General Description
Bloom Description: Blooms from April-May. Flowers are usually blue, but occasionally white.
Growth Habit & Shape: A small clump-forming, short-lived groundcover. It spreads by seed aggressively if it's in the right conditions.
Soil Preferences: Prefers rich, moist soils but is not very picky so long as it doesn't get too wet or too dry.
Root Description: Fibrous.
Garden Uses: Shady rock gardens, slopes, habitat or naturalizing gardens, low maintanence planting, alternative lawns.
Best Management & Maintenance: Viola sororia is short-lived so it needs to seed into spots without too much competition or leaf litter. It loves to seed into gravel or cracks between rocks--so be aware if planting near a patio. If you want more of them or want them to seed further back in a bed, thin some of the leaf litter in spots--though be careful of disturbing desireable insects that may be sheltered nearby.
Common Problems: None.
Benefits
Ornamental Value:
Wildlife Benefits: Flowers attract bees (Lasioglossum, Ceratina, Andrena), including one specialist bee, Andrena violae, skippers, Syrphid flies, and other insects. The caterpillars of several Fritillary butterfly species feed on the foliage, including the stunning Meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona).
Other Practical/Environmental Benefits: Groundcover, soil stablization.
Use in place of: Pansies.
Ecology
Habitat:
Viola sororia can be found in open woodlands, woodland edges, savannahs, roadsides, moist meadows, streamsides, and lawns.
Response to Disturbance: Viola sororia depends on some disturbance to spread. Can handle occasional mowing.
Native State Distributions:
Canada: MB, NF, NS, ON, QC, SK
USA: AL, AR, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY
Wetland indicator status: FAC
Companion Plants:
Chrysogonum virginianum (Green and gold), Phlox stolonifera (Creeping woodland phlox),Solidago flexicaulis (Zig-zag goldenrod), Tiarella cordifolia (Foamflower).
References
- Holm, H. (2014). Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants. 198.
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