Plant Profile: Viola
Other Annuals and Perennials
Traits: Sun, Shade, Groundcover, Rockery, Container, Fragrant
The type genus for the family Violaceae, Viola includes some 500 species of annuals, perennials, and subshrubs found in the worlds temperate zones, ranging from the subarctic to the mountains of New Zealand. These plants are immensely popular with gardeners as they can be used in numerous ways to add a bold splash of colorbe it in a window box, a container, in border plantings, or beneath taller shrubs. Violet fragrance has long been a favorite with the perfume industry, but these days more cost-effective synthetics have largely replaced natural oil. The genus was named for a lover of the god Zeus, and Viola tricolor was used as a symbol of Athens.
Flowering Season: Summer, Autum, Winter, Spring
Viola species are variously known as violets, pansies, and heartsease, and most are small clump-forming plants with lobed, elliptic, kidney- or heart-shaped leaves. All species share similar 5-petalled flowers, with the lower petal often carrying darker markings. Among the species, white, yellow, and purple are the predominant flower colors. Numerous cultivars have been raised, and they have extended the color range to include all colors. Some violets have fragrant blooms.
Tough and adaptable, most pansies are natural woodland plants. They are easily grown in sun or shade, but a position in semi-shade is best, with moist humus-rich soil; the alpines usually need a slightly grittier soil; and a bright location will ensure full flowering potential for the bedding hybrids. Depending on the growth form, propagation is from seed, by division, or from basal cuttings.