Johnny Jump-Ups: The Flower Not a Fairy Tale

Often called violas, Johnny Jump-Ups are of the viola/violet family. Their bright yellow and offset purple flowers are a sight to behold as they are quite unique in they way they appear. Some might say they are trying to mimic the Bearded Irises, but these low growing plants have set themselves apart from the rest of the world.

The five-petal flower of the Johnny Jump-Up has the first three petals in a Y-shaped fashion, with the later two petals directly behind the top two. These two petals are usually a solid color and the darker of the two colors you will find on the petals.

As mentioned earlier, the common color combination is a golden yellow with deep purple contrasting with it. There are other colors, but they are not as commonly found at garden centers. One that I have seen has pale pinkish white with a deep violet accenting it.

Our Johnny Jump-Ups grow all year long simply because we recondition the soil for maximum growth. A harsh winter can nearly kill them all off. These sturdy flowers can take any kind of soil but prefer a rich loose soil. Regular watering and flower feeding will allow these flowering beauties to stay growing all year long.

Similar to the violas, Johnny Jump-Ups prefer a cool climate over a hot one. A misting system set up for your garden would be a plus for these cool climate lovers. You could plant them between taller growing plants that would partially shade them during the heat.

Removing the old flowers will improve the flowering capacity, but adversely hamper the seeding of new plants later on. Left unattended, these 'royal' flowers will make a great groundcover later on since they will propagate on their own.

A window box would make a wonderful place to grow your Johnny Jump-Ups, and will be nice to wake up to in the morning.

Hanging baskets and pots of this flower can be mixed with other flowers such as verbena, alyssum, or short growing snapdragon.