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Alpine violet

Viola labradorica

Also called Labrador Violet, Dog Violet, American Dog Violet, Northern Blue Violet

Alpine violet
Photo: Photo by and (c)2007 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), CC BY-SA 2.5

Viola labradorica is a small, low-growing perennial violet from cool northern regions of North America and Greenland, valued for its ground-hugging leaves and blue-purple flowers. It does best in cool, moist, lightly shaded conditions, and garden plants sold under this name are often Viola riviniana instead.

Family
Violaceae (Violet family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade, Bright indirect
Water
Keep soil evenly moist, especially in dry spells, but never waterlogged.
Soil
Moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil or a peaty potting mix.
Temperature
5–20 °C is ideal; tolerates hard frost, so no protection is usually needed outdoors in cold climates.
How easy
Easy
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Subarctic America to C. & E. U.S.A.
Climate
temperate

About

Viola labradorica, commonly known as alpine violet, American dog violet, dog violet or Labrador violet, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant. It is native to Greenland, eastern Canada, and the eastern United States. The plant sold as Viola labradorica by nurseries is Viola riviniana.

Other Viola plants

Hookedspur violet · Field Pansy · Australian Native Violet · Viola betonicifolia · Canadian white violet · Horned Pansy · Viola cotyledon · Marsh blue violet · Stately Violet · Dwarf marsh violet · Pioneer violet · Manchuria Violet

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Viola labradorica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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