Orange pansy with eye

Viola wittrockiana - Orange with Eye

Pansies, also known as violas, are biennial plants. There are more than 450 species of pansies in the world. The distinction between pansies and violas is not definitive. Violas are shorter and more compact. Their flowers are smaller than those of pansies. They are often single-colored. Pansies have large flowers. They bloom mainly in spring, from April to June. Depending on sowing time, they can also bloom in autumn, in September and November. Their flowers are beautiful and velvety. The flowers come in a whole spectrum of colors, including black. They can grow up to 30 cm in height - depending on the species.

The most well-known biennials include: Viola x wittrockiana (garden pansy), which reaches a height of up to 30 cm. V. cornuta (horned violet) - grows to a height of 15 - 20 cm and Viola tricolor.

They are suitable for flower beds alone or in combination with other flowers. An excellent combination is planting pansies with spring bulbs, especially tulips. We can also plant them in bowls, planters, on windows, on balconies, on graves and in ornamental beds. Pansies are a popular flower for memorial plantings.

How to Grow Pansies

• Plants require a bright location. Keep the substrate moist - not wet or waterlogged. They do not tolerate direct sunlight and drought. Regularly loosen the soil around the plants and keep it weed-free. They may die during severe frosts. Therefore, lightly cover the plants with conifer branches.

• Before sowing, mix the seeds with fine sand and mix thoroughly. This stratifies the seeds. Sow seeds under glass from February to April so that plants bloom in summer. Plant out in the flower bed in May. Sow biennials from June to July so they bloom in spring. Standard seed compost is sufficient for sowing.

• Soil should be humus-rich with sufficient nutrients. Well-draining.

• Plants do not need additional fertilizing. Well-prepared soil for planting or substrate intended for container growing will last the plants for many months. If the soil is not particularly rich in nutrients, apply NPK fertilizer with a lower amount of nitrogen - such as Cererit, Kristalon. Dilute the fertilizer in water and apply once every 14 days with regular watering.

• Pansies are affected by a number of fungal diseases. The most common disease is leaf spot. Among animal pests, spider mites and slugs frequently occur, feeding on the plants. A common disease is Phytophthora root rot. Infection manifests as browning and dying of roots and stem bases. Remove diseased plants. Apply spraying or watering with 0.2% Aliette 80 WG or 0.05% Polyversum (2 - 3 l water/m²). Sometimes plants are damaged by pansy yellows caused by aster phytoplasma yellows. The disease appears on young autumn seedlings. Affected plants turn yellow, stop growing, flowers are poorly colored and plants die during winter. Suitable protection is crop rotation. This means changing the location where we grow the plants every year.