Etain Violet - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Etain is a clump-forming English viola with large, lightly scented flowers about 1¾ inches wide. Each bloom is soft lemon yellow with a lavender-purple rim, a combination that looks fresh against its green leaves.

It blooms hardest from late spring into early summer and keeps sending up flowers here and there into fall. At 6 to 8 inches tall, it stays in a neat clump rather than running like groundcover violets, which makes it good for edging, containers and small cut posies.

What it looks like

Flat, rounded, pansy-shaped flowers about 1¾ inches across are pale lemon yellow in the center, washing into a clear lavender-purple band along the petal edges, with a small yellow eye and faint dark lines at the throat. They are held singly on slender stems just above the leaves. Foliage is medium green, oval to heart-shaped and slightly scalloped. The plant forms a tidy, rounded clump about 6 to 8 inches tall and wide. At peak bloom dozens of yellow and lavender faces sit evenly over the clump.

Growing it with lavender

Etain wants richer, more consistently moist soil than lavender, so plant it in a cooler, partly shaded bed or a container near the patio rather than in the lavender rows.

Care

Grows in full sun to full shade; afternoon shade helps it keep blooming in hot summers. Keep soil fertile and evenly moist, and deadhead to encourage more flowers. Hardy in zones 5 to 8.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Viola
• Flower color: Pale lemon yellow with lavender-purple edges
• Foliage: Medium green
• Growth habit: Compact clump
• Mature size: 6–8 in tall × 6–8 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 5–8
• Light: full sun, part sun to part shade, full shade
• Bloom start: Late-May
• Peak bloom: Early-June
• Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
• Deer resistance: Susceptible
• Pollinator value: Good

Sizes and shipping

One full 72-cell plug tray: 72 young starter plugs of this variety (cells about 1⅓ in. wide × 2½ in. deep), rooted and ready to pot up into quarts or gallons. Best for growers and nurseries. Potted plants and plug trays ship during our live-plant seasons, March 1–May 31 and October 1–November 30; June through September is local pickup only. Plugs, potted plants and trays do not ship to AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT or WA.