Violas are a delightful flower that can add pops of color to your garden in every season But do these cheery blooms actually flower during the chilly winter months? The short answer is yes! With the right care and preparation, violas can flower continuously from late winter through early summer in many climates
An Overview of Violas
There are over 500 species in the Viola genus including annuals, perennials, and even subshrubs. While pansies are a type of viola, gardeners typically differentiate between the two. Violas generally have smaller, more delicate flowers on shorter stems compared to their close cousins the pansies.
These hardy plants are low maintenance, tolerate cold temperatures, and bloom prolifically. In warm climates, violas may flower year-round. Those grown in zones 5-9 can start flowering in late winter if planted in fall. With optimal care, violas flower from February through June in most regions.
Violas come in a rainbow of colors like purple, blue, yellow, white, pink, orange and red. Popular winter-blooming varieties include ‘Sorbet XP’, ‘Frizzle Sizzle’, and ‘Tiger Eye’. Old-fashioned types like Johnny Jump Ups are also cold hardy.
Tips for Getting Violas to Flower All Winter
While winter violas may look delicate, they are tough enough to handle frost and snow Follow these tips to enjoy their colorful blooms through the colder months
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Choose cold-hardy varieties – Select violas specifically bred to withstand freezing temperatures and bloom through cooler weather.
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Plant in fall – Get violas in the ground 8-10 weeks before your first expected frost This allows time for roots to establish so they can better handle winter
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Site in full sun – Place violas where they’ll get a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight, especially in winter when light levels are lower. Morning sun is ideal.
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Use rich, well-draining soil – Amend beds with compost or organic matter. Container mixes should also be light, fertile and fast-draining.
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Water consistently – Water regularly so soil stays evenly moist but not saturated. Avoid overwatering.
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Apply balanced fertilizer – Fertilize at planting with a balanced formula to encourage strong roots and growth before winter. Fertilize lightly again in early spring.
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Protect from heavy frosts – Insulate violas when temperatures drop below 25°F (-4°C). Cover plants or move containers to an unheated garage or shed if needed.
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Deadhead spent blooms – Remove faded flowers to encourage more blooms. Clip back each stem right above a set of healthy leaves.
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Prune leggy growth in spring – Cut back leggy or overgrown plants by a third to half their size in early spring. This rejuvenates growth and blooms.
Growing Violas in Winter Containers
Violas are one of the best choices for adding cold-hardy color to outdoor pots and planters. Follow these tips for success:
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Use containers with drainage holes to prevent soggy soil. Clay or plastic pots work well.
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Site containers in full sun. Move to part shade in summer if needed.
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Fill pots with premium potting mix enriched with slow-release fertilizer.
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Plant violas 4-6 inches apart for fuller pots faster. Water them in well.
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Water when soil dries out on top. Don’t let pots totally dry out.
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Remove faded blooms and pinch plants back as needed in spring.
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Pull violas when summer arrives and replace with heat-loving plants.
Extending Bloom Time Into Summer
In zones with moderate summers, you can keep violas flowering longer by:
- Choosing heat-tolerant varieties where available
- Moving pots or planting beds to part shade in hot afternoons
- Keeping plants consistently watered during dry spells
- Trimming leggy growth back by a third which promotes new blooms
- Topdressing with fresh, fertile soil and fertilizer in early summer
- Adding mulch around plants to keep roots cool
Even with these efforts, most gardeners find it’s best to remove violas by early summer and replant for the hottest weeks. Luckily these champions will bloom again when planted in fall!
The Cheerful Charms of Violas
From their delicate, colorful blooms to their winter hardiness, it’s easy to see why gardeners love violas. With proper planting and care, these flowering favorites can brighten up beds, borders and containers for months on end. Even when snow flies, violas find a way to keep spreading beauty.
Plant violas in the fall for winter-long color
An important step in keeping year-round color in the garden and landscape is planting and transitioning the annual color plants.
Within the last month, I’ve planted my favorite fall French marigolds, also called Mari-mums. My Telstar dianthuses and snapdragons are also in and starting to show off. At the beginning of September, I pulled my Blue Daze evolvuluses from the front walk bed and replaced them with some beautiful, tight-budded mini chrysanthemums. Gary Bachman
These chrysanthemums were gorgeous for about six weeks, but I noticed this past weekend that the flowers are fading fast. They did their job of bridging the gap between the heat of late summer and the beginning of cooler weather we’re now enjoying. But it’s time to move on; Mother Nature waits for no one.
So yesterday I pulled up the mums and replaced them with violas, another favorite cool-season bedding plant. These plants are closely related to the Matrix pansies I planted a couple of weeks ago.
Violas are tough and tolerant of cold, winter weather, maybe even more so than pansies. They perform well in landscape beds as well as containers. They grow right through Thanksgiving and will still be shining in the garden at Easter and beyond.
