Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: common blue violet
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Native Range: Eastern North America
Zone: 3 to 7
Height: 0.50 to 0.75 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 0.75 feet
Bloom Time: April to August
Bloom Description: White, blue
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize
Tolerate: Deer, Clay Soil, Black Walnut
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers humusy, moisture-retentive soils. Does not spread by runners, but freely self-seeds to the point of being weedy in optimum growing conditions.
Woolly blue violet is a common Missouri native wildflower which occurs in woods, thickets and streambanks throughout the State. A stemless, rhizomatous, low-growing perennial (3-8" tall) which features downy, basal, wide-heart-shaped leaves and large blue-violet flowers (sometimes white with purple veining). Each flower rests atop its own leafless stalk. Blooms in early spring and sometimes intermittently into late summer.
No serious insect or disease problems. Foliage tends to depreciate in hot summers.
Best massed and left to spread undisturbed in open woodland gardens, wildflower gardens, native plant gardens or naturalized areas. Good small scale ground cover for areas along walkways or under shrubs.