Propagating Viola Pedata - Birdfoot Violet

by Mike Strickland

Although, when happy, Birdfoot Violets re-seed quite well, you may want to propagate a plant for its particular characteristics.

Take a sharp knife and cut a circle about 1/2 inch, or so, away from the base of the "parent" plant, all the way around. Pull the parent plant out of the ground (it has a short, carrot-like taproot) and fill the hole loosely with soil (I usually use potting soil). Replant the parent plant and care for it as you would any transplant. Also, treat the spot you removed the parent plant from like you would a transplant. After a few weeks, you should see new plants developing from the cut roots that remained around where the hole was. This has proven to be a reliable method in my experience, but the number of new plants is highly variable, from one to up to about a dozen.

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