A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Wild Violet questions

By me wild Violets are everywhere, but there labeled as weeds/pests here so most people eradicate them. In our yard however we have so many a handful grow all year and produce flowers. My questions about them are as follows:

1- Are they related to african violets?
2- 99% of them have purple flowers, but once in a while we find some with white flowers that have a purple stripe. Is this a color variation/subspecies, and if you cross the two colored flowers, what would the offspring be?
3- I tried growing these indoors by a sunny window, they did well for a while but then yellowed and all the leaves died. Then, once spring arrived, they started growing new leaves, but they died shortly after. Is it possible to successfully grow them indoors?

Look them up as Johnny Jump Ups. I have moved mine to a bed of their own.They have gotten huge and the flowers are wonderful. I have all shades of purple to white also.
NO they do not like pots at all.

I *think* the one to which we are all referring is:

"Viola sororia, also known as the Common Blue Violet, is a stemless herbaceous perennial plant that is native to eastern North America. It is known by a number of common names including; Common Meadow Violet, Purple Violet, Woolly Blue Violet, Hooded Violet and Wood Violet." [From Wikipedia; the entry notes that in lawns it can become a weed.]

Funny what gets labeled a "weed" isn't it?

Very weedy! I had to buy a specific type of weed killer (most of them don't work on wild violets) just to get rid of them in my lawn, and I'm still fighting them! Arrrggg!!!

Yes the Common Blue Violet. It's labeled as a weed here, but the flowers are pretty to me. There is even a pretty, tiny butterfly species that feeds on them I think.

Sorry, I am southern.Do not know much about the area you all are in.

*** backs out the door quietly ***

Some people really like them and other people really hate them. I have some in my yard and I think they are really pretty. I won't be killing them when I get the spray to kill the other weeds in our lawn. for people most people who live in the northeast, tho, it is a weed and hated. I think it also depends in what kind of area people live in. I live in a tiny town where everyone knows everyone else...a very old town...and people here don't mind the wild violets much at all. But where I used to live, where there were lots of developments and gated communities and places with housing associations, they hated anything other than grass that grew in their lawns. :)

I love wild violets - I always save them when I come across them - they're great for filling in spaces.

I used them this afternoon, in fact - went and stole from a basket of them I put together last year.

They just look so nice - I don't know why anybody thinks they're bad weeds. If they grow too much and 'intrude', you just thin them out. What's the big deal?

THOU SHALL NOT STEAL...........

I know I said this someplace---but I have "domesticated" my wild violets.--and then when I moved to this house, I brought a lot of them with me--so now I have a bed of them here-----finally after many years I have 2 "starts" in my front yard, near the bed of them----I love them---they remind me of "The farm" (my old house).

Is the wild violet the same as a viola? I have violas around my weeping cheery tree and I love them. Wish I had a picture of mine so I could see if they are the same thing. They do grow and spread from what I have been told. I would love that. I also think they are prettier than my pansies but just my opinion.