Wild Blue Violet Question

United States
May 26, 2009 4:13pm CST
Does anyone know if there's a way to get them to multiply? I know I've seen them in my yard off and on & recognize them from my grandmothers yard. Well they've made their way into my front flower bed and they are a perfect fit! I'd love to encourage them to mulitply further. But I don't know where to begin or ???? Any suggestions would be great!
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4 responses
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
28 May 09
Unless they have some really competing flowers, they should multiply on their own. My guess is that they got into the flower bed because the other flowers didn't complete with them as well. Wild violets are considered a weed. I know, pretty beautiful weed. I pick the flowers and eat them (we've never had weed killers or pesticides on our lawn, but they do like to hang out near the driveway and we don't eat the ones that could be contaminated with road cemicals,gas and oil). I put the flowers in ice cubes and the freezing brings out their delicate taste (not everyone can even taste them, that's how delicately they flavor the ice cubes). After I've picked some, I let them go. The ones we've run over with a lawn mower on the lawn multiplied. There is only one place I can't get them to grow and nothing grows there, so that would be a problem. I think they multiply underneath more by roots than by seed, but some weeds multiply by both. Make sure they're wild and not African Violets, they aren't edible. I would pull out any competing weeds and any flowers you don't want in your flower garden and they should fill in (if not over-run the flower garden) on their own. Otherwise, if you're really curious, I always type the kind of plant and Cooperative Extension in a search box on my computer. The Cooperative Extensions have online instrucions about just about any kind of plant a person would want to grow. They mostly major in food crops, so not sure if they will have much on very many flowers, but it's worth a try.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
30 May 09
I know they love water.
• United States
17 Jul 09
Thanks for the great idea. I kinda thought they were edible but I wasn't 100% sure. I just recall my Grandmother had huge patches of them in her back yard and I loved to pick them as a child. Oh & thanks for the idea about putting cooperative extension in the search box, I would not of thought of adding that to my search queary.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
17 Jul 09
You're welcome!
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
29 May 09
I have them in my alley and they are lovely. I've been trying to think of cheap ways to beautify that location--alleys should be pretty, too! So I pulled all the weeds around the violets, fed them and left them alone. I have new ones now! I think if you care for them like regular flowers, feed them and keep the weeds away they will multiply nicely, as mine have.
• United States
29 May 09
just dividing what they're growing on will usually do it. we dug a hole where some were growing in my yard and placed the dirt elsewhere..the next year we had them here and there.
@ltmoon (1008)
• United States
26 May 09
Don't know for sure. If they are annuals, you would need to gather their seeds and plant them next spring where you want them. If they are perennials dig them up in the fall and place them in the beds you want them to bloom.