Sorbet® XP Delft Blue
Viola cornuta
Wikimedia Commons via Viola cornuta
Upright stems with petite 1-1 1/2" flowers. Tolerates temperature extremes and will bloom through winter in the South when planted in fall. Excellent in containers and garden beds. Rounded petal edges give a pleasant, full appearance. The blue and white bicolor blooms are reminiscent of Dutch Delft blue pottery. A favorite in our spring trials. Cut flowers: Overwinters well in our unheated tunnel (Zone 5) from a fall planting, yielding 12-20" long stems under those conditions. Harvestable in mid-to-late spring. Dense, upright plants produce abundant stems and blooms. Edible Flowers: Decorative and edible garnish for salads and desserts with slight wintergreen flavor. While a popular choice for brightening up salad mix, the flowers are also good for candying.Also known as Johnny jump-up, European field pansy, heart's ease, and hybrid violet.
Harvest
60-70d
Days to harvest
Sun
Full sun to partial shade
Zones
6–11
USDA hardiness
Height
6-9 inches
Planting Timeline
Showing dates for Sorbet® XP Delft Blue in USDA Zone 7
All Zone 7 flower →Zone Map
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Sorbet® XP Delft Blue · Zones 6–11
Growing Details
Zone-by-Zone Planting Calendar
| Zone | Indoor Start | Transplant | Direct Sow | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | May – June | July – August | July – September | — |
| Zone 2 | April – May | June – July | June – August | — |
| Zone 11 | January – January | January – February | January – March | — |
| Zone 12 | January – January | January – February | January – March | — |
| Zone 13 | January – January | January – February | January – March | — |
| Zone 3 | April – May | June – July | June – August | — |
| Zone 4 | March – April | June – June | June – July | — |
| Zone 5 | March – April | May – June | May – July | — |
| Zone 6 | March – April | May – June | May – July | — |
| Zone 7 | February – March | April – May | April – June | — |
| Zone 8 | February – March | April – May | April – June | — |
| Zone 9 | January – February | March – April | March – May | — |
| Zone 10 | January – January | February – March | February – April | — |
Succession Planting
Sorbet XP Delft Blue is a cool-season annual that declines hard once daytime temperatures consistently top 80°F, so succession timing matters if you want continuous color. In zone 7, start the first round indoors in late February, transplant out in April, and start a second round indoors in late July for a September transplant. That fall planting often outlasts the spring one — violas handle light frost down to around 28°F without much damage, and the cooler nights of September and October suit them better than the shoulder heat of May.
Don't bother with midsummer sowings in most climates. Seeds started in June will germinate in 7–14 days, but the transplants hit peak heat right as they're trying to establish and stall out. Better to pull spent spring plants, fill the space with something heat-tolerant, and bring violas back once nights drop below 65°F consistently.
Complete Growing Guide
Upright stems with petite 1-1 1/2" flowers. Tolerates temperature extremes and will bloom through winter in the South when planted in fall. Excellent in containers and garden beds. Rounded petal edges give a pleasant, full appearance. The blue and white bicolor blooms are reminiscent of Dutch Delft blue pottery. A favorite in our spring trials. Cut flowers: Overwinters well in our unheated tunnel (Zone 5) from a fall planting, yielding 12-20" long stems under those conditions. Harvestable in mid-to-late spring. Dense, upright plants produce abundant stems and blooms. Edible Flowers: Decorative and edible garnish for salads and desserts with slight wintergreen flavor. While a popular choice for brightening up salad mix, the flowers are also good for candying.Also known as Johnny jump-up, European field pansy, heart's ease, and hybrid violet. According to Johnny's Selected Seeds, Sorbet® XP Delft Blue is 60 - 70 days to maturity, annual, hybrid (f1). Notable features: Grows Well in Containers, Edible Flowers.
Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day), Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours). Soil: Clay, Loam (Silt), Sand. Soil pH: Acid (<6.0), Neutral (6.0-8.0). Drainage: Good Drainage, Moist. Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 0 ft. 9 in.. Spread: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.. Spacing: Less than 12 inches. Growth rate: Rapid. Maintenance: Low, Medium. Propagation: Division, Seed. Regions: Coastal, Mountains, Piedmont.
Harvesting
Sorbet® XP Delft Blue reaches harvest at 60 - 70 days from sowing per Johnny's Selected Seeds. Expect 1-1 1/2" at peak. As an annual, harvest continues until frost ends the season.
The fruit is a three valves capsule. The seeds have an oily feel and are freely dispersed by ants.
Edibility: Flowers and leaves are edible.
Storage & Preservation
Fresh cut flowers store best in a cool location (35-45°F) in water with a floral preservative, lasting 5-7 days in the refrigerator. For edible flowers, refrigerate in a damp paper towel-lined container for 2-3 days. Preservation methods: Dry flowers by hanging upside down in a cool, dark place for 2-3 weeks for dried arrangements. Freeze flowers in ice cubes with a small amount of water for decorative use in beverages. Candy flowers by coating with egg white and superfine sugar, then air-dry for 24-48 hours for long-lasting edible garnishes.
History & Origin
Sorbet® XP Delft Blue is an F1 hybrid developed through controlled cross-pollination. Listed in the Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog.
