Can You Grow Violas From Seeds?

Planting from Seed Outdoors

• Violas have very small seeds that may be better handled using a seed-planter device or by handling in a folded piece of paper. Prepare soil as soon as it can be worked in early April or even late summer or autumn in U.S. hardiness zones 4 through 9. Viola family plants are actually biennial plants, meaning they have a two-year life cycle, but they are often sold and grown as annual plants, especially in colder regions. Like most annuals, viola prefers a rich, loose, well-draining soil. Sow seeds and cover lightly. Once seedlings emerge, thin out, leaving plants about 8 to 15 inches apart. Violas that are planted in late summer may bloom until heavy frost in the fall and then return in the spring, depending on the winter conditions.

Forcing Seeds Indoors

• Violas can be started indoors in the late winter to be ready for spring transplant. Follow the same sowing instructions as given on your particular variety's packaging, using a high-quality seed-starting medium made of organic materials such as peat moss mixed with a water-retention agent such as vermiculite. For better results, place in a dark area such as a closet for two weeks for germination and keep temperatures no higher than 70 degrees. Violas that have been started indoors should be transplanted outside after the threat of frost has passed -- they have not been hardened off enough to survive the same cool evening temperatures that their outdoor-sown brethren has endured.

Growing Habits

• Plants in the viola family prefer the cooler weather. In cooler growing zones, they can bloom well into June, especially in areas of late-afternoon shade, and, in warmer zones, they are often treated as a winter-blooming perennial plant. Specific varieties such as the icebox pansy has been cultivated to grow well into early winter and will often return in spring. While viola plants are actually biennial plants and grown as annuals in most of the world, they are prolific seeders and will often return in strange places such as sidewalk cracks and along foundations in subsequent years as well as their original place in the garden. Research varieties carefully before purchasing if you do not want surprise plants (thus the name Johnny-jump-ups) throughout your yard and garden.

Origin

• Violas as we know them today began as a European wildflower and are now available in hundreds of varieties worldwide. Ancient civilizations used them for medicinal purposes and even today the edible flower is often used in salads and on desserts.