The autumn is the ideal season for controlling wild violets. The weed is a perennial with a protracted tap root. Use a broadleaf killer that contains 2,4-D or Dicamba to destroy the violets only; the grass won’t be harmed. Drive is a fantastic wild violet herbicide (quinclorac). Quinclorac is marketed under many names in other lawn weed control solutions.
Because the leaf surfaces of violets are so waxy, adding a spreader-sticker product to the herbicide mixture will improve the herbicide’s adhesion to the leaf surfaces and increase control. Visit your neighborhood garden center and request a spreader-sticker product.
One treatment is insufficient. Multiple treatments will be required. Applications used in the spring or summer merely burn back the leaf tissue; the plants will eventually regrow. Herbicides used in the fall have better effectiveness controlling plants because they move down into the tap root.
Can wild violets be killed by vinegar?
To get rid of wild violets, combine horticultural vinegar and water to make a DIY weed killer. You can mix vinegar and water at a ratio of 80% to 20%. When applied to the foliage of the problematic plant, this homemade wild violet weed pesticide has an 80 percent control rate against the majority of broadleaf weeds. For every gallon of water used, add 1 teaspoon of a non-ionic surfactant or dishwashing liquid if the horticultural vinegar does not already contain one.
When working with horticultural vinegar, exercise caution. It is significantly stronger than regular kitchen vinegar and can seriously harm your skin and eyes. When working with horticultural vinegar, be cautious to wear safety gear. Wearing long sleeves, rubber gloves, pants, and safety glasses can help you avoid getting vinegar in your eyes and on your skin.
Which chemical will effectively eradicate wild violets?
The best herbicides for controlling wild violet species are those that include triclopyr; nevertheless, for effective control, repeated application over the course of the growing season and over several years may be required.
Can violets be killed easily?
Although they thrive in shade, these low-growing broadleaf weeds can also flourish in bright sunlight. Wild violets can have white, blue, purple, or yellow flowers. Despite having a modest, delicate appearance, wild violets are actually highly aggressive and can grow thick mats of leaves that rob the rest of your lawn of nutrients. Because of their deep root systems, waxy leaf covering, and propensity for rapid growth (and spread), violet weeds are unfortunately challenging to eradicate.
Will African violets be harmed by Roundup?
With the help of Roundup Ready-To-Use Weed & Grass Killer III with Sure Shot Wand, eliminate wild violets that are growing in your landscaping and flower beds. The best time of year to treat them is in the fall when the active ingredient is readily transferred to the root system, just like wild violets growing in the lawn.
Can lime eliminate violets?
Q. Mike: My issue is violets. I do not want to use chemicals (which are ineffective anyway) or tear up my lawn and start again. What can I do to get rid of these obstinate little weeds?
- Rockville, Maryland’s Peter (PS: I was captivated after discovering your show on the Sirius ‘NPR Talk’ channel!)
Although we can grow grass “OK,” we can actually grow violets for some reason. They are encroaching on the lawn. The weed killer my husband uses appears to simply promote them, and removing them one by one takes a lot of effort. Do you have any suggestions?
In Severna Park, Maryland, Laurie
I have a front yard that gets some sun and has good grass, a few “typical” weeds, and a lot of violets. I only fertilize the lawn once a year in the spring and keep the grass cut quite high. I’ve attempted throughout the years to consistently apply lime in the fall because I’ve heard that violets prefer acidic soil. I’ve also tried repeatedly spraying with a potent mixture of “Weed-B-Gon,” but that hasn’t either. Anything else I can do?
In Pittsburgh, Brian
Help me get rid of the wild violets, Mike. Commercial weed killers are simply ineffective.
in St. Louis, Steve
A. The answer is no. Wild violets are almost completely immune to chemical herbicides, according to Iowa State University Professor and frequent You Bet Your Garden turf grass expert Nick Christians, Ph.D., in his classic book “Lawns.” When all other weeds in the grass have been eliminated, “they frequently survive.”
However, that caution follows his opening statement, which says: “Violets have a lovely blue blossom and are not always undesirable in a lawn.” Now, this isn’t coming from some organic Miracle-Gro-confiscating, left-leaning, tree-hugging enthusiast like me. Dr. Nick employs chemical herbicides even though he popularized the use of corn gluten meal as a natural, pre-emergent herbicide. And HE advises us to think about just letting violets be.
