The delicate delicate viola belonging to the famous Fialkov family is so well-known to everyone that it is impossible to find a person unfamiliar with the plant, which is also called “pansies” in Russia. Everyone can grow such a flower.
Wild representatives of this genus - the oldest plants, usually distributed in the mountainous regions of the temperate climatic zones of the Northern Hemisphere, existed more than two millennia ago. They number up to seven hundred species and some of them are endemic to certain areas, for example, there are species found exclusively in the South American Andes, the Brazilian subtropics, forests of Australia or New Zealand.
In the 16th century, fragrant violet was cultivated , then mountain violet . Europeans got acquainted with the species, called Viola Wittroka and which is a hybrid of three plants - viola yellow, tricolor and Altai, in the 19th century. Today, this garden view has become a popular culture, numbering several hundred varieties and varieties and decorating gardens and parks of all European countries. Let's talk about this culture, its addictions, cultivation and features of care.
Viola Wittroka: species description
This famous violet is a perennial, biennial or annual herb, reaching 15-30 cm in height, with a fibrous root system and a direct main shoot.
Different varieties have different leaflets, simple or pinnate: equipped with stipules, they either develop from a basal rosette, or are arranged on stems.
Viola flowers are solitary, growing from sinuses on thin peduncles and reaching very large sizes (5-7 cm in diameter), given the general miniature of the bush. In form, they are simple, terry with wavy, corrugated or fringed edges. Upper petals of flowers with peculiar nails, lower with a small spur. The colors of flowers of cultural varieties are the most diverse: single and multi-color, spotted, striped. The gardeners' special love is caused by the fact that the viola Wittroka blooms generously, simultaneously dissolving up to 25 buds. The flowering period depends on the time of planting: from April to June or from August to the coldest. There are hybrids that can bloom the entire summer season. The ripened small brown seeds are collected in a fruit box. Germination in them persists for more than 2 years.
Garden classification
Perennial grown in gardens as a two-year-old plant and the most common type of violet in the culture, called Viola Wittroka, combines varieties of garden pansies, classifying them into different categories: timing and duration of flowering, shape, size, color of flowers, their degree of cold resistance.
So, if the size of the flowers and their number simultaneously blooming on the bush are taken as the basis, then the viola varieties are divided into large-flowered varieties called grandiflora and multi-flowered - multiflora. When choosing a color criterion, varieties are conditionally classified into one-, two-, multi-color or spotted. A clear classification defining the boundaries of varieties does not exist, since it simply cannot be determined, because the same variety can be defined simultaneously in a group of spotted, two-colored or multi-colored.
Popular varieties
We will not dwell on the listing of all varieties and varieties, but we will talk about the varieties most demanded today. For example, viola Wittrock's “Baroque” received recognition and love of gardeners - a spectacular, unpretentious culture that grows up to 30 cm and delights with the abundant flowering of large limbic maroon-terracotta flowers throughout the summer season. Planted in seedlings, this violet blooms in the year of planting. Viola Wittroka “Baroque” captivates with its beauty and bright colors. Photos of this variety are presented in the article. Flowers reach very significant sizes - 5-7 cm in diameter.
Viott Wittrock's “Terry Lace” is even more decorative, from the name of which it becomes clear that this violet is the owner of large (6-8 cm) flowers of amazing beauty with a relief corrugated edge. This variety is remarkable for a high degree of winter hardiness, unpretentiousness, and the ability to develop splendidly on soils of any composition and maintain continuous flowering throughout the season.
Viola Wittroka: growing
Viola is hardy and frost-resistant, it grows excellently in the shade, although it blooms more abundantly in the sun and its flowers are larger. Therefore, the site is chosen as sunny as possible, located on a certain elevation, without a close approach of groundwater. It is noted that violet can successfully grow on any, even the most difficult soils, but prefers moist fertile loams. Before planting a plant, the soil on the site should be prepared by digging a shovel on a bayonet and adding 10 kg of humus and peat and 5 kg of sand per 1 square meter.
Seeding for seedlings
The best way to grow viola is considered seedlings. This makes it possible to obtain a blooming flower bed in the summer, meanwhile, as the seeds sown in open ground in June pass a two-year development cycle and the flowers appear by the beginning of next summer.
