broadleafperennialDifficulty

Wild violet

Viola sororia

Heart-shaped glossy leaves and purple flowers in May. Waxy leaves shed sprays, and thick rhizomes shrug off pulling. The second-hardest lawn weed after creeping Charlie.

How to tell

•Heart-shaped, glossy, slightly cupped leaves
•Purple, blue, or white five-petal flowers in May
•Grows in clumps, mostly in shade and moist soil
•Thick fleshy rhizome just below the surface

Why it is in your lawn

Shade and moisture. Violets are a native woodland plant moving into a lawn that is trying to be a woodland.

Best window

Late September to mid-October.

1 · Fix the cause

Dig clumps with a trowel, getting the rhizome
Overseed shade with fine fescue, mow at 4 inches
Accept some; it is a native host for fritillary butterflies

2 · Eco product

Iron HEDTA with a spreader-sticker additive (a drop of dish soap per quart) so it clings to the waxy leaf. Three applications in fall.

Track the price of Iron HEDTA lawn weed killer (Natria Lawn Weed Control or Fiesta)

What you are signing up for

A shady lawn with violets is a shady lawn. Many eco lawns keep them as spring color and mow around the flowers.

Reference only · what the truck would spray

Active ingredient

Triclopyr

Typical product

Triclopyr 4, Ortho Chickweed Clover and Oxalis

Why we do not recommend it

Even triclopyr needs two or three fall applications. The tree-root collateral damage is real.

We never link to or price-track conventional herbicides. This panel exists so you understand what a service is selling you.