I might also mention that early lawns were intended to sprout attractive things. Early seed mixtures included clover as a necessary component, and a lawn devoid of clover was viewed as having been neglected. Additionally, a lot of individuals continue to plant little summer-blooming bulbs directly in their lawns, such grape hyacinth, crocus, species tulips, and scilla. The blossoms will have withered by the time the turf needs its first Spring cut, and the leaves will have absorbed enough solar energy to emerge and delight once more the following year.
Otherwise, our Pittsburgh listener is right; soil that is too acidic does support the growth of violets. They also flourish on soils that lack calcium. So lime might aid in controlling their spread. But instead of assuming how much to apply, have your soil tested and abide by the instructions. (Or use 1.5 times as much hardwood ash; for further information on substituting wood ashes for lime, read THIS PREVIOUS QUESTION OF THE WEEK.)
Nick continues, “The other elements of good lawn care—mowing, watering, and feeding appropriately for your particular turf—are also crucial.” For example, that Pittsburgh lawn needs to be nourished in the fall to stay strong enough to fend off violets.
Chemical pesticides are extremely ineffectual against this lovely plant, as Nick and all of our Questioners point out. With that Roundup and Weed B Gon, all you’re doing is contaminating your neighbors’ well, killing frogs and toads, and raising your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in the future. So stop it now!
Dig up the clumps if you MUST have an artificially perfect, environmentally negligent, mono-cultural, and criminally warm-blooded lawn; the plant is easy to identify thanks to its heart- or kidney-shaped leaves. Utilize a poachers spade to dig down and collect all the roots. Fill the holes with compost and grass seed to create a lush stand of replacement turf by performing this task in the fall for cool-season lawns and in the spring for warm-season ones. Or, if it’s simply a personal thing for you, say your mother was afraid of gentian while carrying you. Dig out the clumps and replace them with little Spring bulbs.
Or you could move them. I absolutely adore wild violets, so if I see one in the “wrong” location, I just relocate it to a location where I want more color in the Spring or pollination assurance. Your violets will attract local bees looking for summer residences in the spring, and they’ll stick around and pollinate the rest of your plants all season. Or perhaps you didn’t want a lot of fruit and flowers?
And lastly, eating wild violets are excellent. They taste delicious and look great embellishing salads. They are the center of “candied violets.” Additionally, they are a fantastic source of rutin, a rare nutrient that fortifies capillary walls and prevents or reverses the appearance of varicose and spider veins.
Long-time listeners are aware of the fact that I frequently advise people to collect and consume their pansy flowers for this reason. All Viola species have rutin in their blossoms, and as our dear friend Jim Duke, Ph.D., a former USDA researcher and best-selling book, has frequently pointed out, a plant’s wild form typically has considerably higher quantities of naturally occurring nutrients than its cultivated counterpart.
Start eating your wild violets instead of fighting them (and Johnny jump-ups)! You’ll look better in a bathing suit and live longer, which is arguably more significant.
How long do wild violets take to die?
Herbicides should be applied to specific weeds rather than the entire area in order to effectively destroy wild violets. By doing this, the amount of chemicals released into the environment will be reduced. You may target the leaves of certain weeds with a garden sprayer equipped with a wand nozzle while minimizing chemical mist drift.
Mix the Weed Killer
Following the instructions on the label, prepare a batch of broad-spectrum weed killer in a garden sprayer. Wear the safety equipment that the label advises.
Add Dish Soap
To the weed killer, add surfactant or a tablespoon of dish soap. The herbicide may run off from the wild violets’ waxy leaves, but the surfactant will help it stick so that it can be absorbed.
Observe the Plants
Over the upcoming two to three weeks, keep an eye on the plants. They should start to turn brown and eventually pass away. You can manually remove the brown leaves once the wild violets are obviously dead.
Treat Again, if Necessary
Reapply pesticide if the plants don’t entirely perish after two weeks. Some plants commonly survive the winter and reappear in the spring. If so, apply an additional herbicide application to them in the spring when new growth is beginning.
Why is my yard so full of violets?
Many people consider the lawn to be a sacred space where neither dandelion nor clover dare to grow. Some people are diversifying their lawns to attract more bees or to stop fighting weeds altogether. I had never seen violets in turf before; dandelions and clover may come to mind first when thinking of weeds in lawns.
Untrained eyes may suppose creeping charlie or dead nettle, two common weeds with purple flowers, are the source of this purple colour in the lawn from a distance.
