How to Grow and Care for Violas

There are over 500 species in the Viola genus, including annuals, perennials, and even subshrubs. Collectively, they are known as violas, though individual distinctive garden types are usually called pansies (Viola x wittrockiana), Johnny-jump-ups (Viola tricolor), or violets (Viola sororia and others).

As a group, viola flowers include both pure species types and many hundreds of hybrids and cultivars in all shades of the rainbow.

The fast-growing varieties grown as garden plants are mostly small-flowered annuals or short-lived perennial violas. Many violas will come back every year thanks to self-seeding.

Furthermore, violas are edible flowers and make unexpected garnishes and salad ingredients. They can also be candied for a frosted effect and used to decorate cakes or other confections.

Violas flower primarily in cooler weather. How long violas bloom depends on the climate. They are perfect for starting and ending the growing season in colder climates, as well as for bridging the seasons in warmer zones, where they can remain in bloom throughout the winter.

Viola Care

Outdoors, the mounded plants make a lovely edging along a path or to define a garden border. Violas are as at home in woodland settings as they are filling crevices in rock walls.

Combine them with other cool-weather lovers, such as snapdragons, calendula, and Dianthus. Or tuck violas between spring-flowering bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils, to fill the space as the bulbs fade.

Planting

Violas are often the first seedlings for sale in nurseries in the spring in cool climates and at the end of the summer in warm areas. Look for healthy plants with lots of buds. Mounding violas should be spaced about 6 to 8 inches apart. Trailing or spreading varieties are planted 10 to 12 inches apart.

Plant violas in pots or in the ground. Violas' size, compact habit, and long flowering period make them perfect for containers. Trailing varieties are exquisite in hanging baskets and tumbling over the edge of containers and window boxes.

The timing for planting violas also depends on climate. In cool climates, they are usually planted in the spring; in climates without winter frost, they can be planted in the fall.

Light

Violas prefer sun over shade, but they don't like heat. This isn’t a problem in cool spring temperatures. When planting in the summer, make sure they get some shade during the hottest part of the afternoon.

Soil

Pansies and the other violas are best grown in humusy, moist soil, such as a peat-based potting mix or garden soil heavily amended with organic material. Violas like a slightly acidic soil; peat moss as a soil additive will help slightly acidify garden soil.

Water

Water regularly, but allow the soil to dry out between waterings. The plants tolerate some drought but will bloom best with regular watering.

Temperature and Humidity

Violas love the cool weather of early spring, and thrive in milder temperatures from 40℉ to 70℉. Mulch and water will help offset the stress of high temperatures.

With proper care, violas may bloom all summer and most will bloom again in the fall. Or, particularly in hot, southern climates, remove and replace them with another flower during the summer and then planet them again when cooler weather returns in the fall.

Fertilizer

Mix a slow-release fertilizer into the soil. Fertilize in the spring and again in late summer to promote a fall bloom.

Types of Violas

Technically there is no difference between violas and pansies, but there are many more types of violas within the genus that go by different common names. They include:

• Viola x wittrockiana: Also known as the familiar garden pansy, this hybrid is a short-lived perennial or biennial with larger flowers, but it's usually grown as an annual in colder climates. Plants grow about 8 inches tall and have 2- to 3-inch flowers that are be single-colored or patterned. This is the most popular of the violas, with dozens of different cultivars available. It works well in pots and baskets.
• Viola tricolor: More commonly known as Johnny-jump-up, this is a small plant that is one of the genetic parents of pansies. Some hybrid pansies will revert to Johnny-jump-ups as the dropped seeds sprout up as volunteer seedlings. In the garden, it is often used as an edging plant or as a filler.
• Viola sororia: Widely known as the wild blue violet, it is native to wooded areas and often finds its way to cultivated gardens and turf lawns where it is usually regarded as a weed—unless deliberately encouraged in native woodland gardens.
• Viola cornuta: Known as the tufted or horned violet, it resembles the pansy but with a smaller flower. These are spreading perennials with 1 1/2-inch two-toned flowers above a rosette of leaves growing 6 to 10 inches tall.

Pruning

To promote blooming and extend the flowering period, remove or deadhead faded flowers by pinching off the blooms at the base of the flower stem. To revive leggy or overgrown plants, cut them back to about 3 to 4 inches.

