Plants
Horned Violet
Viola cornuta · Veilchengewächse (Violaceae)
The horned violet is the dainty, perennial cousin of the pansy: smaller flowers, but tireless and in nearly every colour. From early spring it brings life to window boxes, beds and bowls and keeps flowering well into autumn. We select our horned violets at the Veiling Rhein-Maas with an eye on compact growth and healthy root balls, because only sturdily grown plants flower for months on end.
- Light
- Bright to sunny, half shade also suitable; in full summer sun ensure sufficient moisture.
- Watering
- Keep evenly moist once the top soil layer dries; avoid waterlogging and water only sparingly in winter.
- Care level
- Easy
- Botanical
- Viola cornuta
Botanically, Viola cornuta belongs to the violet family and is a genuine perennial, even though it is usually sold as a seasonal plant. Unlike the large-flowered garden pansy, the horned violet produces many small blooms of two to three centimetres and grows in compact cushions, which makes it perfect for bowls, boxes and bed edgings.
The range of cultivars is huge. Robust, free-flowering series such as the Ice Babies are particularly frost-hardy, dark varieties like “Molly Sanderson” add an almost black violet to the bed, and Alba types deliver pure white. On top of that come countless bicolour and apricot selections. In our plantings we like to work with coordinated colour families rather than mixed brights, because calm tones stay elegant for longer.
In floristry and container work the horned violet is above all a bedding and pot plant, not a classic cut flower. We use it in planted spring bowls, grave arrangements and table displays, often combined with forget-me-not, bellis, primroses or early bulb flowers. The small blooms are in principle edible and work as decoration on cakes and desserts, but only when they come from untreated, home-grown plants; bought pot stock is often treated with crop protection products and should not be eaten.
Quality shows in the growth: a good horned violet is bushy and well branched, not drawn out, carries plenty of buds and has a well rooted but not pot-bound ball. Such plants take transplanting easily and, after a light trim in summer, push out a second strong flush of flowers into October. That growth quality is exactly what we look for when buying.
Care
- 01Position bright to sunny, half shade is fine too; in full sun during high summer keep moisture even.
- 02Use a free-draining, not too heavy substrate; avoid waterlogging at all costs, so ensure drainage holes in boxes and bowls.
- 03Water evenly as soon as the top layer of soil dries; more often in summer, sparingly in winter.
- 04Deadhead spent flowers regularly, which noticeably extends flowering because the plant sets no seed.
- 05After the first flush cut back by about half; this encourages bushy regrowth and a second flush into autumn.
- 06Perennial and decidedly hardy, reliable in the bed down to roughly minus fifteen degrees; in pots protect the root ball with fleece or leaves against freezing through.
Frequently asked
- Is the horned violet toxic to cats, dogs or children?
- No. Viola cornuta is considered non-toxic to people and pets. The flowers are even edible and, when untreated, are popular as edible decoration. This makes the horned violet one of the safest balcony plants for households with children, cats and dogs.
- When does the horned violet flower and for how long?
- The main flowering runs in spring from March to June. With regular deadheading and a summer trim many cultivars produce a second flush and bloom into October. A few varieties such as “Molly Sanderson” flower almost continuously.
- How does the horned violet differ from the pansy?
- The horned violet has clearly smaller but more numerous flowers and grows more compactly and bushily. It is perennial and usually hardier than the large-flowered garden pansy, which tends to be treated as an annual. As a result the horned violet often flowers more persistently and tirelessly.
- Is the horned violet winter-hardy?
- Yes, the horned violet is decidedly frost-hardy and reliably tolerates temperatures down to about minus fifteen degrees in the bed, with robust selections taking even more. In most regions it grows happily as a perennial; in a pot the root ball should be protected from freezing through with fleece, leaves or brushwood.