Growing Violets in Coldframes— By Henry wild, 



Connec- 

 ticut 



THE violet, when all is said and 

 done, is a somewhat difficult plant 

 to handle. It does not do equally 

 well in all places; it has very 

 marked likes and dislikes. In places 

 where it will grow, however, it is 

 really no trick at all to get first 

 class flowers in quantity. 

 Elsewhere, a reasonable 

 amount of success can 

 be had by close atten 

 tion to cultural details. 

 The best success 

 had under green- 

 house management; 

 but all of us do not 

 have greenhouses 

 and with coldframes 

 many large commer- 

 cial growers have 

 been highly success- 

 ful, so there is real 

 encouragement for the 

 amateur. The essential 

 things are to keep the 

 plants cool, fairly moist, in well 

 drained soil and with a free cir- 

 culation of air about them. 



If you would have violets during 

 the coming winter, a start should 

 be made early in September. In- 

 deed, that is the very best time 

 for planting because plants set 

 out now will have ample time 

 to become established before win- 

 ter. You can purchase plants 

 from a florist or you can lift the 

 current season's plants that have 

 been growing outdoors during 

 the summer. More than with 

 most other plants the exact kind of soil is 

 important. The ideal is a good strong loam 

 and well rotted barnyard manure, three 

 parts to one, stacked the previous spring 

 and chopped down now. If such a stack 

 has been turned twice during the summer 

 so much the better. When growing in 

 frames this compost had best be put in 

 over a layer of half decayed roots or rough 

 straw in order to ensure drainage. 



Make the frame 2\ feet deep and 6j wide, 

 and adjust it to take the regulation 3x6 

 sash. Or you can buy frames already 

 made and some of the greenhouse builders 

 nowadays offer a smaller sized frame es- 

 pecially for ladies who wish to do their own 



Single violets are 

 stronger growers 

 than doubles and 

 have a richer color 



Shading the frames after planting is an import- 

 ant detail 



garden work. If you are making your own 

 frame, have a false bottom to the bed 

 14 inches below the glass in front and 16 

 inches at the back. The drainage material 

 already spoken of is placed over 

 this false bottom, which is 

 merely a layer of boards. The 

 bottom boards, in order to 

 give drainage, are laid on 

 the ground with a half 

 inch space between. An 

 interior frame of five- 

 inch boards can then 

 be nailed to the up- 

 rights, usually made 

 of 2x4. This inter- 

 ior frame will hold 

 the soil and allow a 

 2-inch air space be- 

 tween itself and the 

 frame proper. This 

 arrangement ensures a 

 circulation of air around 

 the plants which is very 

 beneficial during the winter 

 time when the frame has to be 

 closed up tight. 



After the soil is in and settled, the 

 plants can be set out in exactly the 

 same way as strawberry plants are 

 handled. That is, with the crown 

 well above the soil and none of the 

 leaves covered. The number of 

 plants to the standard sash is gov- 

 erned by the vigor of the plant it- 

 self. The double violets can be 

 planted twenty-eight to the sash, 

 in seven rows of four each. The 

 same space will only accommodate 

 eighteen plants of the single varie- 

 ties which are heavier growers. 



Whether the plants be received from a 

 dealer or taken up from the ground, they 

 must be properly trimmed before being set 

 out, cutting off poor leaves and all runners. 

 After setting be sure to make the soil firm 

 around the plants, give a thoroughly good 

 watering and if the day be warm leave the 

 glass on and further shade the frame with 

 a lath screen or plant cloth. At night the 

 glass sash can be removed — say as soon 

 as the sun goes down. Keeping violets too 

 warm at this stage is a potent cause of 

 failure. The cool conditions of night dur- 

 ing the early fall will do wonders in putting 

 strength into the new plants and the foliage 

 should be quite firm in the morning when 

 the glass is replaced and the frames covered 

 again. As necessary the soil must be 

 stirred but do not water again until it 

 has become visibly dry, the whole object 

 being to establish a sturdy, resistant 

 plant. The sash can be left open at night 

 until light frosts come which will check 

 excessive leaf growth. During bright, sun- 

 shiny days after planting air can be ad- 

 mitted by raising the sash and aim as near 

 as possible to maintain a temperature of 

 45 to 50 during bright days and 40 or one 



55 



or two degrees lower at night throughout 

 the winter. 



It is important, too, that the foliage be 

 dry before the frames are closed, therefore, 

 watering must be done in the morning, and 

 it will pay to be careful about applying 

 water to the soil between the plants and 

 not over the plants themselves. Use a 

 watering can and do the work slowly. 

 Under this routine flowers will begin to 

 develop during early winter and the crop 

 will continue through spring up to March 

 when the plants can be thrown out and 

 discarded or new runners may be pro- 

 pagated for planting out the following 

 September. 



If runners are to be taken, they should 

 be removed the first of April, selecting only 

 the strong and healthy growths. For 

 propagating the plants should be removed 

 from the old frame, the soil forked over, 

 and a top dressing of about two inches of a 

 screened mixture of loam, leafmold and 

 sand placed on the top. This makes an 

 ideal rooting medium. The young plants 

 are removed from the runners by a clean 

 cut and can be reset in the frame in twenty- 

 four rows and twelve plants to the row 

 across the frame. They must be shaded 

 and watered every day until rooted. 



My experience has been that plants 

 propagated in light compost rather than 

 pure sand are more sturdy. They can 

 also be taken right from the frame to be 



Planted in beds in frame or greenhouse during 

 September, flowers should be cut all winter 



placed outdoors where they are to remain 

 all summer, and a ball of soil being taken 

 with each plant there is very little check 

 in transplanting. If sand is used for the 

 propagating bed, closer attention is neces- 

 sary in both watering and shading, and it is 

 easy for the plants to become weak and 

 "drawn." For the amateur the first 

 method is distinctly advantageous because 

 it does away entirely with the process of 

 potting off or transplanting before plant- 

 ing outside. The old growth had best 

 be discarded, using only the young new 

 growths for propagation. The older plants 

 have a tendency to make suckers and are 



