Viola hederacea (Australian violet, "Tsutasumire")

Japanese name: ツタスミレ （蔦菫）
Scientific name: Viola hederacea

[Overview]
An evergreen perennial that spreads in a mat, with a clump width of 1 m or more.
There is no aboveground stem.
It has a rhizome.
The leaves are basal with long petioles, rounded heart-shaped and about 3.5 cm across, with entire margins or low wavy teeth.
In Japan it blooms mainly from spring to early summer, but it flowers all year round if the temperature is sufficient.
The flowers are borne at the tips of erect flower stalks 10–20 cm tall rising from the leaf axils, about 2 cm across, dark purple in the center and white around the edges.
The fruit is a capsule that splits into 3 when ripe and scatters the seeds.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division.
It prefers partial shade and well-drained, slightly moist soil.
If the conditions suit it, it grows well even when left alone and adapts to sun or shade, but it dislikes strong direct sunlight in midsummer.
It is not very cold-hardy, but it tolerates light frost, and if the roots do not freeze it will sprout again the following spring even if the aboveground part dies back.
In cold regions, grow it in a pot and bring it indoors to a sunny place in winter.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless sunny summer weather continues and the soil dries out.
For plants in the ground, no further fertilizer is needed if base fertilizer has been applied; for potted plants, liquid fertilizer in spring and autumn is good.
The Indian fritillary (Tsumaguro-hyomon) is a pest.

[Uses]

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