Request: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Archived on 08/20/2009
By Ellen Brown
Question: How do I get rid of violets in my yard, they are taking over.
Hardiness Zone: 4a
Mary Jane from Milwaukee, WI
Answer: Hi Mary Jane,
Wild Violets can be quite problematic to get rid of. The waxy coating on their leaves gives them extra resistance to many of the chemical controls (organic or otherwise) that work on other weeds. The best way to control them is to dig them up. Depending on how widespread they are, this may require several years to accomplish. For cool season lawns like yours, dig them up in the fall. You can reseed over any bare patches with a mixture of cool-season grass seed and compost. Make sure to water the new grass seed daily until it germinates.
In the meantime, it's worth noting that Wild Violets seem to show up and spread faster in acidic soils and in soils lacking in calcium. Adding lime can help correct pH problems and may slow down their spread, but you will need to have your soil tested to know how much (if any) you need to add.
Proper lawn care can help, too. Give your (cool-season) lawn a good feeding this fall with a slow release organic fertilizer or even better, by spreading one-inch of compost over it followed by a good watering.
Once established, Wild Violets are almost impossible to eradicate completely, so you may want to try to make peace with the fact that you're always likely to have a few around. Don't forget they are edible and lovely when added to salads or used as a garnish.
Ellen
About The Author: Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
Feedback:
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Use vinegar on them. It will kill them in a day or two. Put pure vinegar in a bottle that you can control the spray and spray only the violets. If it gets on anything else it will kill those things too.
I love violets, but they do take over after a while. Maybe some in pots would be nicer. (06/25/2008)
By Mythi
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
They are edible and taste like a delicate lettuce. Don't spray and kill them. Add them to your food after rinsing them in a bowl of veggie rinse water. Lucky you. I have only one or two left. I'm trying to nurture them for a harvest.
God bless you. (06/26/2008)
By Lynda
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
"Do not use" 2,4-D as someone suggested. It is extremely toxic and is outlawed in some states and can only be used by licensed lawn professionals. I have simply taken the time each year to dig them out and it has taken me 3 years, but each year is easier. This year they are minimal and I hope by next year it will only be a plant or two. (06/28/2008)
By Mary
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
(sent in by email)
My yard is full of them, after 10 yrs. of fighting them, I found straight bleach works great, but it does kill the grass. I am at a point I don't care, I can replant it, after a day you see it working. Good Luck.
Roger (07/05/2008)
By ThriftyFun
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
If large areas of lawn are affected, violets can be killed selectively with Trimec (a combination of 2,4-D, MCPP and dicamba) or triclopyr (Turflon). Turflon is the herbicide of choice for the lawn industry, but Trimec is more readily available. Two or more applications may be needed. Improve the health of the lawn to reduce the reoccurrence of violets. (07/14/2008)
By Kris
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
One word "Speedzone" does the trick early in spring or late in fall. During summer nothing will help because they form some sort of waxy protective coating. Smart little buggers they are. (07/20/2008)
By Mike
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
My local garden shop suggested a solution of:
- 4oz. brush killer
- 1oz. Fertilome Weed Out
- 3 drops of detergent (Ivory Liquid)
Mix that with one gallon of water and your done or 1oz. for the sprayer. I will give it a shot and let you know how it turns out.
(08/02/2008)
By Robert M.
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Well I did it and voila it works. Looks like another application and my violets are gone, finished, fini, caput, history. It did not have any adverse reactions on my grass. It took at least two good weeks to see the dieback. In the past I have always seen it come back, but these leaves are brown and shriveled to nothing.
(08/20/2008)
By Robert M. Jr.
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Egads! These are my very favorite flower. I even carried a few in my wedding bouquet. Growing up in the country made me fall in love with them. I have a few in my yard now (I live in the city) and I scandalize the Scott's yard man by refusing his offer to get rid of them. If you haven't put chemicals on them they make a beautiful addition to a gourmet salad and look amazing on a pale colored cake. (09/04/2008)
By afrohardt
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Are these some kind of violets? (09/21/2008)
By Mary Kay
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Yeah some people get mad for getting rid of them, but I've let them go for 10 years and between creeping charlie and them my yard had no grass. The problem with them is they have such a thick bulb like root and some surface a little and when your walking around barefoot they don't feel to good. Another reason for grass is not to have dirt/mud that can be tracked into your house etc.
