Mattiola two-horned (night violet): cultivation and care

A bright flower, intoxicating with its aroma, decorates many flower beds and garden plots in central Russia.

This plant is a “night resident”. With the onset of dusk, when nature freezes in anticipation of rain, its bright inflorescences on long stems, opening, fill the air with a subtle enchanting aroma.

We will tell you in detail about an unpretentious, easy-to-grow flower, ideal for creating group compositions for landscape design, the night violet flower: photos, planting and care and other aspects of cultivation.

Night violet

In our latitudes, the night viola (another name is “Esperis di Matrona”, “Matthiola”, “Evening of Matrona”) “moved” from warm Mediterranean Europe. The homeland of some varieties is located at the foot of the Caucasus, in Central Asia.

Vechernitsa is a perennial plant (lifespan exceeds 2 years). This is a herbaceous plant from the cruciferous family. Under natural conditions, it “loves” to settle both along roads and around rivers and lakes.

A cut bouquet retains its beauty and freshness in its original form throughout the week, perfectly complementing any flower arrangement.

Fragrant and bright inflorescences decorate the garden all summer - melting heads of cabbage in late spring and early autumn greet the sun.

The pointed, oblong-oval leaves delight the eye with a rich green color and a softer “fluff” to the touch.

For risky farming, gardeners mainly give preference to selected varieties of night violets with a lifespan of 1 year (the length of the above-ground part does not exceed 0.8 m, the vegetation is abundant and dense):

• Mattiola has two horns. Annual, up to 0.5 m high. Well-developed branching stems. The shape of the leaves is an elongated oval, with large teeth along the edges. Does not require pollination by insects. The flowering period is 40-50 days. The inflorescences are medium in size (no more than 3 cm), collected in a raceme. The color of the petals is pink, lilac-pink;

Mattiola has two horns.

• Gray-haired Mattiola (gray hair on the left). Features a rich color palette. The above-ground part consists of single or well-branched shoots (maximum height - 0.8 m, low-growing species - up to 0.15 m). Buds of regular shape with double petals (flowering period - 2 weeks, do not form seeds) or simple (flowering period - no more than 5 days), 4 pcs. In the bud.

Mattiola has gray hair.

Varieties also developed:

• "Evening perfume." Branched shoots up to 0.5 m tall, bright purple color of petals;
• "Star Light". It is distinguished by a strong aroma and a varied shade of the floral part. Grows up to 0.5 m;
• "Purple Night". Refers to medium-sized plants. Less attractive during the day, the buds are collected in loose clusters;
• "Lilac". A tall variety with well-branched stems, greens with jagged edges, a delicate aroma, flowers of small diameter with a soft purple hue.

ADVICE! Plants with low stems are an excellent decoration for apartment balconies and loggias, and are used to decorate garden paths.

Description of appearance and features

Violet flowers are not of great interest; they are small and inconspicuous in comparison with other ornamental plants. They look like a scattering of pink and lilac stars on tall thin stalks with bright, closely spaced green leaves.

There are about 500 different types of night violet

Matthiola grows from 20 to 90 cm in height. The plant is annual. The fruit is an elongated pod with many small seeds. The main feature of violets is that they bloom at sunset.

As soon as the sun begins to set over the horizon, the buds of the night violet flower bloom, and a tart aroma spreads throughout the yard where the plants are planted. For such dignity, flower growers love matthiola so much and certainly plant it on their plots.

You can buy night violet for a small price in the form of seeds or seedlings. In addition, matthiol is used to complete the composition of a bouquet, giving it a special aroma.

In the evening, night violet exudes a pleasant aroma

Seeds

Seed ripening begins at the end of the summer period (the last ten days of August) and continues until the beginning of autumn.

The seed material has a high germination rate; when sowing, it does not require deep digging (it is small).

When planting, it is necessary to maintain a distance to ensure a comfortable existence for future seedlings.

What do they look like?

Seeds in a box-pod (about 5 cm). They are almost black oblong dark brown in color, about 2-3 mm long. A sign of ripe seeds is a uniform bright color (clearly visible under a magnifying glass).

Where is the best place to buy them?

If you are a beginner gardener and have not previously grown night violet, then it is best to purchase plant seeds in specialized stores or from trusted breeders (it would be optimal to purchase a whole box of seeds indicating the subspecies of the parents and the variety).

you need to pay attention to:

• packaging integrity;
• shelf life of the product (until the end of the sale period must be at least 12 months);
• compliance with storage conditions: storage temperature - 12-15 degrees;
• choose planting material collected from well-known agricultural producers.

Can I get them myself?

If this plant already decorates your garden or balcony area, then you can prepare the seed material yourself:

1. The seeds (found in pods - pods) are collected at the end of the growing season, after the first frost;
2. The removed pod is left to dry for up to 2 weeks;
3. To keep the pod intact, use a paper bag (the seeds remain viable for 3 years, you decide when to plant the viola at night) in a cool and well-ventilated area (for example, the bottom compartment of a refrigerator);
4. The extracted seeds are wrapped in undyed cotton or linen cloth or placed in a matchbox and stored under the same conditions, but not more than two years.

