When does the butterfly pansy bloom? Reasons it won't flower and solutions
Butterfly pansy belongs to the Violaceae family and is a common perennial herbaceous flower, mostly grown as a biennial. Usually each flower is (or purple), yellow and white in three colors, so its scientific name is pansy (Viola tricolor). The butterfly pansy flower is bilaterally symmetrical, and the lower petals have a backward-extending spur. The whole flower closely resembles a butterfly with spread wings. Placed indoors as a potted plant, while the early spring outside is still chilly, indoors colorful butterflies dance and spring light is boundless, which inevitably brings to mind the plum blossom braving wind and snow, and so it got the lovely name butterfly pansy.
Butterfly pansy likes loose, fertile sandy loam; it grows and develops well with lush leaves and abundant flowers. If planted in poor soil or soil with poor drainage, the plant is short and weak, develops poorly, and the variety degenerates. Therefore, whether sowing seedlings or cultivating, loose and fertile garden soil should be used as the potting soil. So, what should you do if butterfly pansy does not bloom during potted care?
When does the butterfly pansy bloom?
Butterfly pansy blooms early and has a long flowering period. When the flowers are in full bloom, the colors are gorgeous and the shape resembles a butterfly, making it a main decorative material for spring and autumn flower beds. The time depends on the desired flowering time. Sowing in spring from March to April brings flowers from June to October, with poor development, small flowers and sparse flowers. Sowing in autumn from September to October brings flowers in the second year from February to March, with a long flowering period, large flowers and many flowers.
Why does the butterfly pansy not bloom?
People who cultivate ornamental flowers and trees all hope for many flowers, large flowers and beautiful colors. But in practice, some flowering plants grow very lush branches and leaves yet do not bloom; some bloom but have small flowers and pale colors; and some even always drop flowers and buds, or the flowers wither before opening. The author believes these phenomena are mainly related to the following 5 factors.
1. Physiological factors
Butterfly pansy is a type that differentiates flower buds in winter and spring. Each year when the temperature is relatively low in winter and spring, it undergoes one flower bud differentiation, and the period from differentiation to flowering is short and continuous. During the flower bud differentiation period, its growth and development conditions should be met to ensure smooth flower bud differentiation, so that it can have many flowers and beautiful colors.
2. Water and fertilizer factors
During the growth period of flowers, excessive water and fertilizer easily cause excessive vegetative growth of branches and leaves, with nutrients mostly used for the growth of roots, stems and leaves, affecting flower bud formation and leading to no flowering or very little flowering; even if it can bloom, it easily drops flowers and buds.
If nitrogen fertilizer is applied excessively and phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are lacking, flower bud formation is also affected. Therefore, during the flower bud differentiation period, attention should be paid to applying more fertilizer containing phosphorus and potassium, or spraying a 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution, which is beneficial to flower bud formation and bud development. If fertilizer is too concentrated during the bud development period, and watering fluctuates between too much and too little, it is very easy to cause flower and bud drop. Lack of fertilizer and water during the flower growth period and poor plant growth also easily cause few flowers or poor flower quality.
3. Temperature factors
Before the leaf buds of butterfly pansy transform into flower buds, they are very sensitive to the environment. Because it is a winter-type flower, it requires a low temperature of 0°C to 10°C, and completes induction in 30 days to 70 days, such as biennial herbaceous flowers and perennial flowers that bloom in early spring. In flower cultivation, the conditions for flower formation induction should be met as much as possible to promote the transformation of leaf buds into flower buds.
4. Soil factors
Most flowers like acidic soil or neutral soil and are afraid of salinity and alkalinity. Even for flowers that tolerate alkaline soil, the pH value of the soil can only be around 7.5. If the alkalinity of the soil where butterfly pansy is planted is too high, their development and flowering will be affected.
5. Cutting factors
Which kind of branch is selected as the cutting is also the key to whether it can bloom. For vegetatively propagated cuttings, grafting or air layering, they must all be cut from the branch tip part of an adult mother tree that has entered the reproductive stage. These branches are reproductive branches, and new seedlings propagated from such cuttings can bloom in the same year. If nutrient-growing branches are used for cuttings, although the new plant grows robustly, it cannot bloom in the same year because it does not have reproductive genes and cannot differentiate flower buds.