I dug some up and put them in my flower garden. Then I started digging them up out of my lawn. I used a thicker steak knife and just lifted. It seem to work the best when the soil is a lil dry not bone dry. I couldn't believe the look of my yard after I dug them up and spread grass seed. The holes in case you were wondering are as big as a pencil.
The plant seem to do more damage than digging them up. To some what get them under control. I did this at first and it worked well. Apply Weed B Gone then 4 days latter I applied Bayer (it's newer and works great) weed killer, but not lawn killer. Then 1 1/2 weeks later I did another application. It seemed to weaken their leaves enough to let the chemical in and kill a lot of them off.
Your yard might lose some green, but fertilize and it comes right back. The weed killer also killed off almost all of my creeping charlie. It is best applied in fall because that is when the leaves suck up nutrients for the winter. Good luck and keep me posted. (10/29/2008)
By
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
I find controlling the violets means taking excellent care of the grass. Fertilize it, water it and cut it high with a very sharp blade on a regular basis. The healthier your grass is the easier time it has crowding the violets out. Those that do make it in can be pulled up without difficulty when the soil is pretty wet: the bulb comes out with the root. My neighbor's yards are full of violets and I have to be pretty diligent to keep them out of mine. (06/26/2009)
By doug5
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Request: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Archived on 06/25/2008
In my yard I have lots of wild violets. Does anyone have any suggestions on how do get rid of them?
Cathy
Answers:
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
I love violets. I only wish you could send them to me rather than destroying them. I have no idea how to go about that (destroying them). I wonder why you would want to get rid of such beautiful flowers?
(04/23/2005)
By Darlene in Mississauga
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Oh my gosh, Darlene, I was going to say the same thing! I have my son pick them for me - as many as he can get. That's an idea, Cathy, if you have children or grandchildren, they might really enjoy picking as many as possible for Mom or Grandma. If you're not worried about chemicals, you might check out some of the popular weed killers on the market. Sorry I can't be of more help. (04/23/2005)
By terdralynn
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Of course, violets in bloom are beautiful. If they were mine, I would move some of them to the garden or to one corner of the lawn. Where you want to kill them, use a broadleaf weed killer. It will kill other weeds that you might have in the lawn. Be careful because you need to have plenty of grass left over or you'll spend the summer moaning about the bare spots in the lawn. (04/23/2005)
By Barbara
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Here is a link about them:
It sounds like digging them up or a weed killer will work. They are pretty but spread like crazy where I live and crowd out other plants.
(04/23/2005)
By Susan from ThriftyFun
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
The only solution I've found to get rid of these is to pull early and often. I have them in every bed on my property. I hate them. They can snuff out perennials with the best of them (bindweed, creeping charlie). If you pull them early, it keeps them from producing underground seed pods that form whether they bloom or not. They also will generally have a sort of rhizome so dig for them. If you only pull the leaves, they'll sprout right back. (04/28/2005)
By Eric from Northern NY
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
I've been fighting wild violets on my lawn for three years now. The only sure-fire way to get rid of them is by hand removal. They just laugh at common broadleaf herbicides. I did try one product called Spurge Control ($25 a pint!) over a period of eight weeks. All that did was weaken the plants for a brief period of time. It's even difficult to kill them using Roundup. Warning to anyone contemplating planting wild violets in your garden: Don't do it! They multiply like crazy, and will invade your lawn in no time. Then they'll move on to your neighbor's lawn...
(05/07/2005)
By Steve in KC
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Short of turning pigs loose to root up the yard there is just no sure way I've discovered to rid a property of violets. However, on the advice of a local nursery, here is my latest plan of attack:
1.) This spring, use a high-nitrogen fertilizer and water the lawn regularly.
2.) Use a preemergent in the fall and again in the late winter or early spring.
3.) In an effort to keep the infestation localized, dig up the violets, especially around the extremities of the infected areas. 4.) Move away and leave no forwarding address so that irate town's folk will be unable to locate and tar and feather me for infecting our once fair city.
As for cleaning up flower beds, regularly digging them out seems to be the only reasonable solution.
