Pansy (lat. Viola tricolor) is a well-known and common meadow plant from the family Violaceae. Folk names for this flower are lady’s violet, orphan’s violet, field violet, day and night, and God’s flower. It was created by crossing several wild species Viola x wittrockiana which has been cultivated in Europe since the 16th century, and was named after the Swedish botanist Veit Brecher Wittrock.
Viola x wittrockiana is one of the most important flower species for outdoor cultivation. It is very decorative thanks to its luxurious and velvety flowers of strong colors.
Pansy is a biennial flowering plant that blooms in autumn and spring. It is a plant with a small bushy growth from 15 to 25 cm high. Pansy flowers consist of five overlapping petals, and the size of the flowers is 5-10 cm in diameter and can be of different colors.
The smell of these flowers is pleasant and not overly strong. The flowers and leaves are edible and can be used to garnish food raw, candied or cooked.
There is a large selection of pansies available on the market with various flower colors such as purple, white, yellow, blue, red, orange and their combinations.
Thanks to the long-term work of gardeners, excellent results have been achieved in creating a diverse range of pansies, so everyone can find something to their taste.
Types of pansies
- Viola altaica – originally from Greece
- Viola cornuta – originally from the Pyrenees
- Viola tricolor – originally from Central Europe
- Viola luteae – also native to central Europe
- Viola wittrockiana
There are a large number of different varieties of pansies on the market, and some of them are grouped into the so-called series. The series consists of several varieties that have the same characteristics (resistance, shape, etc.), but differ in flower color.
Planting pansies
Pansy is very resistant to low temperatures and cold, so it gives the garden a special charm during winter. It thrives as a garden plant, but also as a houseplant. It is a flower that you can enjoy throughout autumn and winter, until the onset of the first high temperatures.
It is most often planted in gardens, hanging pots, flower beds and in cemeteries. If you plan to plant pansies in your own garden, on a balcony or terrace, pay attention to a few details when buying seedlings. Choose plants with lots of flower buds and healthy green leaves.
Planting time
The optimal time for spring planting of pansies in the garden is at the end of February, while autumn planting is ideally done during October. When planting in flower pots, make sure that they have openings at the bottom so that excess water from the substrate can drain away.
Propagation of pansies
If pansies are propagated by cuttings, they must be taken during May and June and must have three nodes. Pansy is planted in well-prepared, loose and permeable garden soil at a depth of 0.5 cm and at a distance of 10-30 cm. It is better to cover the cuttings with damp newspaper that will maintain humidity.
Pansies are easiest to propagate by seed. In this case, they are sown at the end of June until the middle of August. Sowing is followed by picking and then transplanting (by September at the latest). The soil should be rich in organic matter and permeable, in order to prevent water retention.
After planting, the seeds are covered with a thin layer of soil and foil, which will maintain the humidity of the surface layer. It is removed when the pansies start sprouting.
The emergence phase of pansy lasts from 6 to 14 days after planting, depending on the temperature (the optimal temperature for emergence is 15-20ºC. A dry surface layer and a temperature higher than 25ºC will prevent emergence.
Feeding pansies
After 14 days, sprouts begin to emerge on the surface of the soil, and plants in that period have a great need for nutrients and light. The humidity of the substrate should be moderate, and the temperature should be lowered to 10ºC.
The substrate has a multiple role – it serves as a hardener and a source of air, heat, energy, water and plant nutrients. Poor quality substrate affects the number of flowers, flower buds and leaves and leads to root diseases. When choosing a substrate, you should pay attention to its chemical properties (pH) and physical properties (water and air capacity). It should be coarse and coarse enough to satisfy the drainage, but also have a favorable structure that will allow the retention of a sufficient amount of moisture.
Transplanting pansies
Pansies are transplanted when they have three leaves into individual pots. It is necessary to continue with care and after three weeks in the greenhouse, the plants need to be pinched in order to get a branched bush that will produce more twigs and flowers. After 4-6 weeks they can be planted in a permanent place.
Maintenance of pansies
Light is an important factor when growing pansies. They require a position in the sun with partial shade. With a sufficient amount of ventilation and light, it is necessary to limit the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen.
Pansies need to be watered regularly and carefully, with occasional feeding. Water supply is important for the transfer of mineral substances and food and the dissolution of nutrients. By removing the spent flowers, flowering will be prolonged, and the plant’s roots can be protected from the heat by placing mulch.
Cultivation of pansies
Pansies require cultivation on several occasions (unless herbicides are applied to the beds before planting), balanced fertilization, protection against fungal diseases and watering.
The stem of the pansy is laid on the ground, which is why some types of this plant do not like excessive humidity or shade. Intensive watering, occasional precipitation, air humidity higher than 80% and warm days can favor the faster spread of certain plant diseases.
In order to prevent pansies from decaying, it is necessary to water them moderately. Watering in the evening hours should be avoided because moisture could remain on the leaves and around the plant. Young leaves of newly planted pansies are a treat for snails, so they should be protected with mulch or planted in dry weather, at least until they take root.
The market is dominated by large-flowered pansies (Viola x wittrockiana), but small-flowered pansies are increasingly used for growing pansies on terraces and gardens (Viola cornuta).
Growing pansies with small flowers will ensure long and abundant flowering from early spring to autumn. They are resistant to stressful conditions, heat, cold and tolerate drought well. They can also be used as perennials, and breeders are constantly improving the palette of colors and “patterns”.
