7/1/2023 0 Comments Auricula theatre pots![]() The rewards are however great and your violas will keep compact for longer and keep flowering all summer long. I can’t say I do, but then there are 180 varieties of viola to get through in our collection. Some people find deadheading very therapeutic. You can grow them individually in smaller pots for the summer if you want to create an auricula theatre type of effect, but pot your violas on into something deeper by late summer or early autumn, as their vigorous root systems will appreciate more space and a larger pot will help insulate them from winter cold. We find the plants knit together well and make a large flowering clump. All our stock pots are made up of 3 plants potted up into one 10 litre pot that is approximately 30cm (1ft) wide and deep. If growing in pots make sure they are deep pots.Feed first with a balanced feed for healthy plant growth and once established switch to a tomato feed to encourage more flowers. You can also add slow release fertiliser to the compost, or give them a liquid feed every two to three weeks to give them a boost. If growing in pots use a good quality general purpose growing medium and incorporate grit or perlite to aid drainage through winter.They are happy on clay, if garden compost has been incorporated to break it up, and on sandy soil if garden compost has been incorporated to improve moisture retention and nutrients. ![]() They like good, humus-rich garden soil.They enjoy part shade through to full sun, but will not tolerate deep shade. ![]() Violas are remarkably generous plants and easy perennials to grow, if you follow a few golden rules: We have also found them to suit more contemporary naturalistic styles of planting, particularly the cornutas, with their more delicate flowers, combining well with shorter grasses such as Stipa tennuissima and Hordeum jubatum. They combine well with many traditional cottage garden favourites such as geraniums, potentillas and astrantias. In the garden the more vigorous varieties, notably many of the cornutas and some of the hybrids such as Viola ‘Ivory Queen’, Viola ’Roscastle Black’ and Viola ‘Eastgrove Blue’ are good for under planting shrubs, but they are also lovely subjects for the front of the border, scrambling through their taller flowering neighbours. We like planting them in an old vintage container with culinary herbs or salads, as viola flowers are not only ornamental but edible too and can be used to decorate salads and cakes. You can also combine them with other plants in mixed containers. They look lovely in pots, whether potted as a collection of individual varieties (as you might do with auriculas), or mixed together. Violas are remarkably versatile and suit a range of garden situations. They then continue to flower throughout the summer and well into September. Many of the viola hybrids start flowering in April (May for the cornutas) and combine beautifully with spring bulbs such as Muscari ‘Valerie Finnis’ and Narcissus triandus ‘Hawera’. There can be few plants that can match the length of the flowering season of violas. The most common scent is of honey, but some varieties are different, such as Viola ‘Alice Kate’ with sherbet yellow flowers and a scent reminiscent of citrus and cloves, another lovely variety is Viola ‘Eris’ with frilly creamy white flowers and she has the scent of delicious vanilla custard! Their parentage is somewhat diverse and they can be striped and splashed, bicoloured or the image of simplicity itself in pure hues of white, yellow, pink, mauve, purple and black. Viola hybrids, as the name suggests, is something of a mixed bag and is the category into which the rest of our large collection is grouped. They are often recommended for ground cover, as they happily spread to make large flowering clumps under shrubs, notably roses, with which they combine extremely well. ![]() The flowers of Viola cornuta have characteristically narrow elongated petals that are so delicate, yet these are remarkably hardy robust little plants. It has long stems to hold the purple, honey scented flowers high enough above the surrounding grasses to attract the attention of passing insects. Viola cornuta is a species that originates in the meadows of the Pyrenees. The violas we grow can be loosely grouped into Viola cornutas and Viola hybrids. Laura: Violas are plants with personality, which is what attracted us to them in the first place their smiling faces and sunny disposition. I asked Laura to tell us how to grow and enjoy them in our gardens. They are all perennial types and range from some very old and precious heritage varieties to the latest, most exciting introductions. An Interview with Laura and Jack Wildgoss of Wildegoose NurseriesĪndy: Laura and Jack Wildgoss grow a lot of violas at Wildegoose Nurseries in South Shropshire, UK. ![]()
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