The birthday flower of Scorpio-Winter Violet

Winter Violet is a species of Violet of Cruciferae. Originally from southern Europe. It is often introduced in big cities in China, which is planted in garden flower beds or greenhouses for viewing. The type specimens were collected from southern Europe.

Winter violets

Herbs biennial or perennial, to 60 cm tall, whole plant densely covered with gray-white stipitate branches pilose. Stem erect, much branched, base slightly Lignified. Leaf blade oblong to oblanceolate or spatulate, petiole 6-14 cm long, 1.2-2.5 cm wide, entire or microwave-like, apex obtusely rounded or rarely mucronate, base attenuate into stalk. Racemes terminal and axillary, flowers numerous, larger, inflorescence rachis elongated in fruit; pedicels stout, obliquely spreading, up to 1.5 mm long; sepals erect, long elliptic, ca. 15 mm, inner whorl sepals saccate, margin membranous, white and transparent; petals purplish red or white, subovate, ca. 12 mm, apical shallowly 2-lobed or retuse, margin undulate, lower with long claws; filaments gradually expanding toward base. Ovary Terete, stigma slightly 2-lobed. Siliques Terete, 7-8 cm long, ca. 3 mm in diam., petal midvein conspicuous, apical lobed; fruiting pedicel stout, 10-15 mm long. Seeds suborbicular, ca. 2 mm in diam., flattened, dark brown, margin with white membranous wings. The florescence is from April to May.

Winter violets

Like cold and cool, poor growth in hot and dry conditions, cold-resistant, winter can withstand about-4 ℃ low temperature, in South China can survive the winter in the open field, like sufficient sunshine, slightly resistant to semi-shade. Like a well-ventilated environment, requiring fertile, moist, deep neutral or slightly acidic soil. Except for annual varieties, they all need to be treated with low temperature to blossom through vernalization stage, so biennial cultivation is often used in open field. The suitable temperature for growth is 15 ℃-18 ℃ in daytime and 10 ℃ at night, but the low temperature cycle of 5 ℃-8 ℃ is needed for flower bud differentiation. When the seedlings with more than 8 true leaves were exposed to a low temperature of 5 ℃-15 ℃ for 3 weeks, the flower buds differentiated. Therefore, under natural conditions, most flower buds differentiate in the middle and last ten days of October. In order to produce as soon as possible, seedlings with more than 8 true leaves should be cultivated by the middle of October. After flower bud differentiation, under the condition of long sunshine, if the flower bud is kept above 5 ℃, the flower bud can form quickly and blossom 2 weeks earlier. The florescence of violets is usually adjusted by variety, sowing date, greenhouse, cold bed, electric light and so on. For annual varieties, they can be sown all the year round in cool summer areas. It blossoms in May in January, June in February-March, July in April and August in mid-May. It usually takes a growth period of 100 to 150 days. Winter Violet is a flowering plant flowering by the Winter Solstice summer, like plenty of sunshine, slightly resistant to semi-shade.

Winter violets

The basin soil can be mixed with 2 humus soil, 2 garden soil and 1 river sand. Fertilization is applied every 10 days in the growing season. Nitrogen fertilizer should not be too much, but phosphate fertilizer and potash fertilizer should be applied. Stop fertilizing during flowering and winter. Watering generally sees that the soil surface is dry and white and should be watered immediately, wet and dry. Temperature, light, winter like warm climate, it is appropriate to move indoors, withstand short-5 ℃ low temperature. The remaining flowers should be cut off after flowering so that they can branch and blossom again.