Decorative violets are one of the most common and favorite indoor and garden flowers by flower growers. They are very beautiful, graceful, varied in color and undemanding to care for. Violets propagate quite easily by cuttings and, with proper care, can bloom for a long time. You can also grow this wonderful flower from seeds, but this is more troublesome and requires certain skills.
The main obstacle that amateur flower growers face when trying to grow violets from seeds is the lack of the planting material itself, that is, seeds. It is almost impossible to find seeds of room violet (sempolia) in flower shops. The only thing that can be found on sale is the seeds of gloxinia, close relatives of Sempolia. However, the necessary seeds can be obtained by pollinating the flowers of an adult plant and waiting for the seed pods to ripen. To carry out pollination, you need to remove the pollen from the father's flower and carefully transfer it with a regular sewing needle to the mother's pistil. The seed capsule begins to form 2-3 weeks after pollination and matures within 5-6 months. Drying of the peduncle and a change in its color testify to the completion of its ripening. Before receiving the seeds, the seed pods removed from the plant must be additionally dried for a week. Then, using a needle, the boxes are opened over a sheet of white paper and the ripe seeds are taken out. It is important to remember that the seeds of the violet are very small and look like dust particles. Therefore, you need to handle them very carefully, trying not to touch them with your fingers. Seed germination lasts for 6-8 months, but it is preferable to plant them as early as possible. Seeds are planted in specially prepared soil. The optimum soil for planting will be a mixture consisting of half and half of fertile leaf humus and washed river sand. Moreover, the fertile soil must first be sieved in order to remove too large elements. Add a little grated charcoal to the prepared earthen mixture with sand and mix thoroughly. It is best to use a wide, shallow container as the landing box. At its bottom, you need to put a small layer of sphagnum moss, and on top of it an earthen mixture 2-3 cm thick. After leveling and compaction, the prepared substrate is washed with water. Small seeds are carefully spread over a damp surface, trying not to cover them with earth. Then the container is immediately covered with glass or placed in a tied plastic bag and placed in a warm, lighted place that does not allow direct sunlight. Before that, a window sill above the battery, facing the north or west sides of the world, is well suited. During seed germination, care must be taken to maintain high soil moisture, but avoid dripping drips that could wash out the tiny seeds. It is best to water through a sump with clean, settled water. With proper care, the first shoots will appear only after 2-3 weeks. When a fourth leaf is formed in the emerged seedlings, they need to be dived (planted) from each other at a distance of 2-3 cm. After turning them into small plants, young violets are planted in separate pots for seedlings with a diameter of about 5 cm.
