Viola (including pansies)

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MikeHardman

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #75 on: January 16, 2013, 08:56:53 AM »
ooh - nice Helena
yes - fit to bust!

and a great job with the camera - good depth of field for the subject, but isolated from the (out of focus and darker) background
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

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Alisdair

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #76 on: January 17, 2013, 11:03:06 AM »
Lovely photo, Helena - those seeds look so eager to burst into life!
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

helenaviolet

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #77 on: January 18, 2013, 04:34:54 AM »
 :) Mike & Alisdair rest assured that those seeds have been collected and will, hopefully, produce another generation of V.stojanowii

Here are 3 other Violas which seem to be coping remarkably well with exceptionally hot summer temperatures (30-40c); shade and regular watering are  needed. All are nice foliage plants and grow well in pots or hanging baskets.
a)V.chaerophylloides from Japan makes a nice potted specimen with the fern-like leaves. Protect from frost in winter.
b)V.sulfurea I think is most probably from France. Neat ground cover foliage. Protect from frost in Winter.
c)V.labradorica Well, Not labradorica! It seems this plant has been incorrectly sold under this name and distributed as such world wide, including here in Australia. I believe it is actually a form of V.riviniana with purple leaves..? Anyway it is remarkably hardy in winter and here you can see it spilling over the edge of a 6inch pot. I have seen it used successfully as a ground cover in borders and carpeting under trees. 
I live in Central Victoria, Australia. This is very much a "Mediterranean" climate with long hot summers and cold frosty winters. Citrus grows well here. I am interested in species and cultivars of Viola which will grow in this climate.

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John

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #78 on: January 18, 2013, 09:53:55 AM »
The V. chaerophylloides has beautiful leaves.
Here in London V. riviniana is a dreadful weed which once you have it it is very difficult to eradicate. It can look spectacular in full flower but very quickly goes into producing apomictic fruits and therefor no more flowers.
John
Horticulturist, photographer, author, garden designer and plant breeder; MGS member and RHS committee member. I garden at home in SW London and also at work in South London.

helenaviolet

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #79 on: January 19, 2013, 06:07:47 AM »
Thankyou John, 'apomictic' is a new term for me and I am quite intrigued by this reproductive strategy.

Altogether you have given me a new perspective on V.riviniana which I generally regarded as a dainty little "woodland violet". Oh yes it can be invasive and little seedlings pop up all over the place; in other pots etc. Certainly it has adapted well to the harsh climate in this part of the world  :)
I live in Central Victoria, Australia. This is very much a "Mediterranean" climate with long hot summers and cold frosty winters. Citrus grows well here. I am interested in species and cultivars of Viola which will grow in this climate.

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MikeHardman

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #80 on: January 20, 2013, 10:10:36 PM »
Helena,
Lovely foliage. V. chaerophyllodes does have lovely leaves (Vv. eizanensis and dissecta also; the former has fragrant flowers).
Yes, V. labradorica hort. is actually V. riviniana Purpurea Group, though one can't rule out the true V. labradorica occasionally being sold as well. The purpleness varies from plant to plant and depending on the growing conditions (I think we've discussed anthocyanin in foliage before on this forum).

David,
Just a technicality:
- in apomixis, reproduction of an embryo bypasses the usual process of meiosis and fertilization;
- in cleistogamy, reproduction does involve fertilization, though with male and female parts of the same flower.
With violets, cleistogamy applies.
Of course, they have chasmogamous flowers as well.
That is my understanding, but there may be room for opinion. I would be interested if you have an alternative view to mine.

Everybody,
- Many species of violets produce chasmogamous ('open marriage') flowers early in their season (what you'd call normal flowers, with proper petals, which are able to reproduce sexually), and cleistgamous ('closed marriage') flowers, which have negligible petals and reproduce asexually.
- Many confusable terms are explained in a well-illustrated lecture from the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture
"The weird and wonderful ways plants reproduce" (no author cited)
http://dept.ca.uky.edu/PLS440/lectures/geophytes/Alternativepropagation.pdf
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

helenaviolet

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #81 on: January 22, 2013, 11:39:09 AM »
Excellent link, Mike :)
Very informative and useful pictorial information re various forms of propagation for all plant lovers. It easily downloads as pdf; wonder if it was part of a Powerpoint presentation at the lecture. 
I live in Central Victoria, Australia. This is very much a "Mediterranean" climate with long hot summers and cold frosty winters. Citrus grows well here. I am interested in species and cultivars of Viola which will grow in this climate.

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John J

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #82 on: January 27, 2013, 09:07:55 AM »
I hesitate to post my very poor quality photo of the Cyprus native, Viola sieheana, among the excellent pics above. My excuse is that it was dull and raining when I took it but I had to do it then before it was beaten down completely. This flower has appeared rather prematurely as they don't usually come out until around March. We've had the plant for several years having rescued it from an area where the road was being widened. They grow in the Troodos above about 800 m in shady, moist places. Our plant has flourished and spread in the herb patch under sage and oregano, etc and close to an outside tap that tends to drip slightly and keeps the ground a little moist.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #83 on: January 28, 2013, 07:23:28 AM »
It seems that I owe the forum members an apology and thanks to Mike Hardman for pointing out my mistake. The photo I posted of what I thought was Viola sieheana is not and is more likely to be V odorata. As I said I collected this plant many years ago and I don't think it has gone through any transformations since then so I have probably been labouring under a misconception from the beginning. So, once more I apologise.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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MikeHardman

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #84 on: January 28, 2013, 04:57:41 PM »
No problem, John.
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

helenaviolet

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #85 on: January 28, 2013, 10:46:17 PM »
Thankyou John - lovely pic which seems familiar to me. I have similar pretty blue violets in my collection. They are either V.odorata or blue varieties of V. alba. Question please, is your violet scented?  :) 
I live in Central Victoria, Australia. This is very much a "Mediterranean" climate with long hot summers and cold frosty winters. Citrus grows well here. I am interested in species and cultivars of Viola which will grow in this climate.

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John J

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #86 on: January 29, 2013, 10:05:45 AM »
Helena, I have never noticed a scent from these violets. I checked with my wife, who has a far more sensitive nose for these things than I do, and she has not detected a scent either. I have posted what I hope is a better quality pic of the flower.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

helenaviolet

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #87 on: January 30, 2013, 01:51:32 PM »
Thankyou John,
For comparison here is a pic of one of my 'sky blue' violets. I have collected similar violets from several different locations and place them in a group of their own. The flowers are not scented but they are distinctive because of the light blue colour. I think they might be a form of V.alba rather than V.odorata (or perhaps a hybrid ?) Need to do more research  :)
I live in Central Victoria, Australia. This is very much a "Mediterranean" climate with long hot summers and cold frosty winters. Citrus grows well here. I am interested in species and cultivars of Viola which will grow in this climate.

Umbrian

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #88 on: April 20, 2013, 07:15:49 AM »
I was given this as Viola sororia but am uncertain because it has no speckles. 
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

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MikeHardman

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Re: Viola (including pansies)
« Reply #89 on: April 20, 2013, 12:36:25 PM »
Umbrian,

Wild V. sororia is plain blue-violet.
White, pinky, freckled, speckled and splashed cultivars exist, and they are obviously influencing your thoughts.

There are also hybrids between V. sororia and V. odorata, which can look rather like V. sororia.
Here's an old thread where we discussed the issue - http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/violet/msg1120124827821.html

Note: white flowered plants sold as V. sororia are sometimes actually V. cucullata.

Mike
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England