Smooth Yellow Violet (Viola pensylvanica)

Hardy, herbaceous, Eastern North American groundcover
Description: Butter yellow, five-petal flowers in early summer; medium green, heart-shaped leaves
Habit: Low-growing groundcover 6 to 12-inches high, spreads by divisions and self-seeding
Culture: Prefers part shade and moist but well-drained garden loam
Hardiness: Cold hardy to USDA Zone 4
Origin: Eastern North America
Attributes: Attracts bees and butterflies; Deer resistant

Smooth Yellow Violet is one of several violet species that thrive in rich forests of Eastern North America. Viola pensylvanica was introduced to European gardens by 1772 and was listed as a perennial flower in Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon’s The American Gardener’s Calendar, 1806. In February 1808, while Jefferson was President and living in Washington, DC, his granddaughter, Anne Cary Randolph, wrote that she intended to plant violets in the shady beds at Monticello. A month later she enclosed fragrant white violets in a letter, writing “I enclose you some white violets but fear they will lose their smell before they reach you.” The nectar of Smooth Yellow Violets attracts butterflies and bees. The plants are resistant to deer damage and have no serious insect or disease problems.

Arrives in a 3.5" pot.