Fireweed vs Early Blue Violet - TreeTime.ca

Fireweed vs Early Blue Violet

Chamaenerion angustifolium (Epilobium angustifolium)

Viola adunca

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Fireweed
Early Blue Violet

Fireweed is a native perennial wildflower known for its tall spikes of bright pink to purple blooms. Its long-lasting summer flowers are an important nectar source for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, while its seeds provide food for birds. Its showy, long-lasting display makes it visually striking in naturalized plantings.

Fireweed gets its namesake because it is often one of the first species to return after wildfires, supporting ecosystem recovery. Its wind-dispersed seeds allow it to spread readily, making it highly effective in large-scale restoration, revegetation, and naturalization projects.
Fireweed is the Provincial Flower of the Yukon.

Early Blue Violet is a low-growing native perennial wildflower valued for its striking early-spring blooms. The flowers range in color from vibrant blue to deep violet, often marked with pale highlights and fine white hairs. They provide an important early nectar source for pollinators and serve as a host plant for several fritillary butterfly species.

It spreads by both seed and rhizomes, gradually forming small colonies. Its dark green, heart-shaped leaves add ornamental appeal, and the plant shows some resistance to deer browsing. Early Blue Violet is well-suited to naturalization projects and pollinator-friendly gardens, and has also been used in coastal butterfly habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest.

Fireweed Quick Facts

Early Blue Violet Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 2a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
Spread: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, dense, colony-forming
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - high, rhizomes - high
Spreading: seeds - medium, rhizomes - medium
Maintenance: medium
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: rhizomes, fruit, seed poisonous to humans
Flowers: pink-purple spikes
Flowers: purple to blue-violet
Bloom time: mid summer to fall
Bloom time: mid spring to early summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, YT, NT
Other Names: fire weed, great willowherb, rosebay willowherb, willow herb
Other Names: dog violet, hookedspur violet, sand violet, western blue violet