Viola sororia
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Perennial
• Sunlight: Part shade or light, filtered shade. Tolerates full sun in wetter soil.
• Soils: Average to moist, well drained soils
• Bloom Time: April, May, June
• Size: 4-10 inches high
A wonderful and easy to grow wildflower which readily self-seeds. Excellent for planting in masses under deciduous trees, on the borders of flower beds, or filling a shaded, low-traffic area of a lawn. Better to have many growing because their greens are food source for small mammals, turkeys, quail, and caterpillars. Also edible for humans! More information on the many other native species in the genus viola, and their habitats, can be found on https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/
Garden Companions
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis); Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Heartleaf Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium), Canada Anemone (Anemonastrum canadense)
Nature Benefits
• Provides nectar and nesting material for native bees.
• Leaves and seeds are eaten by small mammals, turkey, bobwhite quail, and grouse.
• Larval host for the Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)
Natural Habitat
Moist-average woodlands, woodland edges. Other viola species can be found in drier or wetter areas.