Viola cornuta Seeds | Horned Violet
LATIN NAME: Viola cornuta
COMMON NAME: Horned Violet, Horned Pansy, Tufted Pansy
Plant Profile
The horned violet is a tufted perennial of fifteen to twenty-five centimetres with evergreen leaves and flowers that carry a long hollow spur at the back, the horn that gives the plant its name. The flowers are violet, lavender or white, and they are produced over a long season from spring into autumn.
It grows in the meadows and on the rock ledges of the Pyrenees and of northern Spain, in cool, damp, humus-rich ground. It is the parent, with the wild pansy and with Viola lutea, of the garden pansy, and it is also grown in its own right as a edging plant.
Science & Biotechnology
The spur at the back of the flower holds nectar, and its length sets which insects can reach it. In Viola cornuta the spur is short enough for bumblebees, which are the main pollinators, and the plant sets seed freely in a cool summer.
The species crosses readily with the garden pansy, and the resulting plants are the large-flowered bedding violas sold as tufted pansies. Those hybrids are perennial in mild climates and flower almost continuously, and they are propagated by cuttings rather than by seed, since the seedlings vary. The plant also spreads by short runners and by seed, and a patch in a gravel path will persist for years without any attention.
Uses & Benefits
The plant is used as an edging for beds and paths, in containers and in the front of a border, where it flowers for months on end. It is one of the best plants for a cool, damp, part-shaded corner, and it tolerates more shade than most bedding.
The flowers are edible and are used in the same way as those of the wild pansy, though they are larger and more showy. The plant is not used medicinally in modern practice, and it has no crop value beyond the ornamental trade. The plant is also used as a cut flower for small arrangements, since the stems are short and the flowers last a week in water.
Growing from Seed
Sow in late winter at fifteen to eighteen degrees, on the surface, and expect germination in two to three weeks. The seed needs darkness to germinate in some strains, so cover it lightly and check the packet.
Plant out in cool, moist soil in sun or part shade, and water in dry spells, since the plant has shallow roots and wilts quickly. Shear the plants back after the first flush to encourage a second, and divide the clumps every second year, since they become woody and flower less. In a container the plant needs a loam-based compost and water through the summer, since a basket that dries out stops flowering for weeks.
Our Take
A long-flowering, shade-tolerant violet for the front of a border, and one of the parents of the garden pansy. Shear it after the first flush.
Related Reading
Continue exploring with these related plants: