How do I get rid of wild violets in my garden and lawn?

Carol Alwine
by Carol Alwine

Need advice on how to get rid of wild violets in my garden and lawn? Thanks


  5 answers
  • Lynne Webb Lynne Webb on Jul 09, 2017

    You won't like this but, embrace them. I love those little 'weeds'. Better your shy violets than this white clover that I have.

  • Amy21545505 Amy21545505 on Jul 09, 2017

    To Carol and Lynne! You should embrace both violets AND clover. The violets are beautiful and attract pollinators. In addition to being a good ground cover, if you don't mow too low, the clover is a nitrogen fixer and will enrich every inch of the ground it grows on.

  • Carol Alwine Carol Alwine on Jul 09, 2017

    No, it has not. I want to get rid of them in my flower beds. I plant flowers every spring and the violets just take over the whole garden no matter how often I pull them out. They will also eventually take over my whole lawn.

  • Steven Steven on Jul 09, 2017

    Treatments (for Lawns) for controlling wild violets are best applied in the fall as the plants take in herbicides more easily at this time. Spot treatments with an herbicide that kills all vegetation works best for mild infestations, the downside being brown spots dotting the lawn. For broader applications, use granular herbicides. Be sure to check the label to be sure killing wild violets is listed. Concentrates applied with a garden hose attachment will damage the plants but as with most treatments, repeated applications will be necessary to kill wild violets.

    Treatments for Gardens:

    Roundup

    If the violets are in a spot set apart from perennials and other plants, you can use Roundup (or another brand of non-selective herbicide). Granted, I prefer not to use garden chemicals, but Roundup is one of the least dangerous for the environment.

    It’s a so-called “non-selective” weed killer: It doesn’t select what plants it kills or damages. So be careful. Use it carefully on a still day when it won’t blow and damage nearby plants. (Use a piece of cardboard or other item to block other plants.)

    And Roundup is not magic. Use it on a sunny, warmer, dry day when it works best. And follow label directions, reapply every few days three or more times as needed.

    Hand Weeding

    Hand pulling or weeding is laborious, but it’s the best way to control violets.

    You have to be persistent and do multiple weedings through the spring and summer, when violets are growing fastest.

    It’s also a little tricky since violets have long, thin, spreading roots that are difficult to get all of. And if you leave one little bit in the soil, the violets come back.

    Unless the soil is very moist and soft, just pulling the violets won’t work. Too much of the root will be left in the soil. Use a hoe or weeding tool (never a fork-like cultivator) to hack out most of the violet and then pull and pick any remaining bits by hand from the soil. (Click here for Seven Tips for Spending Less Time Weeding.)

    Mulching

    Within a day or two after weeding violets, it’s high advisable to mulch thickly the area you weeded.

    Apply two or even three inches of a wood chip or other mulch over the area. This will suffocate any small bits of plant left in the soil and make it more difficult for them to come back.

    The mulch also will make weeding down the road easier, since the violets can be more easily pulled out of the loose mulch.


    • DORLIS DORLIS on Jul 09, 2017

      Round up caused my Lymphoma , I would never, ever use it. Farmers use it and it drifts to my house.

  • Virginia Snyder Bell Virginia Snyder Bell on Jul 09, 2017

    Why in the world would you want to?