A word of encouragement... Don't be too easily discouraged. If digging is the only effective weapon don't look at a lawn full of violets. Just tackle the job a small area per day. Every plant you see drying in the trash sack will seem a small victory.
Good luck! (To both of us.)
(05/09/2005)
By Roger
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Yes, they are pretty for a brief time in early Spring, then they turn into the Godzilla of weeds. Yes, I call them weeds. Give me clover, even creeping charlie, but these things are the absolute worst. They can be the death of your lawn. They crowd out the grass (any type) and then at the first frost they die back leaving . . . well, nothing but bare soil. The next Spring they'll re-emerge with a vengeance and attack what they haven't already destroyed.
The only thing that will kill them quickly is a strong mixture of Glyphosphate (the active ingredient in Round-Up) and water. But don't buy the puny premixed stuff, get the concentrate and make your own. I use 2 oz. per gallon. But only use it where there are only wild violets. This is the scorched earth strategy and it works. (But then there are always those thousands of tiny seeds in the soil that pop to life overnight.)
To kill the violets already in your lawn use triclopyr concentrate or anything with 2-4-D in the label at 1-2 oz. per gallon, but, be careful, these things can kill some grasses. This strategy will probably take at least two applications in the Spring or autumn before they go dormant.
As for hand weeding, well, I do it a small area at a time, making certain to dig up the fat rhizome completely.
To keep them from returning I have had some success in the moist, shady areas of my backyard planting ivy. The ivy does a pretty good job of smothering the violets and it is a lot easier to control than the violets.
Oh, one last thing, in the Spring, don't allow the flowers to produce seeds. I pinch them off as soon as I see them.
Good luck. (05/17/2005)
By Dancing Rabbit
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Just had my yard sprayed for weeds yesterday and I have GOBS of wild violets. The man said what he was using would not kill them, that they'd have to be killed with Roundup, then the yard dug up and reseeded. I've decided not to worry about them....LOL (04/25/2006)
By Pat
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
I got some to plant along the edge of my garage. Planted them last fall. This spring I saw they dropped seeds or something and are filling up the area fast. Found on the web how they take over a lawn! I am getting rid of them now before that happens! (05/16/2006)
By Mark
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
How could something so beautiful be so bad. I was thinking it would be a good ground cover as we have 1/3 acre - my husband would not be happy with something so invasive. I am glad I found your website. thanks. i will keep looking for something that is less invasive and beautiful. (06/07/2006)
By elly
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Why would one want to get rid of the wild violets? Yes, they are very pretty and they certainly cut down on grass and therefore on the need to mow. But being a broadleaf, they are very juicy, so when I'm mowing, the mower gets badly clogged with quantities of wet green glop , the blade gets stuck, the mower stalls, and I've run out of cuss words. The wet glop that builds up on the mower wheels falls off all over the lawn in big wide thick strips of matted glop and causes need for additional clean-upo. The sloped areas of the lawn get wet and slick with the cut leaves of the juicy violet and it's dangerous to walk an maneuver a mower on them. I've slipped and landed on my tailbone more than once, or wrenched muscles as I've started to slip but caught myself. The mower slides sideways on the slick slopes and is hard to control. That's why I, for one, want to get rid of the pretty violets. (09/06/2006)
By Michelle
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Wild violets are my all time favorite flower. yes, they do spread quickly, but can be contained in beds by digging up the rhizomes around the edges of the beds. I just let mine grow wherever they want. (09/21/2006)
By Peggy
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Boy, most of you sound like the Violets grow overnight! They don't. You have to tend to your gardens regularly. I can't believe someone suggested planting IVY to smother the Violets. IVY is invasive! And no it doesn't grow overnight either. Here's a suggestion: plant cactus. (03/31/2007)
By Phoebe
RE: Getting Rid of Wild Violets
Being a Master Gardener, wild violets are a no no. There is virtually no way to get rid of the suckers. Once they get started in the yard you cannot find anything to put on them to kill them. The roots get to be tubers and when you pull them up half of them break off and continue to grow. They will take over the yard. If you like violets, grow the ones inside of the house, "african violets" instead of the ones that will take over your yard. UGGG (05/03/2007)
By Donna Adams
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