Do they need and respond to a mid season trim the same way that pansies do?
Do they need and respond to a mid season trim the same way that pansies do?
July is a bad month for violas! You can treat them basically the same (violas are a bit less delicate than pansies). They're all in the same family. You can trim them back and deadhead them, shade them somewhat with a tall houseplant if you can, topdress the soil around them with a bit of leafy mulch and give them a good feeding and they will be ready to bloom again in the fall! They're a woodsy kind of plant and like cool, shady spots with a leafy based soil (like in a forest), so they take a rest in the middle of Summer.
Now's a good time to start violas, johnny-jump-ups and some hardier pansies (to winter over) from seed. You can start all sorts of perennials from seed in July (just don't let the seeds dry out!).
July is also the start of fall veggie garden seeding, too. Cabbage, broccoli, broccoli raab, cauliflower, Swiss Chard, beets for tops, kale, escarole, radicchio, head lettuce (leaf lettuce, spinach and peas in August/Sept), Chinese cabbage/bok choy, baby greens, bunching onions... at least in zone 6/7.
I start a second batch of zucchini and cukes, too, and keep them in larger pots to replace ones in the garden that have met their peril from rabbit, woodchuck, deer, turkeys, or other wild things!
--CM
It sure is a bad month for violas! The first pot got so sad and pitiful looking that I just went ahead and cut it back, I think the next two won't be far behind. The stalks became leggy and the blooms tiny in a very short period of time. Not to worry, they'll bounce back sooner or later. In the meantime the begonias are literally growing right out of their pots, I see transplanting in the near future.....
Make sure you keep the little seed pods from forming by nipping off the flower heads as they curl under. At the end of the season just before a frost, let the seed pods develop if you plan to try and overwinter them. When the seed pods turn brown and are just about to split into 4 quarters you can collect the brown seeds and save them for next Spring! Violas and Johnny Jump ups will resemble the parents. They'll often self-sow and you'll find them all over the lawn next year.
--CM
All three pots are trimmed back and resting in partial shade now. After they rally and re-bloom, will they make it through the winter indoors? I already plan to save the seeds, just in case.....
You could probably keep them alive in a window, but I don't think they'd thrive because there's really not enough humidity and they would get tired! You can bury them under some mulch in the garden, though, and brush them off in spring and they'll come back if you're lucky. But save some seeds just in case. I have some in the garden but I planted some from seed about a week and a half ago - they came right up and are about 1/4-inch tall. They should flower in Fall and with a little luck will make it through the Winter, too.
--CM
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