Viola 'Sorbet Morpho' (Horned Violet) – Hardy Bedding Plants (18 Plants in 2 x 9-Cell Trays)

Viola 'Sorbet Morpho' is a hardy pansy-type bedding plant that brings cheerful colour to the garden from autumn right through to spring. Its two-tone flowers have rich violet-blue upper petals, a soft lavender-white lower face and a bright golden-yellow eye.

Violas in the Sorbet series are bred for cold tolerance and a long flowering season. Morpho has a compact, mounded to slightly trailing habit and a butterfly-like flower form, with bright green, oval to heart-shaped leaves. Pansies have larger flowers on shorter-lived plants, while violas like this one are smaller flowered, tougher and keep going for longer.

You get 18 plants, growing in 2 plastic 9-cell trays with one plant to a cell. They suit beds, borders, window boxes, patio containers and hanging baskets, in full sun or partial shade. Autumn planting lets them settle in over winter and flower freely in spring.

Water regularly in dry spells without letting the compost become waterlogged. Deadhead spent flowers often to keep new blooms coming, and give a balanced liquid feed every two to three weeks while they are growing.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Viola, Pansy, Horned Violet
• Botanical Name: Viola x wittrockiana and Viola cornuta
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: Approx. 15-20cm tall and 20-30cm wide
• Growth Habit: Compact, mounded to slightly trailing
• Perfect For: Containers, hanging baskets, window boxes, borders and bedding schemes
• Foliage: Bright green, evergreen, oval to heart-shaped leaves
• Flowering Time: Autumn through to spring
• Flower Colour: Deep violet-blue upper petals with a paler lavender-white lower face and golden-yellow centre eye
• Planting Position: Full sun to partial shade
• Hardiness: Hardy, tolerates frost and cool temperatures
• Maintenance: Low; deadhead regularly for continuous flowers
• Seasonal Interest: Autumn, winter and spring