i hate to come here and ask so many questions but information on these absolutely delightful plants is few and far between, and often contradicting. For instance, canyon creek nursery said that although they wouldn't do too well, i COULD keep them indoors over the winter and they should survive. Thanks in advance to your wise guidence ;)

LOL !!
The best information is that violets are definitively NOT houseplants.
Violets need a cold time so as to make flowers.
It seems you live in a zone 6-7: winter shouldn't be a problem for a parma.
Inside, either your parma will never bloom, or it's gonna die, just about the same:-/

Best regards.
Thierry.

okay thanks!!! so they won't have a problem w/ my zone? It sometimes gets like five degrees but that's rare usually like fourteen is the coldes and not for very long. I thought i saw on here that someone flowered theirs by placing in fridge at night? well, i'll take your advice! Thanks!

I would recommend placing a cloche over the plant during the cold months, as increased humidity and insulation seems to really help the plants cope when the thermometer plummets. A cold frame would probably be the ideal place to grow them in the winter, but it definitely takes some work to construct and doesn't fit into every landscape. They will likely lose most of their foliage and the crown can even be damaged in the single digits or perhaps even at warmer temperatures for an extended period of time, at least if left uncovered. They can wilt down and turn dark and appear to be in trouble when frozen, but can revive once they warm up as long as they haven't also dried out from exposure. If you can keep them healthy and vital during the winter, they can bloom over a period of months as long as the days are short and temperatures cool, but mostly above freezing. If they are severely damaged they likely won't even bloom the following spring.

An extra bit of advice, if you want to keep a piece inside as insurance, would be to slip a potted specimen inside a sealed plastic bag (make sure it isn't too dry or too wet, only just moist) and place it in the refrigerator until it's safe to return outside. That way you can experiment a little without running the risk of having to order an expensive replacement.

Oh, and I recommend staying away from Miracle Gro potting soil... it has killed more plants than I care to count before I got wise. Violets prefer a heavy, rich, natural soil with very decomposed organic matter or silt. Composted manure or something along those lines - more like dark topsoil - would be more to the plants' liking.

okay... thanks! ummm, since you said that they'd be damaged by the lows, i was wondering (since i'm only getting a two inch pot) if i could just stick it in the fridge? I mean, that was i wouldn't have to worry, and next year i could try part of it in the ground. If i do this, will the leaves die? will the crowns be damaged? would you reccomend treating w/ a fungicide before the 'fridge treatment? Also, if i done that, what would the minimum time in the fridge be? would i have to acclimate them to the fridge? I mean, like a dormancy of like two to three months, and then take them out in mid winter when the house temps are still cool (they would be put on the kitchen window sill which is right above the sink, and is not in the room w/ the stove) so they can bloom inside? or just all winter 'till they can be put outside? Thanks SO much! also, i know where i can get some potting soil which is rather heavy, and has a lot of sand but is black and has a lot of humus too. Would that be okay?

Hello !

A cold period doesn't mean some days in the fridge, but several month (nature invents a great thing for that called winter). A violet can't stay that long in the fridge as long as there's no light inside, no fresh air and so on. Just forget !!
Put your pot outside and let it be/live. Your zone 6/7 is perfect for a parma :-)

All the best - Thierry.

I've kept parmas in the fridge for extended periods of time - they survive it pretty well and don't need sun or fresh air because they're in stasis. There's no minimum time and no acclimation necessary; I simply keep them in there as long as it's too cold to keep them outdoors, and they can pretty much be popped back and forth at will (you'll notice that Mother Nature subjects plants to much more severe temperature swings than this on a regular basis during the winter). I don't believe there's any need for a fungicide as long as the plant is moist but not wet before going in. Do check occasionally to make sure the plant isn't getting too dry, as refrigerators can suck water out of things even if they appear to be sealed tight. If any leaves rot away by the end, simply let them all dry and then cut off any that are damaged beyond usefulness for the plant.

Zone 6/7 is tough for a potted parma violet. You definitely need it to be in the ground unless you have some other sort of insulated/protected environment for the pot. The parma violet is only dormant when it's not growing, which is only when it's frozen or in complete darkness, essentially. They do not require freezing temperatures, and don't require a traditional dormancy as far as I'm aware. The ideal winter environment for a parma violet is somewhere it will stay as chilly as possible without actually freezing too deeply or for too long; as long as the temp is above 32 Fahrenheit, the plants are actively growing and blooming during the shortest days of the year. Refrigeration is merely a method to ensure winter survival, not a way to maximize enjoyment of the plants because they won't try to bloom in a refrigerator. You'll want a cold frame or cloche to accomplish that.

Blooming them indoors is a pipe dream unless you have an environment that is cool, bright, and humid enough for the plants to be happy (i.e. a cool greenhouse). That simply isn't a reality in any normal home. They'll either be too warm or dry and get spider mites, too dark and get lanky and/or exhaust themselves, or all of the above (it's a fast track to death).