Propagating Violas

Unless you want to take the time to start violas from seed, propagating them from stem cuttings is an easy way to make more plants. Any time during the summer, take 2- to 3-inch cuttings of a non-flowering stem just below a leaf node.

Remove the leaves from the bottom of the cuttings. Insert the cuttings in 4-inch pots filled with damp potting mix, deep enough so that the stems are buried up to the base of the leaves.

Cover the pot with a clear plastic dome or a perforated plastic bag and keep the pot in a bright place but away from direct sunlight. Water regularly. When the cuttings have rooted, transplant them to larger pots or in the landscape.

How to Grow Violas From Seed

Violas are easy to start from seed. They are quite happy to self-seed all over your garden, but in cold climates, the volunteers might not bloom until quite late in the season. If you would like to start your own indoors, the process is very straightforward.

Start seed about 8 to 12 weeks before transplanting. Mature violas withstand occasional freezing temperatures, but new transplants may be damaged if exposed to a freeze. In a warm climate, gardeners transplanting in the fall should start their seeds in midsummer.

1. Fill small pots or flats with sterile potting mix to about 1/4 inch below the top edge.
2. Sprinkle two to three seeds in each cell or pot, and cover lightly with the more moistened potting mix. Violas need darkness to germinate, so cover the seeds completely.
3. Set in a warm (65℉ to 70℉) location, and keep moist. Once the seeds sprout, move them to a sunny window or place them under plant lights.
4. When the first true leaves appear, you must thin the pot or cell to the strongest-looking seeding by pinching or cutting the others at the soil line. At this point, a temperature of 55℉ to 60℉ is fine.
5. Once the seedlings have grown accustomed to full days outdoors, plant them permanently in the garden or into their outdoor pots.

Direct sowing in the garden works best in regions with a long growing season. Carefully prepare the planting area by amending it with organic matter, loosen the soil, and sprinkle the seeds. Cover with about 1/4 inch of soil, and water well. Thin seedlings to about 6 to 8 inches apart.

Overwintering

Violas survive the winter in warm climates. And through the winter, violas may even continue blooming in these zones. Be sure to check the hardiness zones on your particular variety, as some have more cold tolerance than others.

Continue to fertilize throughout the winter; a liquid fertilizer is often better than granule for easier absorption if there's frost on the ground. Then, just make sure your violas are getting enough sun and not sitting in soggy soil.

If your area is expecting unseasonably cold weather, add a couple inches of straw or mulch over your violas to help insulate the roots. 

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Violas are prone to several diseases, some of which are fairly easy to manage or prevent while others require removal of the plant before it infects others. To avoid downy mildew, protect plants in the spring during cool, wet conditions.

Not using overhead irrigation helps reduce the risks of fungal leaf spots and rust. Violas infected with aster yellows cannot be salvaged.

Pansies and other violas are a favorite food of rabbits, so if you have issues with a high rabbit population, consider planting rabbit-proof alternatives to violas, such as zonal geraniums.

How to Get Violas to Bloom

Violas begin blooming about 12 to 14 weeks after the seeds have been started. The bloom time varies depending on the species. V. tricolor (Johnny-jump-up) varieties bloom about two weeks earlier than V. cornuta (horned violet); ‘Penny’ and ‘Sorbet’ will bloom nine to 10 weeks after sowing.

Violas bloom easily and for a fairly long time. The bloom period starts in the spring, around April. The bloom continues throughout the spring and summer, except during hot summer weather when violas go dormant or die back.

Many varieties bounce back and bloom again when the weather gets cooler again in the fall and bloom as late as October. To keep violas blooming, deadhead spent flowers, lightly fertilize once a month during the growing season, and cut back your plants in late summer.

Common Problems with Violas

While violas are generally some of the easiest plants to grow in your garden, you'll occasionally have small problems that are usually fixable without too much trouble.

Brown Spots on the Leaves

Violas are prone to several fungal diseases, such as leaf spot or anthracnose. Remove the affected leaves with clean garden shears. If that does not resolve it, treat the plant with a fungicide.

Drooping Leaves or Flowers

Drooping leaves or flowers can happen for several reasons, including too much or too little water or overcrowding. This problem is easily remedied once you troubleshoot the source.

If it's a problem with watering, stick your finger into the soil to see whether it's too dry or too moist, and adjust accordingly. If your violas look like they need more breathing room, replant with more space in between the plants.