Origin: France and Spain
Advantages
- +Stunning blue and white bicolor flowers resemble authentic Dutch Delft pottery.
- +Tolerates temperature extremes and blooms through winter in southern climates.
- +Produces abundant 12-20 inch stems ideal for cutting and arranging.
- +Edible flowers with wintergreen flavor perfect for salads and candying.
- +Excellent container and garden performer requiring minimal care and expertise.
Considerations
- -Petite 1-1.5 inch flowers may appear small in large garden spaces.
- -Requires fall planting in southern regions to achieve winter blooming.
- -Limited color range restricts design options in mixed plantings.
Companion Plants
Marigolds and sweet alyssum are the most practical partners for Sorbet XP Delft Blue. Tagetes patula specifically deters aphids and whiteflies through both root exudates and foliage compounds — useful here because violas sit only 6–9 inches tall and tend to get overlooked until a pest population is already well established. Sweet alyssum pulls in hoverflies and parasitic wasps that target aphid colonies before they spread. The height difference works cleanly: alyssum stays at 3–4 inches, so neither plant crowds the other, and the white flowers of alyssum read well against Delft Blue's two-tone petals if you care about that.
Lobelia and bacopa make good edge companions because they fill gaps without competing hard for root space, and they keep a planting looking full even as violas slow down mid-season. Nasturtiums are worth placing nearby as a trap crop — aphids frequently move to them first. Whether that's genuinely helpful or just relocating the problem is debatable, but it does give you a concentrated target to deal with rather than aphids spread across the whole bed.
Skip impatiens as a neighbor. Downy mildew (Plasmopara obducens) hammers impatiens hard, and mixing the two in humid conditions raises disease pressure on both. Sunflowers produce allelopathic root compounds that can stunt smaller annuals planted within 12–18 inches — Sorbet XP is compact enough that it'll lose that competition without showing you a clear reason why. Black walnut (Juglans nigra) produces juglone, which is broadly phytotoxic; keep violas well clear of the root zone, which extends well beyond the canopy edge.
Plant Together
Marigolds
Repel aphids, whiteflies, and nematodes while attracting beneficial insects
Sweet Alyssum
Attracts beneficial insects like hoverflies and parasitic wasps that control pests
Nasturtiums
Act as trap crops for aphids and cucumber beetles, drawing pests away
Lobelia
Similar growing conditions and creates attractive color contrast in mixed plantings
Bacopa
Compatible trailing habit and similar water requirements for container gardens
Petunias
Repel aphids, tomato hornworms, and squash bugs while sharing similar care needs
Salvia
Attracts pollinators and beneficial insects while deterring harmful pests
Verbena
Complementary growth habit and attracts butterflies and beneficial insects
Keep Apart
Impatiens
Competes for similar resources and may harbor spider mites that spread to violas
Sunflowers
Allelopathic compounds inhibit growth of smaller flowering plants
Black Walnut Trees
Produce juglone toxin that inhibits growth and can kill sensitive flowering plants
Troubleshooting Sorbet® XP Delft Blue
What you'll see, why it happens, and what to do about it.
Gray fuzzy coating on leaves and stems, especially during cool, wet spells
Likely Causes
- Botrytis blight (Botrytis cinerea) — thrives in humid, stagnant air around 60–70°F
- Overcrowded planting or poor drainage trapping moisture around the crown
What to Do
- 1.Remove and bin any affected plant material immediately — don't compost it
- 2.Thin or space plants so air can move between them; violas get dense fast
- 3.Water at soil level in the morning so foliage dries before nightfall
Tiny, irregular holes chewed through petals and young leaves, often overnight
Likely Causes
- Slugs or snails — common on violas planted in shade or where mulch stays wet
- Earwigs, which feed at night and hide under debris during the day
What to Do
- 1.Set out a shallow dish of beer at soil level near affected plants — slugs drown in it
- 2.Apply food-grade diatomaceous earth around the base of plants after rain stops
- 3.Pull mulch back an inch or two from the crown to reduce slug harborage
Pale stippled or silvery patches on leaves, sometimes with fine webbing on the undersides
Likely Causes
- Spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) — flare up in hot, dry conditions above 85°F
- Plants stressed by drought or inconsistent soil moisture
What to Do
- 1.Blast the undersides of leaves with a firm stream of water for several days running
- 2.Apply insecticidal soap (2–3% solution) directly to leaf undersides, repeating every 5–7 days
- 3.Keep soil consistently moist — mite outbreaks on violas almost always follow a stretch of dry weather
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do cut stems from Sorbet® XP Delft Blue last in a vase?▼
Can you grow Sorbet® XP Delft Blue in containers?▼
Is Sorbet® XP Delft Blue good for beginners?▼
What does Sorbet® XP Delft Blue taste like?▼
When should I plant Sorbet® XP Delft Blue for winter blooms?▼
How do you candy Sorbet® XP Delft Blue flowers?▼
Growing Guides from Wind River Greens
Where to Buy Seeds
Sources & References
External authority sources used in compiling this guide.
- BreederJohnny's Selected Seeds
See the Methodology page for how this data is sourced, what's AI-assisted, and known limitations.