Gardening with Gary

Gardening Advice from an Expert

Wood Violets

Q. Wood violets would make a lovely evergreen ground cover. They bloom in purple, too. And they reproduce like crazy. Can I grow them in full sun in Texas?

A. No, sorry, but they could take the AM sun until noon, I would say. Read this:

The wood violet grows very well in a moist, shady environment and you often
see it in shady lawns. The wood violet is a perennial plant that produces flowers with petals in spring and flowers with no petals in late summer. Violets bear the non-petaled flowers on short stalks near the soil surface. They are quite fertile and produce many seeds enclosed in a pod.

The wood violet leaves and flowers arise from a short, stout horizontal stem or rhizome. The rhizome lies on the soil surface or slightly under the soil. Violets make an excellent ground cover in shady lawns because they spread so aggressively. You can dig out violets easily. Just make sure you remove the short, stout horizontal stems the leaves are attached to.

Violets can tolerate common herbicides, such as 2,4-D and MCPP, which are used to control broadleaf weeds in lawns. The herbicides with 2,4-DP or triclopyr will kill violets. 2,4-DP and Triclopyr are available to commercial applicators and you may not be able to purchase these chemicals. Do use herbicides to control violets; spot treat problem areas instead of broadcasting the chemical over the whole lawn. The fine Fescue is the most shade tolerant lawn grass and grows well in areas formerly occupied by violets.

For more information, consult UW-Extension bulletin, A3435- Lawn Maintenance and Problems.

http://cf.uwex.edu/ics/infosource/fullrecord.cfm?IDnumber=453