How To Get Rid Of Wild Violets

Yes, they’re pretty. But these gorgeous thugs will also crowd out other more desirable plants.

One reasons it’s so hard to control violets is that they’re so dang lovely. When they’re in full bloom in April and May, you have to steel yourself to yank out a thing of such beauty. But be strong. Second probably only to creeping charlie, violets are one of the worst spring weeds and the toughest to get rid of.

Controlling Violets In Beds And Borders

• Roundup If the violets are not too close to other plants, you can spray Roundup (or another brand of non-selective herbicide). Granted, I prefer not to use garden chemicals, but Roundup is one of the least dangerous for the environment but it can damage other plants if not used properly. Click here for more information on using chemicals to control unwanted vegetation. for tips on using.

• Hand Weeding Hand pulling or weeding is laborious, but it’s the best way to control violets. You have to be persistent and do multiple weedings through the spring and summer, when violets are growing fastest. It’s also a little tricky since violets have long, thin, spreading roots that are difficult to get all of. And if you leave one little bit in the soil, the violets come back. Unless the soil is very moist and soft, just pulling the violets won’t work. Too much of the root will be left in the soil. Use a hoe or weeding tool (never a fork-like cultivator) to hack out most of the violet and then pull and pick any remaining bits by hand from the soil. (Click here for Seven Tips for Spending Less Time Weeding.)

• Mulching Immediately after weeding, it’s high advisable to mulch thickly the area you weeded. Apply two or even three inches of a wood chip or other mulch over the area. This will suffocate any small bits of plant left in the soil and make it more difficult for them to come back. The mulch also will make weeding down the road easier, since the violets can be more easily pulled out of the loose mulch.

Controlling Violets in Lawns

• Pulling isn’t an option. Trying to hoe or weed violets out of turf by hand is almost useless (you can’t get those roots). And certainly, you can’t mulch a lawn. So, for better or worse, the most effective way to control violets in lawns is with a herbicide.

• Consider a broad-leaf herbicide. Just about any broad-leaf weed killer made for lawns will work. This appropriately named type of herbicide destroys broad-leafed plants such as violets (and dandelions) and leaves the thin-leafed plants—like your grass.

Nearly all lawn services include applications of broad-leaf herbicides. To apply yourself, purchase at a garden center and follow package directions exactly, including the time of year to apply. Timing, with herbicides, is everything.

Let There Be Light

• Violets do best in light shade. Grass does not do well in light shade. Wherever grass struggles, weeds fill in. So your violet problem in your lawn may be because you’re growing grass in a place it really shouldn’t be growing. Consider trimming up trees, cutting out overgrown shrubs, etc. to allow more light in to the lawn. Or give up on the grass altogether and plant groundcovers, hostas, and other shade-loving perennials.

The Iowa Gardener