My Favorite Winter Flower: Johnny Jump-Ups

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My favorite winter flower, hands down, is the Johnny Jump-Up or also known as Voila. They are hardy, easy to care for, bright and beautiful flowers. These little plants just seem to continually give you the prettiest, happiest little flowers no matter what mother nature throws at them. Well, until the summer heat hits and then they have had enough. Until that point, the plants have withstood wind, cold, freezing temps and even a little snow and they just keep on blooming. Although, I did have a Johnny Jump-Up self seed in the spring and last all summer. That one was in full shade and was growing with my ginger plant so it received plenty of water. Currently my winter garden is pretty barren so the Johnny Jump-Ups are the bright spot in the yard. I am definitely going to be more conscious about planting more pots of these hardy little plants this fall to enjoy through the winter and spring.

Johnny Jump-Up History

Johnny Jump-Ups are also known as Violas, Heartsease, Wild Pansy, Ladies’ Delight and Jump-Up-And-Kiss-Me. These fun little plants are native to Europe and western Asia. 

Greek mythology claims the flower used to be white until it was struck by Cupid’s arrow. The wound from the arrow is said to be seen in the dark centers of the flower.

Shakespeare mentioned the bright little flowers in Hamlet and The Taming of the Shrew. In Midsummer’s Night Dream they were used in a love potion probably because of the folklore about Cupid’s arrow.

They were first recorded in the United States in 1718 by John Lawson and it is documented that Thomas Jefferson planted Johnny-Jump-Ups at his boyhood home in 1767 Virginia. Johnny-Jump-Ups are still planted today at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello house. He designed the Monticello house and gardens in 1769 and was completed in 1809. If you have the opportunity to visit the house and gardens or want to learn more about it here is the link to House & Gardens at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

Johnny Jump-Up Care

Johnny Jump-Ups are really easy to care for. Since I live in zone 8B in the high desert of southern California, I like to plant Johnny Jump-Ups in October. This gives them time to establish themselves before winter weather. I like planting my seasonal flowers in pots. I do this because of our dogs and also because our native soil is very sandy and I have trouble growing certain plants in it. Johnny Jump-Ups look great clustered together in a pot. When I plant them I like to add a little slow releasing fertilizer (paid link) and that is all I do. They do the rest and look pretty all fall, winter and spring. Johnny Jump-Ups do like their soil to be moist but do not over saturate the soil. They grow great in full sun and partial shade.

Propagation

Johnny Jump-Ups self seed really easily. For some people this might be annoying but I love seeing the unique places these cute little plants decide to pop-up. If you would like to grow Johnny Jump-Ups from seed it is pretty easy. Prepare a pot or seed starting tray with your favorite seed starting mix. Moisten the soil and then sprinkle the seeds on top, gently pat the seeds so they are firmly nestled into the soil. Next, do not cover the seeds with soil. Small seeds such as these need sunlight to sprout. Keep the seeds moist by misting them and place your pot or seed trays under some grow lights. Your sprouts will emerge in 7-10 days. Since I like to plant Johnny Jump-Ups outside by October, I start my seeds indoors in August.

Quick Facts:

I hope I have inspired you to give Johnny Jump-Ups a try this fall/winter/spring in your garden. I promise you that they will not disappoint you!

Happy desert gardening!

Joy Simper has a full time job as a home schooling stay at home mom. She is the one that holds the house and yard together and keeps the kids in line. She enjoys gardening, including seed starting and propagating plants.