Horned violet is a perennial flower. The family it belongs to is violet-shaped.
Author of the article
Maxim Sverchkov
Professional biologist and breeder with extensive experience and experience.
Description of the plant
The height of this variety does not exceed twenty-five centimeters.
- The flowers of the plant are delicate with an exquisite aroma. They are small in size, about five millimeters in diameter.
- Their petals have an elongated shape. The inflorescences grow singly and give the bush the appearance of a pillow. Over time, the violet grows and the flowers become a carpet.
- The Horned Violet gets its name from its appendage at the back. It resembles a horn in appearance. The varieties that have recently begun to renew no longer have such a shoot.
The cultivation of horned violets began in 1776. The roots have many branches and the ability to spread. This plant grows and reproduces well.
Several planted bushes will turn into a flower garden with an area of two square meters in a year. Each of them can grow up to sixty inflorescences.
It will be interesting to read about growing Hottonia.
The flowers grow on long stems. In the center of the inflorescence there is an eye that has an orange tint. The oval leaves are dark green with large teeth along the edge. Horned violet can have different colors of its inflorescences.
They can be:
- soft purple
- yellow,
- orange,
- burgundy.
Some types of plants can grow with monochromatic flowers. Landscape designers prefer them for recreating flower beds. There are varieties in which one bush can have several colors at once.
The ability to bloom for a long time is an advantage of the horned violet. From May until September, the flowers do not disappear from the plant. The first inflorescences that appear in the spring are usually more magnificent than all the others.
On hot days, violets cannot have large flowers. By autumn her abilities are restored.
Advantages:
- Various shades of inflorescences;
- Blooms early and long;
- Not afraid of cold weather;
- Almost never gets sick.
Plant species
Viola Wittrock has a wide variety of varieties. Often in one flower bed you can see flowers of various colors and bud sizes .
The most popular are:
Alpensee
It is distinguished by large dark purple flowers and a yellow center.
Bambini
The buds are small and light. One Bambini flower combines several shades: yellow, pinkish burgundy. The bud has “eyelashes” of a dark tone.
F1 Crystal Bowl White
A beautiful hybrid with huge white flowers. The wavy petals are yellow at the base.
Delta pure deep orange
Single-color variety, bright orange buds. One of the hardiest species.
Firnengold
The flowers are large yellow. In the center of each there is a dark spot.
Majestic Giant II Scherry
It is distinguished by the colorful buds. Each petal has a purple edge, then white stripes with a dark purple center. The eye is yellow .
Maxim Marina
It is resistant to very high temperatures and blooms early. The petals have purple edges and a white center with a dark spot.
Pure White
The flowers are white, medium size. There is a little yellow at the base .
Universal series
The buds are about six centimeters. The color can be very diverse.
Blue
The flowers are medium sized, violet-blue. The lower petals are much darker than the upper ones.
Viola Wittrock Terry lace
It is distinguished by its unusual shape of petals. The size of the buds is about eight centimeters . They are blue in color with a very dark almost black center.
Carnivel Orange
The buds are orange. The center of the upper petals is slightly darker and has faint “cilia.”
Golden Crown
Small yellow flowers with dark brown spots in the center of the lower petals.
Lord Beaconsfield
The size of the flowers is about five centimeters . The petals are round, the lower ones are light, the upper ones are dark purple.
Meritzauber
The buds are velvety, purple, very dark .
Red
The flowers are deep red with a yellow spot at the base.
Yellow
Bright yellow buds . The lower petals at the base have an orange tint.
Important! Although viola can withstand the cold well, if the winters in your latitudes are particularly severe, with severe frosts, it is better to cover the bushes. For this you can use foliage or spruce branches.
Horned violet in landscape design
The small flowers of the plant do not give a beautiful appearance if planted separately. Therefore, professional designers, to give a general look, try to plant violets in groups (several bushes nearby). They are small in height, so they are always placed at the front of the flower bed.
Bright inflorescences look organic:
- In the flower beds;
- In mixborders;
- On the alpine slides;
- In curb areas.
The small size of the bush can be used for decoration on the balcony.
Ideal neighbors for the horned violet in the front garden can be:
- Coniferous plants in the form of shrubs or trees. They shade the violet with their size. This protects it from direct sunlight. A carpet of flowers under coniferous bushes gives the flower garden an aesthetic appearance.
- Ferns or hostas.
- Flowers you can plant: tulips, daffodils, hyacinths.
How to propagate
Seedling method
To grow from seeds, you can use purchased material (modern breeding produces a wide variety of varieties of Wittrock viola) or harvest it yourself. To do this, do not miss the moment of ripening of the seed pods .
