Viola Etain

Super shot. Thanks for giving us a peek into your greenhouse.

Funny, the blue edges to the petals reminded me of peering into thermionic valves (you know - the things that used to serve for electonic swicthes and amplifiers in 'wirelesses'). I used to strip these humming appliances down as a youngster. I just loved the violet-blue glow from the electron cloud around the heater (excuse me if the years have fuddled my recollection of the technicalities). Maybe I can breed a viola that colour and call it 'EF80'? I've still got some spare EF80's if anybody is interested...

Absolutely stunning, and gee -- how perfect for the shade garden I'm planning in shades of white, yellow and purple!(grin) Can anyone tell me if this is at all invasive? I mentioned it to a neighbor the other night and she looked at me with dread as she contemplated having the neighborhood overrun with them. Thanks.

I bought a flat of these in the spring. They look beautiful in my garden and are the envy of all of my neighbors. Many websites say that these are perennials. Are they perennials? I noticed that my Johnny Jump ups have seeds, I didnt notice any in the etain, do they have seeds that I could save for next year? Thanks so much for help!

Etain is a hybrid and so any seedlings will not come true.However it is a hardy if somewhat imperfect perrenial.I suggest that you take some basal cuttings,that is shoots from the base of the plant that have not flowered.About 2inchs long is good.Trim below a leaf joint and insert into a cutting mix.I use 50/50 perlite and peat.Water them in and put away in a shady place.In about a month you should have some fine little Etains to pot up.
kind regards John

I think John called this lovely viola "somewhat imperfect" because it doesn't always act like a perennial and reappear the next season, at least not for me. Sadly, many of the lovely violas are like that for me in northern NJ. This year I will be taking cuttings of all of my favorite violas and in the late fall move them to a cold frame built just for them to see if I can't carry them over from year to year. I love them all so much and cannot count on finding them in nurseries every spring to replace the losses.

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