propagation of viola odorata

18 years ago

Hi, Violet People,

I finally, finally found some sweet violet plants that rival what my mom and I remember from my grandmother's garden. They're all in containers and just unbelievably healthy and full and gorgeous.

So, what's the best method for dividing/propagating? There are now a number of folks who are jealous of my violets - what's the accepted, efficient way of giving them bits of mine?

Many thanks.

Loula

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Comments (3)

etii
18 years ago
hi :-)

Nothing easier :-) You can make new plants thanks to the stems/runners/stolons that creep along the surface of the ground. Seeds are easy to germinate as well :-) As far as viola odorata is quite an invasive plant, you shouldn't have any problem to share many of them :-)
Enjoy :-)

All the best.
Thierry.
lyannastark9b
Original Author
18 years ago
That's what I thought, but I'm sort of scared to go digging around in there. With my potted plants, can I just sort of dig in there with a trowel and divide them up? Any guidelines about how big a clump/how many leaves/what season? Or a website? I really did google and search the forums before I came here. I have alot of flowers as well - any use in saving them for seed pod purposes?

I've got people from each hurricane (in Baton Rouge we lucked out and got sandwiched between them, but my family is in Rita's wake and I just moved from New Orleans last year) who are looking for fast-growing groundcover, so plants that are normally considered invasive (wisteria, morning glory, violets) are an absolute godsend right now for those poor ruined gardens.

Many thanks again.
Mike Hardman
18 years ago
In Louisiana, you don't need to be fussy about season. Depending on how well rooted the plants are (in the containers), just dig them up with as much root as possible and pop them in their new positions. Give them some space between so they can spread by runners and seed.

If you can take the soil+plants out of the containers intact, consider planting the whole lot in one piece (I don't know how big your containers are, nor how well-filled with roots, so I can't gauge practicality of this).

If your plants have runners, check to see if they have any roots on the runners. If they have a decent amount of roots, consider snipping the runners off and planting them separately. If there are not many roots, you can still do the same, but cut off some of the larger leaves - to keep the remaining foliage more in balance with the amount of moisture the roots can supply.

Let the flowers do their own thing - they will set and disperse seed in their own good time (the most seed will come from the petal-less flowers in summer).

Best of luck; I hope the violets bring some cheer to souls demoralized in the wake of the hurricanes.