Violet seeds in bulk

May 29, 2024 5:12 PM

Violets seem to do better in our yard than grass, so I'd like to plant them in some bare spots. But when I look for violet seeds they seem very expensive — $9 for 15 seeds isn't uncommon. I don't want to carefully plant each seed, I want to spray and pray. Is there a way to get them for cheaper in bulk?
posted by Tehhund to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Best answer: Great idea! Violets are much better for the environment too, eg require less mowing and provide better resources for wildlife.

Prairie Moon has seed packets $3 for ~50 seeds. Which is a lot better but still not great bc they can be a little fiddly to grow from seed.

I would ask around on Next Door, Facebook etc, you may find some misguided souls who consider them weeds and welcome you to take them. Or people who like them abs have plenty. They do transplant extremely well and spread well by offset. Good luck!
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:10 PM on May 29 [7 favorites]

Energetically weeding around your current violets will help them replace the grass, too.

(IME when I had a yard of violets instead of grass and stopped mowing I suddenly had a yard of buttercups much taller than the violets. Hm.)
posted by clew at 7:29 PM on May 29

Seconding Prairie Moon for seeds in bulk. Violets also spread like wildfire once they get going so I feel like a little has the potential to go a long way.
posted by hazel79 at 7:58 PM on May 29 [2 favorites]

I found a few pages with discussion about transplanting wild violets: 1 2 3. It looks like you can just dig some up from where they are growing and transplant them to areas where you want them to grow. And that sounds easier and with a greater chance of success than growing from seed.

Sample advice: "Don't let their delicate appearance fool you. They are insanely Hardy plants. Just dig the tubers and put them wherever you want, they will resprout."

Detailed instructions/example of transplanting.
posted by flug at 8:05 PM on May 29 [4 favorites]

I agree that transplanting is the way to go. In my experience they are likely to grow if you just toss a plant or a hunk of its root onto the ground, so transplanting doesn't have to mean carefully digging holes and setting plants into them. Just find a place where violets are growing as weeds, pull some up, bring them home and drop them onto the bare spots. Or break off pieces of root from some of the bigger clumps already growing in your yard and put them in the bare spots. You can push them into the dirt or bury them with a trowel but I bet a lot of them will grow if you just drop them on the surface and leave them alone.
posted by Redstart at 9:47 PM on May 29 [1 favorite]

"May not be available in the nursery trade, but commonly found in yards" - Common Blue Violet / Viola sororia per GrowNative.org.
Specifically, "Seed collection, storage, and germination practices may affect Viola reintroduction outcomes." (2022 research, Journal of Native Plants, U of Wisc) "Wild seed collection is the first challenge presented by Viola species because of the small stature of these plants and explosive dehiscence of seeds from ripe fruit capsules. Successful seed collection depends on a short window of 1 to 3 d between seed maturity and when seeds are ballistically dispersed up to 5 m away from the parent plant (Beattie and Lyons 1975). Collectors have developed a strategy of using fruit orientation as a proxy for seed maturity."

[The labor of collecting these seeds contributes to the seemingly-expensive price tag, and several factors influence the viability of seeds shipped to your door. Seeding for a low-growing, hardy, flowering groundcover is your strong preference, and you might contact your local extension office for other contenders. Websites of national and regional wildflower/native plants organizations are resources, too.]

Too many people do think common violet = common weed, which is a shame. If you're willing to transplant, it's their loss and your gain. Check your local library for seed and plant exchanges, community freecycle/trash nothing groups, city and county "yard waste" collection programs and separate grounds-work schedules for parks, etc., and neighbors "maintaining" their yards.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:26 AM on May 30 [6 favorites]

Bulk seed can be VERY expensive too, and more than you need. Seed is normally sold either by the ton or kilo/pound or by a few grams or less - in my work it's by the kilo to many kilos. Violet seed is about 240 seeds per gram. A pound of violet seed (107000 seeds) is probably >US$200 - Here's a KY seed company selling a Viola (prob. not what you want) for $211/lb. Search for Viola.

Even a successful dense planting need only have 10 to 15 plants per square metre. If I was doing a big area I'd prob. sow violet with a very short growing grass eg a fescue, and then take the grass out with a grass herbicide once violets were spreading.

I have successfully planted violet from stems with a leaf and a trace of roots - and some just stem(Viola odorata) over about 20 square metres.

ime violets also make a great live mulch for strawberries!
posted by unearthed at 3:20 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]