Small-flowered pansies are great as ground covers. In combination with other decorative plants, they are ideal for flower beds, and on the windowsill they go well with hyacinths, daffodils, tulips and other bulbs.
The cultivation of this type of pansies does not require too much care. They can be obtained as young plants and planted in well-drained soil at a distance of 25 cm. They do not tolerate too wet soil, so do not overdo it with watering.
After the spring flowering, the plant should be arranged so that the flowered and dried parts are removed, as this promotes re-blooming in the summer. With the appearance of the first flower buds, the small-flowered pansy is fed with liquid NPK fuel with more phosphorus. They can be propagated by division in autumn or after flowering.
Diseases and pests
The cultivation of pansies also requires regular inspections in order to spot and recognize the appearance of possible diseases such as:
- Different types of leaf spot (Cercospora violae, Ramularia lactea, Colletotrichum violae-tricolori, Alternaria spp. and Phyllosticta violae)
- Pansy Rust (Puccinia violae)
- powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca macularius)
- Pansy or downy pansy (Peronospora violae and Bremilla megasperma)
- Black root rot (Thielaviopsis basicola)
- Gray mold (Botrytis cinerea)
It can be seen that there are a large number of potential fungal causes of pansy diseases, and the success of chemical control primarily depends on the timely detection of the causative agent and the application of certain fungicides.
Rust
A very harmful and common disease of pansies is rust. Optimum temperatures for plant infection are 18-24°C, with increased air humidity and retention of water on leaf organs. The rust survives the winter in the form of resistant teleutospores, and it can be recognized by the round, warty growths of yellow-brown color that are found on the underside of the leaves.
These are disease breeding grounds full of infectious uredospores that rain and wind can blow onto neighboring plants, so infected leaves must be removed and burned.
In case the disease appears, treatments are repeated at intervals of 8-12 days, depending on the success of the disease treatment and the amount of rainfall. In the fight against leaf rust, newer fungicides from the strobilurin group are effective.
Downy mildew or downy mildew
The development of downy mildew or downy mildew can occur during very wet periods with frequent rainfall. The very name of the disease says that at the first appearance, the plants can be “burned” in a fairly short period of time. Yellow spots with unclear edges first appear on the upper side of the leaves, then the central part takes on a dark brown color and the leaves eventually die.
Preventive protection is carried out with surface organic fungicides or strobilurins, while in the rainy season it is advisable to use preparations based on Al-fosetyl as a preventive measure (it is not recommended to mix them with foliar fertilizers at the same time). These are fungicides that work only preventively, and in case the disease appears, it is recommended to use curative preparations.
Leaf spotting
In pansies, leaf spotting is also possible, which can be recognized by irregular or round necrotic spots with a diameter of several mm to 0.5 cm. The causes of freckles can be different, but they are the most common Alternaria, Cercospora and Ramularia.
Black rot
Black root rot can also be very dangerous for pansies, because when this disease develops, entire plants perish. The causative agent of this disease is a “soil” fungus that is transmitted by infected substrate, water or seedlings of infected plants. Diseases favor moist and cool soils with an alkaline reaction (when the pH value is higher than 6.5).
With proper plant hygiene, preventive watering of newly planted or transplanted young plants with a combination of several preparations gives the best results.
Botrytis
Excessive moisture can lead to the appearance of botrytis or gray mold on pansies. Damage to pansies such as “wounds” from mechanical processing, heavy rain, pest attacks and the like are ideal for gray mold invasion. Petals are the most susceptible to infection. Minor damage to plants is “repaired” with organic surface fungicides, thus protecting them from botrytis attacks.
Powdery mildew
Powdery mildew can occur in pansies if strawberries are grown nearby. It can be recognized by the ashy gray coating on both sides of the leaves. Powdery mildew is more likely to occur in protected flower cultivation. Excellent protection against powdery mildew is provided by strobilurins.
Insects – spiders and aphids
Insects that attack pansies are red spider mite and aphids, and the problem can be solved with some of the insecticides.
Medicinal properties
Wild pansy has medicinal properties due to the presence of inulin, violins, saponins and other glycosides. The main active ingredients of pansy are the flavonoids vitexin, rutin, orientin and the pigments anthocyanins and salicylic acid. It also contains vitamin C, essential oil and certain polysaccharides.
Wild pansy has properties that stimulate the increased production of bile, remove spasms, widen the airways and help with expectoration. The aerial parts of the plant, which contain mucilaginous substances and active essential oil, are used to prepare the anti-inflammatory agent.
It is used for various skin problems such as acne or rashes, and can also be used for arthritis, rheumatism and gout.
As for unwanted effects, wild pansy preparations should not be used during pregnancy because they have a tonic effect on the uterus. Excessive use of the product can cause vomiting, diarrhea and nausea.
Interesting things
Due to the specific color of the flower, the pansy represented loving thoughts and memories in some cultures. In Christian iconography, it represents humility and remembrance.
Pansy is called in the English-speaking world pansywhich is derived from the French word pence – thought, and it got that name because of the resemblance of a flower that leans forward in autumn and resembles an imagined human face.
In Russia, there is a superstition that says it is not good to plant pansies in your own garden because they are the flowers of the dead, while in England it is believed that if a wild pansy is plucked on a clear day, it will start to rain.
In the Middle Ages, it was called the plant of the Holy Trinity because of its tricolor white, yellow and purple flowers. White flowers are associated with love, yellow with souvenirs, and purple with memories.
Photo: Anelka / Pixabay