How to grow the Violet mammola
How to grow the Violet mammola
The violet mammola or mammola (Viola odorata L., 1753) is an herbaceous species belonging to the Violaceae family. It is a small perennial herb that reaches a height between 10 and 15 cm, with heart-shaped or oval leaves of bright green color arranged in rosette. The plant blooms between late winter and early spring with characteristic flowers that have the typical intense purple color. In this sheet we will see how to cultivate the Viola Mammola and the most suitable agronomic measures. However, it is an easy to grow plant that grows in damp and shady soils and spreads also through stolons.
As mentioned, for its cultivation it is good to choose moist, shady or semi-shady places, while for the cold it is very resistant. The soil should preferably be soft, tending to medium sandy and well drained soil. If it is cultivated in pots, a soil must be prepared by preparing a mixture of common garden soil, peat and sand, also excellent universal soil.
The violet mammula propagates both by seed and by stole and by division of the tufts. If you chose seed propagation, this should be done in seedbeds at the beginning of autumn; subsequently, in spring, the planting of the new seedlings will be carried out in the ground or in pots. For greater certainty of propagation it is advisable to divide the plants that have propagated through the stolons, in the same way as you work with strawberries.
The violet mammula is a plant that must live in a damp substrate so it is necessary to keep the soil constantly humid, avoiding, as always, the water stagnations. The substratum must be kept particularly humid, especially during the period of vegetative growth.
Concerning fertilization it is necessary to distinguish if you work in the garden or in pot. In the garden it is always necessary to intervene only with organic fertilizers (compost, earthworm humus or mature manure) just before the vegetative restart, by making a light mixing of the fertilizers in the first layers of soil but without damaging the roots. Intervention with synthetic fertilizers, such as nitrogen fertilizers above all, is absolutely to be excluded for negative effects on ecosystems and ecological balances.
Remember then that to favor flowering it is good to trim the withered flowers at the base.
As for adversities, it is recalled that Viola odorata is a rather rustic plant, infact it is rarely attacked by parasites of animal origin like aphids; instead it is more sensitive to root rot and rusts, which is why it should be grown on highly permeable soils.
Remember that violet odorata is a medicinal herb and a medicinal herb; in fact besides being cultivated in flowerbeds and borders, or in pot for ornamental purposes it is cultivated for its phytotherapeutic properties known since ancient times. In addition its flowers are edible and are widely used in cooking both fresh in addition to mixed salads or cooked in batter.