1 / 10

Viola cucullata

marsh blue violet

Violaceae eastern North America

Attracts Pollinators Attracts Butterflies Container Friendly

Native to North America

SunPart Shade – Full Shade

WaterHigh

HardinessZones 3–8

Overview

Viola cucullata is a low, clump-forming perennial in the violet family (Violaceae), 4–10 inches (10–25 cm) tall, growing from a stout rhizome without an upright leafy stem. The leaves are basal, heart-shaped with a deeply notched base, finely toothed, and held on long stalks; they enlarge through the season. In spring it bears blue-violet flowers, each about 0.6–0.8 inch (15–20 mm) across, carried on slender stalks that hold the flowers at or above the level of the leaves, with a darker violet throat and a white center marked with narrow veins. Later in the season it also produces self-pollinating flowers that never open, set close to the ground, which form most of the seed. It grows in wet to moist ground — seeps, wet meadows, streambanks, marsh edges, and damp woods — across eastern North America. The flowers stand above the leaves, unlike the common blue violet V. sororia, whose flowers sit among or below them. It spreads by rhizome and seed and can colonize moist lawns and beds where it is hard to remove.

Native Range

Viola cucullata is native to eastern North America, from eastern Canada south through the eastern United States to Georgia and west to the Mississippi valley. It grows in wet, shaded to open habitats throughout this range.

Suggested Uses

Viola cucullata is used in rain gardens, woodland gardens, and the moist edges of ponds and streams as a spring-flowering native groundcover. It serves as a larval host for fritillary butterflies and supplies early nectar. It naturalizes into shaded, damp ground.

How to Identify

Identify Viola cucullata by its basal, long-stalked, heart-shaped leaves and blue-violet spring flowers held on stalks that rise to or above the leaf tops. Each flower has a darker throat and a white eye with narrow dark veins. The flowers held clearly above the foliage and the wet habitat separate it from V. sororia, whose flowers sit at or below leaf level on drier ground.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height4" - 10"

Width/Spread6" - 1'

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Fall Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~5 weeks

Spring

Blue-violet flowers open in spring, mainly April through June, on stalks held above the leaves. Open flowering lasts about 4–5 weeks. Later, hidden self-pollinating flowers near the ground produce most of the season's seed without opening.

Detailed Descriptions

Foliage Description

green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunPartial Shade SunFull Shade

Requires 2-6 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 7.0(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam silt

Drainagemoist

Water & Climate

Water Needs

High

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

1-2 years

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Viola cucullata grows in part to full shade in moist to wet, humus-rich soil and tolerates wetter ground than most violets. It suits rain gardens, woodland edges, and the damp margins of ponds and streams, and stays lush where the soil never dries. It needs no fertilizer in fertile soil and self-sows freely through both open and hidden flowers. In moist lawns and beds it can spread further than wanted and is difficult to dig out once rooted. It tolerates short dry spells but persists where moisture stays steady.

Pruning

No pruning is needed. Tattered leaves can be removed in spring before new growth, and spent flower stalks trimmed if self-seeding is not wanted. Plants can be lifted and divided in spring or early autumn.