65 - 80 days. Johnny Jump Up viola seeds are a vibrant and compact addition to your spring, summer, or fall gardens! Johnny Jump Up viola seeds are perennials, often grown as annuals, that mature into neat 7 – 10” tall mounds sprinkled with miniature purple, gold, and lavender tricolored pansies. Johnny Jump Up violas are an edible variety known for their sweet and spiced mint petals used to garnish teas, iced drinks, desserts, sorbets, cakes, and any sweet dish in need of some quick color. Johnny Jump Up viola seeds can be grown in the garden as a timeless bedding or kept in the kitchen for delicious daily use.
Growing Johnny Jump Up Viola Garden Seeds
- Taxonomy: Viola tricolor
- Seed Type: Perennial (most often grown as an annual)
- Sow Indoors or Outdoors: For optimal blooms, sow indoors using a seed starting kit 6 – 8 weeks before final frost. May also be sown late summer for autumn blooming since violas prefer cooler climates. Provide plenty of sunlight or grow 3 – 4” beneath fluorescent grow lights for 16 hours per day with 8 hours of darkness. Do not use incandescent bulbs and do not leave lights on for any 24-hour period. Harden-off seedlings before transplanting outside into partial shade.
- Days to Maturity: 65 - 80 days
- Hardiness Zone: 3 – 8
- Planting Depth: 1/8”
- Plant Spacing: 8"
- Growth Habit: 7 – 10” tall compact mound 6 – 8” wide covered in mini pansies
- Soil Preference: Organic, nutrient-rich, well-drained
- Light Preference: Full sun - partial shade
- Diseases/Pests/Troubleshooting: Prefers cool, temperate climates and may show signs of wilting if not shaded in the long summer months. Seldom have problems with pests and disease.
- Color: Tricolor blooms of purple, gold, and lavender
For early spring blooming, sow Johnny Jump Up viola seeds indoors using a seed starting kit 6 – 8 weeks before final frost. Johnny Jump Up seeds may also be sown late summer for brilliant autumn blooms since violas prefer cooler climates. Sow Johnny Jump Up viola seeds 3 – 4” beneath fluorescent grow lights for 16 hours per day with 8 hours of darkness. Do not use incandescent bulbs and do not leave lights on for any 24-hour period. Harden-off Johnny Jump Up seedlings before transplanting outside 1/8” deep and 6” apart in average, loamy, and well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. Johnny Jump Up violas prefer cool, temperate climates and may show signs of wilting if not shaded in the long summer months. Johnny Jump Up seeds are not known to have many problems with pests or disease. Johnny Jump Up viola seeds mature in 65 - 80 days as 7 – 10” tall compact mounds with a 6 – 8” spread of miniature gold, purple, and lavender pansies.
Johnny Jump Up is a European wildflower native to Spain and the Pyrenees mountains. Although Johnny Jump Up is a unique name, it doesn't compare to some of its other names: Heart's Ease, Heartsease, Heart's Delight, Tickle my fancy, Lovein-idleness, Come-and-cuddle-me, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, or Three Faces in a Hood.