Violet plant health question

16 years ago

Greetings:

My Queen Charlotte violets are now blooming heavily (at least for me), with nearly a dozen blooms on a single plant. What seems odd is that the snow has only been gone a few weeks, and the plants are still not much more than a low, weather-beaten rosette of foliage less than two inches high. The flowers are also very small. Is this normal for Queen Charlotte? I thought that this violet would fill out quite a bit more. What do they need to grow more vigorously?

The local wild violets that avidly colonize the edges of the yard haven't even started putting up their leaves yet. And by the time they bloom, they grow to 6-8 inches tall.

I'm in northeastern Kansas, southern Zone 5 on the old USDA zone map, northern Zone 6 on the new USDA map. Winter was wet, with much more snow cover than has been common for several years. (March, though, has been a bit dry.)

Thanks,

David

Comments (3)

etii
16 years ago
Hi !

What ever you do, your local wild violets will always be taller than viola odorata 'kÃ¶nigin Charlotte', moreover if they are sororia. I'm not good at inches (sorry, we don't use it in Europe ;oP) but 2 (5 cm) is ok, not a shame for an odorata in a yard. It can become bigger in a pot with good compost.

All the best - Thierry :-)
stefanb8
16 years ago
More moderate temperatures (as spring progresses) and more moisture availability/humidity does help lead to larger flowers. I had them blooming here from early February, and the first ones were definitely not the cream of the crop.
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david_in_ks
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, Thierry, Stefan!

I do remember that the Queen Charlotte's are re-bloomers here, so perhaps there's still hope for more substantial blooms later.

I'm not certain what species the local violets fit in-- V. pedata, V. pedatifida, and V. sororia are all native to the area, according to Flora of the Great Plains.

David