A new Violet? Need help IDing and propagating

21 years ago

I have currently been in keen to some small purple flowers around our house and using them in and around the pond. Well today I discovered one odd one. Instead of purple it was white with purple in the center, I couldnÂt believe it. We have quite a bite growing around the house all purple. I been keeping an eye on them for about 3 years now. And when I seen this one I couldnÂt believe it. Well tonight I researched them and discovered they were violets. I was hoping that you could tell me what species these are and the common name. Also if this white one is a common variation or a new hybrid or mutation.

Also how should I go about pollinating this or propagating more of this unique variation. I just love this new one I found and want more. I have already killed me a bee to pollinate with and know I am on a limited time frame, so I need some advice on what I should to before the bloom closes. I have it transplanted into a container so theirs less of a chance of contamination from the others.

Here is a link with the pics and more details. http://www.theflyproductions.com/mario/violet.htm

Thank you for your time and understanding,

Mario

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Comments (5)

membertom
21 years ago
Mario,
I'm not sure I understand the part about the bee (??) ...but it sounds like you might have found a Confederate Violet (Viola sororia var 'Priceana') amongst some more typical purple form Viola sororia. It seems a lot of people just want them gone; so, it's good to hear that you appreciate having them. If you want more of the Confederate form, you can collect and plant seeds from the pods that form later in the summer. The earlier pods that form from the showy spring flowers, can be cross-pollinated; but later on the plants will start producing closed (cleistogamous) flowers. Often this type of flower goes unnoticed. They are small and inconspicuous, and self-pollinating. I don't think they really even open at all. Seeds from these flowers are usually true to type. Good luck with your violets, Tom
Mike Hardman
21 years ago
Tom's pretty much said it all. But I could add:

It should be referred to as Viola sororia f. priceana - that is, it is a form not a variety (technically, the distinction between form and variety in general is minor, but in this case I'd go with Cooperrider's assignment of it to the rank of form (forma in Latin) in 1984.

And, yes - use seedpods from the cleistogamous flowers to grow more of the same. No need to hand-pollinate, using a bee's probiscis or not (poor bee!). Looking for those seed pods will keep you watching for weeks in the summer. Look right down at soil level, where they will appear first. They will turn up (but still near the soil) shortly before the pods open and shed their seeds.

There are also purple colour forms, and there is a purple equivalent of the f. priceana you have found (sold as a cultivar called 'Alice Witter'). White ones as well. And white speckled with blue (that's 'Freckles') and blue speckled with white (that's 'Speckles'). All these colour forms reproduce fairly reliably from cleistogamous seed.

Enjoy - as you obviously are!
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Mike Hardman
21 years ago
Oh - here's a thread from not so long ago where Jenny, the author, kindly included photos of 'Freckles' seed pods. Yours will look similar, in due course.

Here is a link that might be useful: Freckles seed pods
monte_vista
21 years ago
Have Freckles babies coming up and covering the
dirt in a 10" pot. Need to know if the original
plants are still alive or do these come back each
year as an annual from seed? Thank you, Nancy
Mike Hardman
21 years ago
Freckles and other types of Viola sororia are perennial (all too-perennial according to some folks!). They will give rise to seedlings each year as well, though.

A new Violet? Need help IDing and propagating

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