Soil alert

I am trying to cover a large area with a carpet of violets. Maybe 1000 square feet. I put in a dozen in the summer, but had to wait for some grading to get done to put in another 50, which I am doing nowl. And I realize that although I have watered the dozen consistently, they appear to be on their way out- turning a definite yellow with green veins.

The are in acid soil under pine trees, and are up to their knees in pine needles. Do I just need to compost the soil, or is this hopeless? I though violets were bulletproof.

Please comment.

Yellow with green veins usually means an iron deficiency. If you just planted them, I'd give them a bit of time, the iron shortage may have come about while they were in pots waiting to be planted, so as they spend more time in your garden soil they may absorb it from your soil and improve all on their own. But if they've been in the ground for a while, then you could try adding some chelated iron and see if that helps (I would try to find something that just has iron or iron plus trace minerals, not a fertilizer with iron in it--it's not generally a good idea to fertilize things as you're getting towards winter)

Hi Ballyshannon, could you give an idea of which kind of Violets you are trying to establish in your garden, I ask this because there are several plants called Violets and all need different soil types and situations, some like a moist footing but not in water, some like a real rich soil with manure while others like shade and prefer a slight slope to the ground, it would help to know which you have, however, Ecrane is right that yellowing of leaves is a definite sign of nutrient deficiencies, hope you can get back here as it would be a shame to loose your plants now after all your work. WeeNel.

Thanks ecrane3, please see below. WeeNell, you are like the Good Fairy responding to all dilemmas. These are the most insignificant violets that grow happily in the shade. They were given to me, but browsing the net I see that they are called Common Blue. I believe you are in Wales but you seem to know about US flora.

I am planting them on an undeveloped site where wild pines have seeded after original hardwoods were taken and where I hope to build next spring. Bright shade, heavy soil, lots of slope. I have the soil results, but didnt want to bore you all. They say: Iron 7.8 ppm, soil range 1.0-40 (whatever that means). All the main nutrient levels read low to just barely medium, and the pH is 5.8, buffer 6.7.

I know these are not ideal, but again I thought of these plants as just above weed category. .I put down some lime some months ago. Thanks for listening.

I honestly have no idea how much iron needs to be in the soil in order for plants to be happy so I don't know if your amount is OK or if it's too low.

How recently did you plant them? As I said before, if they're recently planted then you may just need to give them a little more time for them to absorb the iron that is in the soil. But if they've been in the ground for months, then adding some iron might help (only if someone else comes and tells you that your iron amount is low though--I'm sure adding too much of it won't be good for your plants). But before you do anything, it would help if you could post a picture of your plants though just to make sure it is iron deficiency and not something else like overwatering or a disease of some sort.

I googled and found the following:
Cultivation: The preference is partial sun or light shade, and moist to average conditions, although full sun is tolerated if there is sufficient moisture. The soil should be a rich silty loam or clay loam with above average amounts of organic matter. The leaves have a tendency to turn yellowish green when exposed to full sun under dry conditions – this reaction is normal, and is not necessarily a sign of poor health. This plant is very easy to grow, and it will spread under favorable conditions. This wildflower will adapt to lawns, especially if they are not mowed too often during the spring or cut too low.
Soil range is a indicator that you have clay type soil. I'm currently taking Master Gardener classes and I went running for my reference books. LOL I need all the practice I can get!
Rather than try iron this late in the year, I'd suggest trying some magnesium. Mix 1 tablespoon of Epsom Salts in 1 quart of warm water and mix throughly. Or you can broad cast it by hand and water throughly. The ph is acidic (no duh with all those pines) the magnesium will help the root system fix more iron that is in the soil already. The acididy of the soil may retard the chemical transfers that need to take place.

If these the same violets that I pull out, I can send you a whole box of them next spring! All I need is a warm day and a trowel.

When we moved in 25 years ago, the entire back of the house was violets. Very pretty! They do get puny looking on the leaves this time of year.

Actually acidic pH is fine for absorbing iron--it's when the soil pH gets too high that the plant can't absorb iron anymore.

Can I suggest a picture of the plants as Ecrane said, it helps a lot, it will also help identify what kind of violet you have as some folks call winter Pansy's violets, there are also wood violets that need such different growing conditions form even loads other ones, sorry if this is impractical, but if you have the wrong growing conditions, you could loose them all which would be a shame as a large area of Violets is truly beautiful and the smell is just as good. WeeNel.

Dear plant friends,
Thanks! I planted the pioneer 12 violets in early August. They are in heavy clay and get maybe two hours of late day sun in summer. There is no way they get too much water- I have to truck in the water in my Subaru on a weekly basis- or a bit more when it was dry..

I got them from my landlord here out of the lawn and driveway where they grow beautifully green and hardy, even now, in spite of no care at all. I found a picture of them at http://garden.thefairkingdom.com/flower/cbviolet.html. Although called Common Blue, they are totally lavender.

The Epsom salts sounds cheap and easy. I'll do that one.But I'm afraid the soil here is going to be a great drawback for the future.

Are the lawn and driveway in the sun? Maybe this sort does better with a little more sun, that could explain why they're not happy in the shade. Or if they're ones that like shade, it could be that the afternoon sun is too much for them. Plants that mostly like shade but can take a little sun will generally do fine with morning sun, but afternoon sun can be too strong for them.

It would be really great if you could post a picture of your plants, there are so many different possibilities of what could be going on but I bet if you posted a picture someone would be able to narrow down the possibilities for you.

Oops, sorry, don't know what I was thinking, ecrane is right about the ph...sheesh..another senior moment in public, LOL

Sorry, I dont have an electronic camera. And yes, the violets were growing in part or complete shade in their original spot.

It could be the afternoon sun then, if they like complete shade afternoon sun could be too much for them. It might be a temporary effect, many plants have a range of sun that they can tolerate, but if they're used to full shade and you all of a sudden put them somewhere that they get a couple hours of sun, the leaves can get sunburn, but over time they'll adjust and newer leaves will be fine. Or it may be a permanent problem, if they really don't like sun that much the sun in the afternoon may not be good for them. Only time will tell! Or it's still very possible that it's something else, but without a picture it's impossible to say.