If they are turned up, you can safely begin collecting. Cut off the box, select all the grains and let them dry. After this, place them in the basement or refrigerator so that they undergo a period of stratification. Properly collected and processed seeds remain viable for 3 years.
Important! The soil needs to be nutritious and loose, so that it allows moisture and air to pass well to the roots. The best option is loamy and sandy loam soils. Acidity index (pH) – 6.0 – 8.0. The more fertile the soil, the stronger the bushes will be, and the more flower stalks will appear.
Sowing can begin in February. This will create annual plants. First, soak the seeds for a day in a biostimulant solution (you can use Epin, Kornevin or another drug of your choice). Follow the instructions strictly.
Place the substrate prepared in advance in containers for seedlings (wooden or plastic boxes, flat wide pots).
For viola, store-bought soil for Saintpaulias, peat soil for seedlings, or any universal soil are suitable. You can also mix purchased and garden soil with sand.
Before planting, make furrows, plant seeds, water with soft water, and sprinkle soil on top.
Cover the container with a transparent material (film or glass will create a greenhouse effect) and transfer to a warm, bright room (at least + 15 degrees). Ventilate every day.
The first violet sprouts should appear within 10 to 14 days. When you see obvious signs of growth, remove the film and move the containers to a cooler, but fairly bright place (temperature + 10 degrees).
Watering should be regular, moderate and only with warm water. Fertilize once every two weeks. Any flower fertilizer will do, in a lower concentration than indicated on the package.
About 4 weeks after the seedlings have germinated, leaves appear.
You can start picking in small pots. When the weather is warm (without the risk of night frosts), you can plant the seedlings in the flowerbed.
Only well-strengthened sprouts will painlessly tolerate the difference between day and night temperatures.
Important! For planting, the best place is protected from drafts and strong winds, otherwise the viola will not grow.
Choose a suitable place in the garden. Make holes at the same distance from each other (every 15 cm). Place the sprouts in the holes and cover the roots with soil. Compact the soil a little and water.
Cuttings
Rare hybrid varieties are propagated by cuttings. This procedure is carried out from May to July. For this purpose, terminal shoots are used, which have three internodes. Planted in prepared soil.
The planting site should be protected from direct sunlight. About a week before planting, compost with humus is added to the site and carefully dug up. When planting, the cuttings are buried no more than one centimeter. As soon as the roots appear, the flower is transferred to the place where it will grow permanently.
This video will tell you about pansies and how to propagate them from cuttings.
Varieties of horned violet
The plant can be crossed well with other species. Breeders have created many hybrids of horned violet. But their properties are already different from the original form. Their leaves have sharp teeth and are oval in shape.
The bushes can grow into a mat and remain in this state throughout the flowering period. And some hybrids stretch out their shoots. This requires constant pruning.
Flower growers divide into two groups of varieties:
- Horned violet;
- Hybrid horned violet.
Care and cultivation depends on the plant variety. The rules may vary. Hybrids tolerate cold worse. Therefore, she must be protected from them. And some violets are biennial bushes.
Growing horned violet
If you use seedlings for planting in open soil, then an ordinary violet will be a perennial plant, and a hybrid will germinate for two or one season.
No special care is required for the horned violet.
The soil
The plant does not care about the soil. It can grow in any type of soil. The bush will begin to develop and bloom faster in looser soil, which contains about 7.2 pH.
Landing area
It should be with good lighting, but the air temperature is moderate. Plant bushes in shady places, or below tall crops. If no light reaches the area at all, then the violet will grow, but the flowers will become small. In the shade they will be eaten by snails or slugs.
Watering
The plant requires liquid in moderation. On warm or hot days, monitor the soil. As soon as it has dried, they begin to water the violet.
The bush can live without water for several days. It is drought tolerant. Sometimes the bush can slow down its growth due to hot temperatures and grow into small inflorescences. The plant loves spraying. During hot periods, the procedure is performed in the morning and evening.
Fertilizer
During the season, the soil is fed twice. The first is before flowering begins (in spring); the second - at the end of flowering (August). Fertilizers include minerals and organic matter. Their concentration should not be high.
The roots of violets can be damaged if fresh manure is used as fertilizing.
Trimming
The plant has the property of growing. To prevent this from happening, you need to trim it periodically. Otherwise, the flower will look unkempt.
Wilted inflorescences are removed (provided that the seeds are not needed). After the procedure, the plants feel relieved and develop better. The bush stops directing its energy to growing seeds. In this case, you can avoid the spread of horned violet without the desire of the grower.
Previously we talked about planting Sidalcea.
