THE PANSY AND VIOLA

Evening Star, Issue 21316, 21 January 1933, Page 18

THE PANSY AND VIOLA

In these days we write of the pansy and viola as being distinct from each other, but the pansy is as much a viola as the plants termed violas for garden purposes. The garden pansy is a form of viola tricolour; the plant grown in gardens as a viola is a hybrid between the viola tricolour and viola cormita. Viola cornuta was introduced to England about 1863. It has very prettypale blue flowers, and was introduced as a bedding plant. It is decidedly perennial, and has a tough, wiry habit; it will establish itself in the garden, and is not easily dislodged by other plants. The pansy is the older garden plant, and there arc two ’distinct types of pansies. The older garden type of the two is the show pansy. This is the true old English plant, and has been improved through ages of careful culture by the gardener. The flowers are dassecl as: (1) White grounds, the upper petals are maroon or purple coloured, the lower petals being white with a margin or belt of the same colour. (2) Yellow grounds, the colour being similar, except that the ground is yellow. (3) Selfs; these are of three distinct colours.—white, yellow, and maroon; some are almost black. The aim of the seedling raiser is to obtain a better form of the flower, and greater substance in the petals. The next distinct type is the Belgian, or fancy pansy. It was introduced by the late Mr William Dean.

The fancy varieties are now the most popular, and well deserve their popularity. Happily, the pansy is very easily grown, and is found in almost every garden. It can be grown from seed, and is easily increased by cuttings, which is a better method of propagation than by division. December and January are the best months to sow the seed in, as the plants have time to become strong enough to plant out in the autumn, so that they may have a chance to become established before the winter. There is no need to sow pansy seed in pots, pans, or boxes, nor to have it under light glass at all. Sow a patch of seed on a level surface of fine sandy soil, and merely cover it with a little finely-sifted soil. A net should be put over it to prevent the birds or cats from scratching it up. Newlystirred soil always seems to be a point of attraction for a!) the furred and feathered tribe. If the weather is dry, sprinkle with water sufficiently to keep the surface moist. A little shade, such as a few macrocarpa branches, is also advisable. The young plants will soon appear above the ground, and they may bo pricked out when they have made three or four leaves beside the seed leaves. If they are pricked out three or four inches apart, they will grow into fine large tufts for planting out where they are to flower in April or March. The soil should be worked to a depth of about 18in, and a good layer of cow manure ought to be placed about 6in below the surface. The plants do best in good old blackish loam; heavy clay does not suit them at all, unless it has been well worked year after year. Seedlings, when fairly well established, do not suffer by winter’s frost.

Propagation by cuttings is also very easy if the right cuttings are taken. The thickish, hollow-stemmed flowering shoots, if made into cuttings, take long to form roots if they do at all, and they seldom make good plants; whereas the small slender growths found in the centre of the plant (which push up when the old flowering stems are pegged down) if pulled out have very slender wiry stems at the base with a few roots attached to them. If these are planted as cuttings they speedily become established in a shady part of the garden, and form plants that will stand out in the winter as well as seedling. February or March is a good month to put in these cuttings. If red spider or green fly is upon them they must be dipped in diluted tobacco water, in which an ounce of soft soap to a gallon has been added. If the plants are put out in beds they should be about a foot asunder, as they will quite cover this ground if the soil is good. Pansy generally grow a few plants to flower in pots, so that a few clean blooms may be obtained in pots in frames when it is impossible to obtain any out of doors. The earliest cuttings should be taken for pot plants, as each plant should be large enough to cover the surface of the compost in a Gin pot by July. The best potting soil is three parts loam, one decayed manure, one leaf-mould, and a good sprinkling of coarse clean sand. The plants should be placed near the glass in. frames, Violas are more hardy than pansies, both as regards their resistance to intense frost and the heat of summer. They form dense tufts of numerous wiry stems, a habit which has led to their being designated “ tufted pansies.” Their culture is the same as that of the pansy, except that the plants are more easily increased by division. Large tufts or masses may ho pulled to pieces in the spring and planted out in rich soil until they grow and flower admirably without any trouble.

The violas are much better adapted for bedding out than pansies. Masses of yellow, dark blue, pale blue, and white are very effective in the flower garden, and if the plants are well watered in dry weather and the surface of the ground is mulched over with decayed manure they will continue to flower through the season. Propagation by cuttings is better than the rough-and-ready way of dividing the plants. The cuttings should be taken off in the same way, and at the same time as the pansy cuttings. Plant them cither in the spring or the autumn, as may be most convenient. — Auckland ‘ Star.’