ATTENTION! The peculiarity of the violet is that it grows well by spontaneous sowing, forming abundant groves. To avoid excessive growth of the territory, it is recommended to thin out the plant at intervals of 2 years.

Pests

Planting and caring for seedlings at home

To decorate part of the selected yard or loggia with a night beauty, you can use seedlings obtained from collected or purchased seeds.

Levka in the garden.

Read how to grow this delicate flower from seeds at home.

Priming

The planting substrate is a two-component mixture: turf and sand (ratio 3: 1).

Be sure to use drainage:

• foam crumb;
• expanded clay of middle fraction.

To save time and effort, you can purchase a ready-made mixture for growing night violets.

Deadlines

How does growing from seed work and when to plant for best results?

The optimal sowing time is the first spring months:

• last ten days of March;
• early April.

The seed is introduced into a shallow seed box. An alternative is small seed containers.

Technology

Since the size of the seeds is very small, they do not bury deeply; the depth of the planting hole should not exceed 10 mm. Sprinkle soil on top.

When using a seedling box, the distance between the holes must be at least 30 mm.

For proper development, plants create a favorable microclimate - provide watering and lighting. You can set up a mini-greenhouse using plastic film (until 3 leaves appear, after which the seedlings dive).

Watering

Irrigation is regular, moderate (to avoid drying out the earthen clod). Soft water (from the tap at room temperature) is ideal).

Matthiola seedlings need regular watering.

When 2 leaves are formed on the shoots, it is necessary to fertilize with a solution of mineral fertilizers.

How and when do shoots appear?

If all conditions are met, the first shots will not be long in coming. Literally after 2 weeks, young shoots appear.

Overgrown shoots (more than 7 cm in height), if weather conditions permit, can be taken outside (loggia).

At what age is it better to transplant into open ground?

A young and mature plant that has more than 3 leaves and has reached a height of more than 10 cm is ready to be transplanted into open ground.

Therefore, from sowing to the moment of planting in open ground in a permanent place, it takes from 3 to 4 weeks.

How to transplant seedlings?

The selected location is prepared:

• dig transfer holes with a clod of earth corresponding to the diameter of the plant;
• planting holes should be at a distance of at least 30-40 cm from each other.

In addition, the sprout is carefully, without damaging the root, moved along with a lump of earth to a new place, watered abundantly and appropriate care is provided with the obligatory loosening of the soil root.

Flowering of a young plant begins in the second year of life.

Reproduction methods

Night violet is propagated by seeds. The procedure is carried out in two ways:

• planting in the ground;
• growing seedlings.

Read about other annual plants:

Mallow flower: lovely gramophones

Phlox Drummond - the star of any garden

Diascia - types and photos of long-flowering exotic

Growing a flower

On the balcony

Night purple can decorate even limited space on the balcony. Planting and caring for this plant on the balcony does not require creating too special conditions.

In order for a young plant to feel good after transshipment, gain strength and growth, the following requirements must be met:

• sowing is carried out when the street temperature during the day does not fall below 15 degrees. In the evening and at night, it is better to cover the young plant with polyethylene until the flower takes root;
• it is necessary to ensure regular ventilation if the loggia is glazed;
• In summer, the plant should be protected from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight;
• carry out regular moderate watering and loosen the soil.

Mattiola in a pot on the balcony.

ATTENTION! Since the night violet blooms only in the second year after transshipment, the planted plants are gradually renewed to ensure annual flowering in the selected area of ​​the garden or balcony.

In the open ground

Evening grass reproduces well by seeds, which can be immediately applied to the soil. Next we will tell you when and how to plant this flower with seeds.

How and when to sow?

When sowing in open ground, the following are preferred:

• autumn period. The main requirement: sowing is carried out before the first frost on the ground: first - second ten days of September;
• spring period. At the same time, the air and soil temperatures should not drop to negative values.

Sowing in stages:

• seeds (can be pre-mixed with sand) are not buried in the soil (no more than 10 mm from the surface layer);
• sprinkle with earth;
• watered;
• in the future, timely watering and climatic conditions affect the germination of crops;
• Seedling germination must be ensured with proper care.

What locations and soils are preferable?

How a plant will develop depends on the location and soil in which it grows.

The night violet, despite its unpretentiousness, is afraid of direct sunlight. Therefore, it will feel great in a shaded area:

• near trees;
• under the house;
• next to the gazebo.

In the conditions of central Russia, where solar activity is less intense than in the homeland of matthiola, the venue should be well lit.

Choose a place with good lighting.

The flower prefers airy and permeable, drained, loose soils with a slightly alkaline environment. “Poor” soils must be supplemented with organic matter and lime fertilizers.

Attention! The plant will be sickly and may die, and planting and care in open ground will be difficult if planted in an area previously “occupied” by its relatives - representatives of the cruciferous family.

How to properly prepare the site?