These are the botanical features of a plant such as Viola Wittroka. Growing from seeds begins in February-March with soaking for a day in a solution of a biostimulator, for example, Epina, Zircon or Heteroauxin, for example, the concentration of which corresponds to the recommendations in the instructions for the drug. Seedling containers are filled with a special substrate for violets, purchased at the store, grooves are marked out, prepared seeds are sown and watered with settled water. Sprinkling seeds with soil, the containers are covered with a transparent film or glass and installed in a room with an air temperature of 15-17 ° C.
Seedlings and picks
Shoots appear after 10-15 days. As soon as germination begins, the film shelter is removed, and the boxes with seedlings are placed in a bright, cool place (+ 10 ° C). Care of seedlings during this period consists of regular irrigation with warm water and the introduction of a solution of complex fertilizer for seedlings every two weeks. With the appearance of several real leaves, the grown seedlings are planted in separate pots. As a rule, this occurs about a month and a half after germination.
With intensive growth of seedlings, you have to dive the viola again, but usually one dive operation is enough. In addition, the amazing endurance of the violet allows it to take root well in the flower bed even after planting flowering plants.
Dates of planting on the flowerbed
Viola seedlings are planted in open ground, focusing on the climatic features of the area. This usually occurs in late April or May. The main thing is to plant the plant after the threat of return frosts has passed, since immature and unrooted violets will not endure sharp cooling. The planting technology is simple: the seedlings are placed in prepared holes with an interval of 10-15 cm, they sprinkle the roots with earth, compact the soil around the plants and generously watered. Perennial viola varieties grow greatly and lose their decorativeness over time. Their best varieties are easily propagated by cuttings.
Outdoor Viola Care
The complex of caring events is uncomplicated and traditional for planting crops such as the Viola Wittroka.
Leaving consists in periodic loosening of soil and removal of germinating weeds. Given the peculiarities of the development of the root system of the plant, and it is superficial and placed no deeper than 15-20 cm, the level of humidity should be controlled and the soil should be kept moist during hot periods. To prolong flowering, it is necessary to cut off the faded buds, as the ripening of the seeds draws the forces of the plant onto itself, significantly reducing the flowering intensity.
In addition, high-quality flowering is impossible without good nutrition. Viola Wittroka responds with luxurious flowering for the monthly application of ammonium nitrate or superphosphate in the amount of 25-30 g per 1 square meter.
The listed stages of care are acceptable for all varieties of garden violets, including such as Viola Wittroka “Baroque”. Growing seedlings from seeds and subsequent planting in open ground is the most reliable way to get a bright, flowerbed, rainbow colored with all the colors.
Viola diseases and pests
Agricultural technology for growing violets is simple, but non-compliance with these simple rules leads to problems. Pest attacks or the occurrence of diseases are often the result of failure to complete the above steps. Often, Viola Wittroka suffers from powdery mildew, a white coating that appears on leaves, stems and flowers.
This happens when overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers and lack of phosphorus-potash or adverse weather conditions, when hot, dry days are interspersed with cold matinees with heavy dew. Excessive moisture can cause gray rot and black foot. Eliminate such diseases by spraying with a solution of "Fundazole", caustic soda or infusion of ground sulfur to remove the affected parts of plants.
Of the insect pests, the caterpillars of the clover moth and violet mother of pearl, which quickly and quickly eat viola leaves, are of particular danger. They are destroyed by spraying a solution of chlorophos, karbofos or tobacco infusion.
Seed collection
Seeds left on flower stalks ripen in mid-August - September. After the flowers wilt, small boxes with small brown seeds form. It is important not to miss the moment of their ripening, as the capsules open and scatter seeds. The readiness of seeds for collection is manifested by turning the seed boxes up. They are carefully cut, the seeds are extracted and laid out for drying, and then they are stored in a cellar or refrigerator, since they need stratification.
If the seed boxes are not cleaned on purpose, then the seeds are sown on their own, and such spontaneous seedlings can be seen in the fall or next spring. In this case, the seedlings are planted in prepared places, bypassing the seedling period and the procedures accompanying it, time and effort.
Winter chores
The deduced varieties of perennial violets, to which Viola Wittroka belongs (photos are presented in the publication), can withstand even very severe frosts (up to -30 ºC) if, with the onset of real cold weather, planting is covered with spruce spruce branches or mulled with dry plant residues.
These are the features of caring for cute and unpretentious violets that adorn garden and park interiors, pleasing life-affirming colors and the amazing duration of flowering and amateur gardeners and professional gardeners.