Violas 2016

[Gerdk]

Here are
Viola adriatica - from Croatia and Viola rubella  from Chile

Gerd

[Maggi Young]

Viola rubella !  Ohh, I'm in love - never seen this in real life- how charming it is.

[Hoy]

They're easy from seed! No flower yet - the plants are 1/2 year old.
Thanks Gerd

Viola rubella seedlings.

[Gerdk]

Thank you Maggi!
Hoy,  you are an excellent grower!

Gerd

[Karaba]

A real miniature : Viola rupestris, this one from Pyrénées.

[Gabriela]

A real miniature : Viola rupestris, this one from Pyrénées.

Very cute Yvain, and it seems to grow in full sun? I will make a note for it

[ian mcdonald]

An uncommon plant in the UK is V. stagnina (at present and likely to change again) Fen Violet. Note the leaf shape. img. 038a.

[Roma]

I was intrigued with this Viola shown by Jean Wyllie at Perth show on Saturday.  It was labelled Viola aff. hancockii.  To my eye it looks very close to Viola jooi.  My plant was bought from Kevock in 2006.  It has not grown much but is still alive and flowering very well this year.  I thought perhaps they were closely related species but Google tells me one comes from China and the other from Transylvania so unlikely. 

[Robert]

A batch of Viola purpurea seedlings.



The seed was sown during the autumn of 2015. Germination during the spring of 2016 was excellent. And now they are blooming. This is quite the surprise for me, but a pleasant one. The seedlings are packed together very tightly, so the plants are not growing true to their nature at all. If all goes well, I will separate the seedling early next spring when they first emerge from dormancy. With more room to grow, hopefully they will grow true to form. Any ol' way I am delighted with this batch of Viola purpurea seedlings.

[Ed Alverson]

Robert, how do you store the seed of your native violets between when they are collected in the spring and when they are sown in the fall? The reason I ask is the challenge, at least in our area, of keeping them out of the hands (feet?) of ants...

Ed

[Gerdk]

Robert,
What a success!  It isn't unusual that some violets build cleistogamic (closed) flowers  quickly - but, open flowers
in that time - just sensational!

Gerd

[Robert]

Robert, how do you store the seed of your native violets between when they are collected in the spring and when they are sown in the fall? The reason I ask is the challenge, at least in our area, of keeping them out of the hands (feet?) of ants...

Ed

Ed,

My main challenge with our wild native viola species is the dehiscent nature of the seed pods. Last year I was able to gather "ripe" seed from Viola purpurea. I also gathered seed that was not completely ripe from V. douglasii (i.e. the seed was still white).

My usual method of dealing with Viola seed pods is to place them in aluminum pie tins with some sort of covering. Without the covering the dehiscent nature of the seed pods will send the seed all over the place, thus the covering. I leave the seed out just long enough to become fully mature, then they are packaged and stored cool and dry in our refrigerator until sowing (seed in paper coin envelopes - envelopes in sealed plastic bags with as much air removed as possible).

Gathering ripe Viola seed in the wild is a challenge and seems to be all about good timing i.e. being in the right place at the right time. So far I have never had any problems with ants. For Viola seed from the garden, I always bag the seed with a tobacco bag or specially designed bags for seed saving - controlled pollination. This has worked very well for me.

As for the semi-ripe Viola douglasii seed.... I had excellent germination this spring! This knowledge gives me a little more flexibility when gathering wild Viola seed.

I hope that I have answered your question well.

[Robert]

Robert,
What a success!  It isn't unusual that some violets build cleistogamic (closed) flowers  quickly - but, open flowers
in that time - just sensational!

Gerd

Gerd,

I have observed the same phenomena concerning the nature of cleistogamic flowers and seed set on young Viola plants.

My experience with Viola purpurea this year caught me completely by surprise. Generally, I feel fortunate to get something more than the cotyledon leaves the first year from seed, especially from our xeric California Viola species. Our native wetland types stay in active growth much longer and thus the seedlings tend to develop much more during their first season. This is my experience here in California.

[ian mcdonald]

Robert, V. purpurea is a good looking plant but why is it called purpurea?

[Robert]

Robert, V. purpurea is a good looking plant but why is it called purpurea?

Ian,

The abaxially both the leaves and corolla can be purple-tinted.