Cold resistance
Frosts down to minus twenty-three degrees are not terrible for the plant. This property is not suitable for everyone. Hybrids do not tolerate winter well, so they need to be covered during the cold season.
Peat and leaf humus are added to the soil. Young varietal plants are also protected from frost. Their roots are still weak and have not taken root. The soil is covered with leaves or coniferous spruce branches.
Trimming
Perennial bushes with yellow and red flowers are usually rejuvenated once every three (five) years. Otherwise, the bush will cease to be fluffy and beautiful. It is divided into several parts and planted again in the ground. Varieties with blue and purple flowers can maintain their beauty longer than previous varieties.
Mature plants scatter more seeds around them every year. This results in unintentional seeding. If necessary, it is better to pick off wilted inflorescences in a timely manner.
A flower familiar from childhood
Lush bushes, reaching a height of 30 cm, with large buds of the most bizarre shades can be found in almost every park, courtyard or country flower bed. These flowers were bred by English breeders and named after the Swedish botanist Veit Wittrock .
Gradually they became popular not only in Europe, but also in America. At the beginning of the 20th century, varieties with large flowers were developed in the USA. Soon the Japanese became interested in the new product. As a result, all modern hybrids (F 1) come to us from Japan.
In this video you will learn about the method of growing viola and caring for flowers.
Some growing features
- Viola is quite resistant to cold weather. The exception is those plants that were planted in open ground too late (or a low, damp place was chosen) . The bushes did not have time to grow and get stronger before winter. Other unfavorable factors also include insufficient snow and thaws interspersed with night frosts.
Violet blooms abundantly and for a long time (from early spring to late autumn). The size of the buds depends not only on the variety, but also on the location. So, in sunny areas, flowers are always larger, but they fade faster. In the shade they are small, but last much longer. The buds also become smaller due to extreme heat. In this case, the bushes are usually pruned and fertilized. If the autumn is warm enough, abundant flowering will resume.- With a lack of light and high humidity, the roots rot. Viola should not be planted in places with large accumulations of melt water.
- Be careful with organic fertilizers. Feeding with fresh manure may cause the plant to die.
- On hot days, abundant watering is necessary, but without stagnation of moisture. If the soil is dry, don't expect flowering.
- Viola has a shallow root system, so you need to loosen the soil very carefully, and remove weeds only by hand.
- To maintain high decorative value, it is recommended to renew the plant at least once every 3 years .
Planting a plant
The seeds are planted in open ground before winter. They can be used for growing seedlings.
Seedling
- The sowing period is from the beginning of February to the end of April. Early sowing guarantees early ripening and flowering. After ten weeks, the seedlings are already beginning to show inflorescences. In order for flowers to decorate the garden in May, you need to sow seedlings in February.
- The soil for seeds must be prepared. It is treated with foundationazole. Sometimes it is treated with a thermal property. This makes it safer for the young plant.
- The distance between the seeds is about two centimeters. Sprinkle soil on top of the seed and moisten it by spraying. The germination percentage is indicated on the package containing the seeds.
- The box with seedlings is covered to create a greenhouse effect. Watering is required regularly. Before the first shoots appear, the air temperature should be about eighteen degrees. A room that is too warm will reduce the chances of seed germination.
- As soon as the sprouts have appeared (usually this happens after the third week), the seedlings are moved to a bright and warm place.
- Temperature up to twenty-two degrees. The film remains on the box, but sometimes the seedlings need to be ventilated. The ventilation time is increased so that the plants get used to the air.
The appearance of two leaves is a sign of picking. The distance between crops when planting is five centimeters. The final planting is carried out in May.
The first season they monitor watering and care. After two weeks, the violet takes root in the soil and needs to be fed.
Open ground
This method is planted from mid-August to mid-September. It is better to use seeds collected this year. Before sowing, the soil is loosened, the seeds are sown, hidden underground, watered and mulched. The first shoots will begin to appear only in spring.
Also take a look at the article on growing Iris.
They need to be protected from sunlight. When the bushes are very close, they make a pick. It is permissible to replant the plant only at the end of summer. The first inflorescences may appear in the same season. It is better to remove them so that the violet does not waste its energy.
Plant propagation
Dividing bushes
The process is carried out from spring to summer. Over the course of the season, the plants will get used to the new place and will be able to bloom. The main bush is dug up, cleared of soil, and divided into several parts. New plants are planted in a small shade, without drafts. The soil is moistened before planting.
Layerings
Several violet shoots are bent and grounded in some places. Hairpins can be used as a tool to secure the shoots.
Cover it with a little soil and systematically water it. Within three weeks a sprout will emerge. It is separated from the main bush and replanted.
