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Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Common Blue Violet

Viola sororia
native · Hill Country

Common Blue Violet is a wildflower native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 0.5–1 ft tall and 0.5 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and high water. Blooms purple in mid spring. Evergreen — it holds its leaves through winter. Deer rarely browse it. Good for birds.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Common Blue Violet against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

The facts

5 sources
Type
Wildflower
Sun
Full sun to part shade (3–6 hrs of direct sun)
Water
High
Height
0.5–1 ft
Spread
0.5 ft
Bloom
Mid Spring · purple
Foliage
Evergreen
Soil
Recorded on moist, rich
Deer
High — deer rarely browse it
Wildlife
Supports birds

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

30 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.