse vine. And although the plant has long been reclassified into the genus Combretum, it is very difficult not to recognize it. This steeplejack is unusual in every way. The favorite feature of quisqualis remains the inflorescences, in which graceful flowers change from snow-white to crimson-red quite quickly.

Fast and very delicious salad from cabbage and pork. Koreans prepare a similar salad, apparently our housewives spied this one from them delicious recipe. Indeed, this is a very quick dish to prepare, and even without much culinary experience, it is easy to prepare. Choose lean pork, shoulder blade or sirloin are suitable. It is better to cut off the lard. You can simply chop early cabbage, but I advise you to chop winter cabbage thinly, sprinkle with salt and rub it with your hands.

A universal favorite among decorative deciduous perennials, the hosta captivates not only with the beauty of its leaves. It is durable and relatively undemanding, in right place growing for many years, but it can hardly be called fast-growing. Hosta propagates easily, although to obtain spectacular, highly decorative bushes you will have to be patient. To independently increase your hosta collection, first of all, you need to remember the characteristics of this culture.

Dill spreads well by self-sowing, so many summer residents do not consider it necessary to sow this crop every year on their site. But everyone understands that dill is different from dill. And the greens of carefully grown dill in the garden are, as a rule, superior in taste and aroma to the greens of dill that grows on its own. In this article we will tell you how to have green dill in your garden beds in sufficient quantities from early spring to late autumn.

Stir-fry with beef, soy noodles, vegetables and Iceberg salad - a recipe for a quick dinner or lunch for busy man. It takes no more than 15 minutes to prepare, and you can feed it to a couple of hungry mouths that can’t bear to wait for a fancy lunch. Stir-fry is a method of quickly frying vegetables and meat that came to us from the east. Don't be upset if you don't have a wok in your pantry. kitchen utensils. A regular frying pan with a thick bottom and non-stick coating will also work.

Among plants that boast variegated foliage, alpinia claims to be not only the rarest, but also the most original crop. It simultaneously reminds of bamboos and calathea arrowroots, and sometimes even of vriesea. True, it resembles the latter only in its inflorescences. Luxurious leaves, most often covered with variegated contrasting stripes, look so modern that it is impossible not to admire the beauty of their impeccable patterns and shine.

Vegetarian cabbage rolls from savoy cabbage with mushrooms - steamed cabbage rolls for dietary, vegetarian and Lenten menu. Stuffed cabbage rolls are incredibly tasty, very appetizing, and, if applicable to food, beautiful, unlike their counterparts from white cabbage, stewed in a Dutch oven or fried in a frying pan. Savoy cabbage is tastier than white cabbage, the head is loose, it is easier to separate it into individual leaves. The color of the leaves ranges from soft green to emerald.

IN winter time Every summer resident is looking forward to spring and is happy to open the season with the first plantings of flowers and vegetable crops for seedlings. But, unfortunately, the space on the windowsill is limited, and it is not always possible to place the required number of seedlings in cups in the apartment. In addition, some of the crops may simply not sprout, some will die... And for us, summer residents, no matter how much we plant, it’s not enough! Therefore, almost every gardener buys at least some seedlings.

Growing annuals in the garden has at least two advantages over growing perennial flowers. Firstly, most popular annual plants bloom profusely throughout the growing season. Secondly, many annuals sow freely and appear in the garden year after year with minimal participation from the grower. Which annuals can be planted only once, and then, following simple techniques, can be seen in the garden every season?

They say that if you give pansies to your lover, he will never be able to take his eyes off you again? There is no exact data on the veracity of the magical effects of this plant, so you will have to experience it yourself. Which type of plant should you choose – annual or perennial?

It’s good that there are plant varieties that give us freedom of choice. Pansies are no exception. The plant has frost-resistant properties, takes root well in almost any soil, and also does not require careful care or special growing techniques. To answer the question why pansies should be grown as a perennial plant, the following arguments were chosen: it tolerates winter, which means it will not require the hassle of replanting every year, the plant will take root in one place, which means it will be stronger and healthier if not disturbed constant movements.

There are also disadvantages long-term cultivation and they are determined by the weather characteristic of a particular region. Flower protection in winter, for the most part, occurs with the help of snow, and a season with little snow can destroy pansies. Melting snow in the spring also puts the flower at risk, but if you properly protect it, you don’t have to be afraid of these natural phenomena.

Annual pansies are entirely under our provision and completely under our control. We can prevent freezing and oversaturation with moisture, protect against cold winter without snow and other less than ideal weather conditions, so gardeners often opt for this option. Annual or perennial pansies do not differ in planting and care techniques, so you can first plant the plant, and as it develops, figure out how you want to grow it. In any case, annual pansies can be replanted outdoors after winter is over. You can choose new seat, if the previous one did not seem too fertile to you, which is undoubtedly a plus in favor of annual pansies.

The annual planting method is also used if you are planning to propagate pansies, but do not want them to grow in the area where you are planting them. For example, you need to improve your terrace or you are propagating them for sale. You can wait until the plant has bloomed and safely remove it from the soil substrate, moving it to a secluded place or moving it indoors, greenhouse conditions where pansies will heal new life. Greenhouse cultivation is also used in regions where in winter the soil and air temperatures drop very low and all vegetation dies. If in winter we can insulate the plant with hay or sawdust, then in the case of such an example we will only lose our pansies, so the option of many years of pleasure from flowering disappears immediately.

The last reasonable argument in favor of growing a flower for many years in order to balance the information: every year, with the help of pruning, you can achieve more lush flowering pansies and rapid development in width, so if you want to get a beautiful garden that tenderly greets you every morning, think about this option.