Viola odorata

sweet violet

Eventual height & spread

Viola odorata

sweet violet

  • 9cm pot
  • £6.99
  • In stock (shipped within 3-5 working days)
  • 3 × 9cm pots
  • £18.00 £20.97
  • In stock (shipped within 3-5 working days)
  • 6 × 9cm pots
  • £28.00 £41.94
  • In stock (shipped within 3-5 working days)
  • approx 50 seeds
  • £2.99
  • available to order from late spring
Delivery options
  • Standard £5.95
  • Named Day £10.95
  • Position: Full sun or partial shade
  • Soil: Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
  • Rate of growth: Average to fast
  • Flowering period: February to March
  • Hardiness: Fully hardy


Sweetly scented, violet-blue, edible flowers from February to March and heart-shaped, bright green leaves. Sweet violets are perfect for naturalising in a shady woodland garden or shrub border in moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil. Much loved by Victorian dandies, the exquisitely scented blooms make delightful cut-flower posies, are excellent when chrystallised, add an exotic-looking touch to the salad bowl and can be used to adorn cakes, desserts and iced drinks.


  • Garden care:
    Incorporate lots of well-rotted leaf mould or garden compost when planting. Protect young plants from slug-damage using environmentally friendly slug pellets or beer traps. Deadhead the spent blooms to prolong flowering.


  • Sowing instructions:
    Keep the seeds chilled until they can be sown. Early sowings can be done in a cold frame from March, into trays of good seed compost and gradually hardened off before planting out. Alternatively sow directly into a well-prepared seed bed in late spring or late summer and early autumn. Gently thin the seedlings out to 15cm apart when they are large enough to handle.

  • Sow: March to May or August to September
  • Goes well with