Violas are also called “Johnny jump ups” due their prolific seed production. It seems wherever I have planted them in my yard, they continue to reappear in various spots around the landscape for a least a couple of years more. Shop now for the best selection of viola varieties and color, such as these Banana Cream Sorbet violas. (Photo by MSU Extension/Gary Bachman)
Now is the time is start buying the violas you’ll need this winter, as the selection now is really good with lots of variety available. If you wait, you may not find the colors you want. In other words, if you snooze, you lose.
I’ve really become a fan of the Sorbet series of violas.
These plants are about 4 to 6 inches tall and wide, and when mass planted, they seem to cover the landscape or container with a floral blanket. Sorbet violas resist stretching and stay compact through the season, even as the temperatures start to rise in the spring. Their best aspect is the color, as selections seem absolutely endless. These colorful flowers are displayed above the foliage to really showoff.
All violas need to grow is consistently moist soil. Moisture is especially important to monitor in containers. If the roots get a little dry, the flower production will turn off, which is not a good thing.
Be sure to plant yours in full sun before the really cold weather sets in. This timing allows the root system to get established, and the gardener will be rewarded now and next spring with great color. That’s why I recommend you start planting now.
Violas need a consistent source of nutrients to keep the flowering at its best. I always put a couple of teaspoons of controlled-release fertilizer in the planting hole and apply water-soluble fertilizer every three weeks during normal watering.
When you go to buy your violas, you’ll see them at garden centers in packs and in 3- or 4-inch pots. Which should you choose? The pack plants are a little cheaper per plant and will have more per flat, but these will take longer to fill in. The pot plants are bigger and a little more expensive, but you’ll get more instant effect. I like to use the bigger plants.
I have one last piece of advice about planting violas. There is nothing lonelier than a viola planted by itself in a big flower bed. For the best landscape performance and display, always plant violas in big masses.
So get on out to the garden centers while the selection is at its best and start planting some cool-season color to enjoy.
Editors note: Dr. Gary Bachman is an Extension and research professor of horticulture at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi. He is also the host of the popular Southern Gardening television and radio programs.
Pansie and Violas! Great Winter Color!
FAQ
Will violas bloom in winter?
Barring a hard freeze into the low 20s, pansies and violas can continue to flower up through Thanksgiving or even Christmas. In south Dallas, pansies are planted in the fall and bloom all winter. By spring, plantings are full and lush.
Do viola flowers come back every year?
About Viola Flowers – The Basics
After they die, their seeds will be mixed into the soil – and they’ll regrow next year, without you having to do a thing! Violas are also great flowers to plant in the fall. There are a huge number of viola flowers. They’re mostly derived from the Sweet Violet – Viola odorata.
How do you keep violas blooming?
Do violas reseed themselves?
Violas, also known as Johnny-jump-ups, often self-seed and will grow back in unexpected locations, not necessarily where they are desired. Pansies do not typically self-seed, or at least not to the degree that violas do.
Do violas bloom in cold weather?
Violas flower primarily in cooler weather. How long violas bloom depends on the climate. They are perfect for starting and ending the growing season in colder climates, as well as for bridging the seasons in warmer zones, where they can remain in bloom throughout the winter. Viola Care
Are violas a good winter flower?
Violas are one of my go-to winter flowers! Violas are magic cottage-style flowers that offer cute, pixie blooms and endless color, even in the winter. They are budget-friendly, gorgeous, and TOUGH. Not only do they provide blooms in the winter (Zones 6-10), they are also gorgeous in the fall and spring.
When do violas bloom in Louisiana?
Violas are an outstanding choice for beds or containers in Louisiana, where they are completely winter hardy. From a fall planting, they will typically bloom until early or mid-May. The smaller flowers on viola plants are often so prolific they can obscure the foliage, and they hold up to rainy winter weather much better than pansies.
How do you keep winter violas blooming?
To keep your winter violas flowering through winter, make sure you promptly snip off the old flowerheads once the flowers have faded. Use garden snips to trim the old flowers off and you will be rewarded with more blooms. It is also essential to make sure that the compost that winter violas are growing in does not get waterlogged.
Are winter flowering pansies & violas a good choice?
Winter Flowering Pansies and Violas | How to Grow. Winter flowering pansies and violas are by far the best option for surefire flower power in the winter months. They need little in the way of care, but there are several points to bear in mind in order to get the best show of flowers through the winter.
Will violas bloom again in the fall?
Mulch and water will help offset the stress of high temperatures. With proper care, violas may bloom all summer and most will bloom again in the fall. Or, particularly in hot, southern climates, remove and replace them with another flower during the summer and then planet them again when cooler weather returns in the fall.