Before sowing in open ground, the soil must be dug up (preparation is carried out in the fall, before the onset of the first frost), saturating it and enriching it with oxygen.

If possible, drainage is carried out (expanded clay, broken brick). The necessary mineral supplements are added.

Is it necessary to thin out the plant and how to do it correctly?

After the first shoots appear, after about 20-30 days, they must be thinned out so that each shoot is at a distance of at least 0.3-0.5 meters from each other.

It is also necessary to promptly remove weeds and loosen the soil.

Watering and fertilizing

Water the plant regularly, preferably with softened water. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that there is no excess moisture - this can lead to rotting of the root system of the flower.

Fertilizing is done once every 30-45 days (twice in the spring-summer months), adding complex mineral fertilizers (purchased in specialized stores) or an ash solution, which is easy to prepare at home.

Prevention of diseases and pests

Before transshipment or sowing, to prevent diseases, it is recommended to treat the soil with Hom or Baktofit.

Excessive watering leads to rotting of the matthiola root system.

Soil stagnation causes clubroot, a fungal disease that affects the root system of the cruciferous family. Affected plants are dug up and burned.

Pest Control:

• During prolonged drought, cruciferous flea beetles are affected. Signs: multiple holes on the leaves. Boi is fly ash that is sprinkled on night violet;

On the left is a cruciferous flea.

• if a cabbage butterfly has attacked, appropriate drugs are used to destroy it. In case of minor damage, the affected leaves are removed, and the plants are sprinkled with grated charcoal or sprayed with an ash solution every 5 days until signs of damage disappear.

ADVICE! To maintain an attractive appearance and prevent diseases, it is necessary to prune the plant in a timely manner when damaged or dry shoots appear. To do this, the flower is removed from the dried buds.

Necessary conditions for cultivation

Night violet is an unpretentious flower, and its maintenance will not cause you much trouble. Like any living creature, it requires love, care and proper care.

Does not tolerate excess moisture. If you choose a low place for planting, it may die during intense spring thaws.

Purple crops need regular renewal, since every year the flowers become smaller, and the above-ground part, on the contrary, increases in growth.

Temperature

For young plants, the daytime temperature should not fall below 17 degrees.

Abundant flowering of matthiola occurs during the growing season at air temperatures from 21 to 23 degrees Celsius. Also, the temperature difference between day and night hours should not exceed five units.

Thanks to its frost resistance, the flower tolerates winters well in the central zone (down to -10 degrees) and does not need shelter.

Lighting

Night violet feels great in slightly dark, sunny areas outside.

In places hidden from sunlight, in conditions of high humidity, the flower becomes sick, shrinks and may be attacked by snails.

Soil acidity

Ideal for matthiola is light, moist, neutral soil or slightly acidic clay environment. Low-lying areas with standing water are strictly contraindicated for plants!

Before planting matthiola, be sure to check the acidity of the soil:

• acidic soils are saved by lime (optimally limestone flour). It should be remembered that mineral and organic fertilizers are not applied to such areas! A simple available medium is used as a deoxidizer: wood ash, which does not contain harmful chemical impurities;
• Alkaline soils must be completely loosened. In this case, the soil can be slightly acidified with compost fertilizer or by adding peat to the top layers of the soil. Therefore, acidification occurs rather slowly, but the effect lasts for a long time. If there is no time to wait, the chemical industry comes to the aid of the gardener - mineral complexes, acid solutions.

Acidity scale.

Which species are considered the most unpretentious?

Gardener breeders recommend the following plant varieties for growing in garden plots in central Russia:

• Violla Vitrocca (fragrant violet);
• horned violet. Differs in a variety of colors, extremely unpretentious;
• gray matthiola. Beautiful purple night terry look.

What problems might there be and how to solve them

The roots are rotting

To get rid of the problem, the affected plants should be removed and healthy ones should be transplanted to another location. Lime the soil of the rot-affected area immediately. Lime and wood ash must also be added to the soil of the new planting site.

Matthiola leaves are limp, the plant is drooping

If watering the gillyflower is carried out regularly, then the hot climate is probably to blame. In any case, the plant should be watered in the evening, and next time choose a less hot place for planting.

Matthiola does not bloom

There may be two reasons for the lack of flowers in matthiola:

1. This is probably due to the late planting of the plant. The flower buds did not have time to form. To enhance the growing season, the plant should be fed.
2. If a two-year-old variety is planted, the flower will not bloom in the first year. It should be transplanted into a pot for the winter and fed well in the spring.

In landscape design

Since matthiola bicornus cannot boast of bright flowers, and during the day its buds are completely closed, it will not be possible to use the plant as a decorative one.

The flowerbed is arranged in such a way that the delicate aroma of night violet complements the bright composition .

What flowers goes with matthiola bicornuum?

Night violet goes well with herbs; it can be accompanied by:

• thyme;
• verbena;
• sage;
• basil;
• mint;
• Melissa.

From decorative flowering plants, choose:

• petunias;
• nasturtiums;
• tea rose.