Like other sweet-smelling flowers, violets (Viola spp.) have a wonderful scent that is all their own, part floral, part sweet and part spicy-musty. While violets include a number of different species, sweet violet (Viola odorata) is the classic of the species. Growing to 8 inches tall and 1 1/2 feet wide, sweet violets thrive in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9 and produce dark green, heart-shaped leaves and dainty 3/4-inch flowers.
Like all violets, sweet violets grow best in partial shade, but they will tolerate full sun in areas where summers are cool. They prefer moist, well-draining, soil that is rich in organic matter and slightly acidic. If your soil is overly sandy or full of clay, add compost before planting the violets. Water your plants regularly during the growing season, about once a week.
Violets thrive with one application of a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer in spring and another in the fall for plants that will survive the winter. The plants are susceptible to damage from slugs and snails, so you will need to handpick those pests, use traps and barriers to thwart their progress or use bait containing iron phosphate. Baits containing metaldehyde are hazardous to pets and other wildlife. Remove spent flowers on your plants after they fade to encourage more blooms.
If you plan to mass violets together in the front of a garden bed, space the plants about six to eight inches apart for the best effect. Use the same technique if you plant them all along the edge of a bed, making rows at least two plants deep and staggering the spacing to keep the row from appearing rigid. Space the plants further apart if you want to create a naturalized effect in a woodland garden and let them spread however they will.
Don't use any toxic chemicals on or near to your violets if you plan to use them in cooking, where both the leaves and the flowers work well in honey and syrup, as garnishes on soups and salads or candied for desserts. Like other perennials, violets can be divided by simply pulling clumps apart either in early spring or early fall.
- The New Sunset Western Garden Book; Kathleen Norris Brenzel, Editor
- National Gardening Association: Edible of the Month: Violets
- Knoxnews.com: Winter Wonders: Plant Pansies, Violas Now For Lovely Landscape Show
- Fine Gardening: Ten Tips on Dividing Perennial Plants
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