04/19/2026
Last fall, we received a question from someone in our gmail about how to get rid of a w**d that was infecting his lawn. There were no flowers, but the picture of the plant he sent looked very familiar as I had the same thing growing in my lawn.
Viola sororia (also called Viola papilionacea, or common Wood Violet) is not only a native Wisconsin woodland plant, but the State Flower! In spring the glossy heart shaped leaves are topped by bluish purple or sometimes, white /purplish blossoms. Their leaves and flowers are even edible(but DON'T eat if your yard is treated by herbicides or pesticides). Wood violets grow in shady, moist environments which is why they like my shady lawn and little patch of forest in the back of my property.
It's tempting to eradicate it from the lawn because it spreads readily, sometimes making dense patches that crowd the grass, and it only blooms in the spring.
But, I asked the gentleman if he could find it in his heart to leave it for the time being and wait until this summer to try to purge it from his lawn if he absolutely had to, for these reasons. Violas are one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring and are important food sources for early pollinators. Mining bee, Mason bees, and Sweat bees use them for nectar after emerging from hibernation. In fact, Mining bees use viola exclusively.
Violets attract many other forms of wildlife that delight in their seeds, leaves, and rhizomes. These include songbirds, wild turkeys, grouse, bobwhites, mourning doves, and mice, among other small mammals. The leaves are hosts for the larva of several caterpillar species, including the great-spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele), the meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona), the Aphrodite (Speyeria aphrodite), and the variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia).
Even if you aren't fond of them in your lawn, remember those beautiful fritillaries and let them co-exist in your shade garden by acting as a ground cover under your hydrangeas and other shade tolerant plants. You could also encourage them to grow in that shady spot where the grass won't grow. They are tough enough that a summer of children and pets trampling over them probably won't kill them They spread easily through their underground rhisomes, plus they get help from ants who spread their seeds, so you'll have to control their spread if you plant them close to your sod.
That toughness also makes them hard to eradicate. The waxy leaves are resistant to herbicides and usually takes more than one application to make a significant difference. Broadleaf w**d killers will reduce their numbers or eliminate individual plants. Be sure to check the label to see if the one you picked up will cover it and follow the directions on the label. You can also take a seat on your grass and pull them by hand, but actually you will need your favorite tool to coax them out of the ground. W**d pulling can be very zen. Bring music and a beverage. Good luck
https://extension.psu.edu/native-violets
