From: jeffs@telerama.lm.com (jeffs)
Subject: Re: Flourishing Violets -- Help!
Date: 19 May 1994 09:53:54 -0400

> I know that with mint, you are supposed to plant in a
> bucket... otherwise it spreads everywhere.  This might work...

I *like* violets for several reasons, but they *do* spread and crowd
out other plants. I don't know how many varieties of violets there
are, but I'm talking about wild violets indigenous to
Pennsylvania. These seem to be especially hardy and adaptive to
different soil/shade conditions....  and survive transplanting well. I
have transplanted "plugs" of these violets from along a stream to
different parts of our lawn.

   After I learned how well they crowd out some other plants, I tried
several means to control them & found that simple borders worked to
contain them. Apparently, although the root structure of the violet
"clump" is massive in relation to the stems/leaves--the roots never go
very deep! I think that ALL the propagation in my lawn/gardens has
been from spreading/creepers rather than by seed.  The propagation is
stopped by placing flat stones around the clump (sandstone, in my
case) or by a narrower border (old lumber, garden edging) which has
been "set" to a depth of two inches or so below the surface.

   I don't know why, but burying most/all of the edging seems to work
also!  The spreading must be via roots instead of above-ground
creepers. I tried to chop potential spreading roots (by stabbing a
round-point shovel vertically around clumps, in a ring around the
clump perimeter) to inhibit spreading, but this had little effect!

If you consider the hardiness/spreading of violets to be a "positive"
trait, like I usually do--use them as ground cover around already
established perennials. They have filled in around our roses so well
that we never (rarely) have to weed the bed!