But as I looked closer, they were violets! Though one of our turf lecturers explained that wild violets are actually one of the most infamous lawn weeds and are challenging to maintain, I mistakenly thought of this as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Violets (viola sp.) spread by rhizomes and seeds. They are available in purple, white, and yellow tones. Some are two-tone.
Violets draw pollinators and serve as the main host plant for the fritillary butterfly group’s caterpillars. The mining bee Andrena violae, a specialized bee that exclusively visits violets, likewise relies only on them for food.
Violets thrive in moist, shaded locations where the turf is weak and unable to cope with the weeds and violets. Violets may be a welcome choice for ground covers in these situations, which frequently provide difficulties for turf development. Once established, though, they have the potential to grow from that difficult place onto your ideal lawn sections.
Violets can also indicate areas where lawns are being mowed too short, which inhibits their ability to regrow thickly and vigorously. This is a sign that lawns are becoming thinner overall.
You get to decide, of course! Do they need to stay? OR ought they to leave? OR, as a reader suggested, WHY NOT BOTH? Those discovered at Chadwick were a pleasant sight to run in this spring and appear to have integrated themselves into the show. This is a nice illustration of how some natural places may add color, beneficial insects, and perhaps cover some problematic spots to a lawn’s aesthetics.
There are options if you want to manage your violets in lawns. Digging and manually pulling them might be the best method for control if a patch is discovered early. Take into account the site’s conditions as well. Is it possible to make a turf stand that is thicker so that it can outcompete weeds or increase light penetration? The application of post-emergent broadleaf herbicides with the active component Triclopyr is one method of chemical control for violets. To have an effect on established violets, two or more applications would be necessary. Application in the fall is thought to be most efficient because plants are focusing their energy on their roots. Violets are challenging to control, even with a good solution. They are resilient little things. Make sure you read all labels and follow directions before applying insecticides. The law for usage is on the label.
When should I use wild violet spray?
Herbicides should be used in the fall, between late October and early November, when the temperature is at least 50 degrees. Wild violets can be treated in the spring or the fall, but the latter is preferable because the plants are actively transporting resources from their tops to their roots.
Do violets spread quickly?
When in a good mood, violets are infamous for spreading everywhere, which may be a positive quality in a groundcover. There are several different ways that violets propagate. Violets can grow in vegetative colonies and spread via underground rhizomes. They also disperse via seeds.
The wild violet should I get rid of?
Wild violets in your lawn can be categorically regarded as weeds if you define a weed as any plant growing where you don’t want it to.
According to Shipman, “Wild violets easily self-seed, rapidly taking over a lawn or planted area and not too easy to get rid of.
Although they aid pollinators and wildlife greatly, their aggressive tendencies can be problematic for gardeners who want to project a more well-groomed appearance.
Is the violet a weed?
A perennial weed called wild violet grows in many northern parts of the United States. It typically grows in wet, shaded corners of your yard and blooms in the early spring.
How to Identify Wild Violets
The height of a wild violet varies from 2 to 12 inches. Their leaves have scalloped edges, a heart-shaped form, and a waxy covering. The hues of violet blossoms range from pale blue to rich purple. Additionally, they generate rhizomes, fleshy underground stems that aid in their aggressive lawn-spreading.
How to Kill Wild Violets and Discourage Them From Coming Back
- Ortho WeedClearTM Lawn Weed Killer Ready-to-quick Use’s action kills wild violets and other bothersome lawn weeds. In addition to being particularly comfy to use, it won’t harm the nearby lawn and becomes rainproof in about an hour.
- Consider using Ortho WeedclearTM Lawn Weed Killer Ready-To-Spray to eradicate a broad wild violet infestation. Application is as simple as watering your lawn with the handy hose adapter and one bottle may treat up to 5,000 square feet.
- Regular lawn feedings, such as two to four times year, give your grass the nutrition it needs to become robust and resilient while also smothering weeds like wild violet.
- Mowing your lawn at the appropriate height encourages dense growth and the establishment of deep root systems in the grass. If you use a mulching mower, you should leave the grass clippings where they fall since they recycle plant nutrients back into the soil.
- If your lawn needs water, it will start to wilt. Utilize nature’s sprinkler as much as you can by letting the rain water your lawn. If you do decide to use sprinklers, make sure you water your lawn sparingly and deeply. The typical lawn requires about one inch of water each week.