Sowing Viola tricolour seed

I have a packet of Viola tricolour (Wild Pansy, Heart's Ease) seed. The instructions say they can be sown under cover or indoors in March or direct sow, plant outdoors April to August.

I am in the South of England, where it is quite mild, but have noticed that Viola seeds seem to need warmth to germinate. In early February I planted some Viola cornuta "Phantom" indoors in a pot on the kitchen windowsill, and three of them have germinated. I did plant a small amount of them in a pot outside, and nothing has germinated. I still have some of those seeds left so I can plant them directly outdoors when it is warmer.

Last year I had a small pot of miniature Violas from Morrisons that cost about a pound, which after flowering prolifically and spreading a lot, seeded themselves everywhere around late summer, and now I have quite a lot of them growing in various places and flowering. I am guessing that late summer was a good time for their seeds to germinate successfully.

I am wondering where and when to plant the Viola tricolour for best germination. If I wait until April and plant them directly outdoors, is that a recipe for non-germination? Am I best off planting at least a few of them indoors now, where it is guaranteed warm enough for germination?

 

Personally I would treat them as a biennial, although not strictly so.

That is, sowing late July or August and letting them overwinter to flower the following year.

I dont consider them, myself, to be a good plant for flowering in mid summer, I dont think they like hot weather, so more a spring early summer flowering plant.
I'm sure others do grow them differently though.

 

They seem to sow themselves around July or August for flowering in early spring the following year. Where I am is mild but doesn't get much sun due to being surrounded by tall buildings, just a few hours a day.

I think I messed up today, planted some Viola tricolour seeds in a very big pot and they as I was emptying a pot with a violet in it (Viola odorata), more soil came out than I had intended, as I was trying not to disturb its roots, and soil went all over the fine seeds, covering them too much. One annoying thing about Viola seeds is I can't find accurate instructions about whether they should be covered with soil or not, some sources say one thing some the other. It is so important whether seeds need light or darkness to germinate.

I read that Violas need at least 12 inches depth of soil for their roots, hence the very big pot.

At least I didn't use up all of my seed packet and even planted some in a pot indoors on my kitchen window sill. So if the ones I planted outdoors don't come up because I covered them with too much soil, I can try again.

 

Oh well .
I think you are overthinking this, just sow them and see what happens, maybe get some summer bedding plants.

 

Yes, I got some Violas very cheaply from Morrisons a couple of months ago and they have started flowering a lot in the past couple of weeks. They are absolutely gorgeous colours, my photography doesn't do them justice. Especially the yellow ones are beautiful, not a colour I would have guessed I would like best.