Verbena Care
- Light. Plant verbena in full sun. ...
- Soil. These plants like fairly dry soil with slightly acidic to neutral pH (5.8 to 7.2). ...
- Water. Many of the parent species of these hybrids are native to Mediterranean regions or dry prairies, and their water needs resemble the conditions of those regions.
- Temperature and Humidity. ...
- Fertilizer. ...
Does verbena need sun or shade?
All verbena needs to grow in full sun to light shade in well-draining soil. Perennial verbenas are heat tolerant and drought tolerant once established. They do well in xeriscape gardens. Verbena is generally referred to as long blooming.
How to propagate verbena easily?
Propagating Homestead Verbena
- Cuttings in Water. The simplest way to propagate homestead verbena may be to root the plants in water. ...
- Cuttings in Potting Soil. Homestead verbena roots well in starter pots as well. ...
- Naturally Rooted. "Homestead Purple" verbena is occasionally helpful enough to root itself. ...
- From Seed. ...
How to prune verbena shrubs that are too tall?
Verbena Pruning Tips
- Trim Verbena in the spring to remove dead or overgrown sections.
- Verbena can be pruned throughout the growing season to maintain a consistent look.
- Do not cut back more than one-third of the plant. ...
- Clean your pruning shears or scissors before and after use to prevent the spread of bacteria or fungus.
How to prune verbena?
Trimming Perennial Verbena (Cold Hardy) In cool climates, where temperatures drop near or below freezing, after winter you can clean up your perennial verbena plants up by using sharp scissors or bypass hand pruners to remove any damaged or dead plant parts. After trimming a flower fertilizer can be applied as directed on the product label.
See more
How do you keep potted verbena blooming?
Pruning and deadheading: Although most do not require deadheading to keep them blooming, you may want to trim back trailing varieties if they begin to overtake containers or crowd out other plants in the garden. Give them a light trim every now and then for fuller plants and more prolific flowering.
Do I need to deadhead verbena?
Deadhead faded flowers or blooms to ensure that blooming continues all through the gardening season. Some people do not regularly deadhead faded blooms. But, deadheading is necessary if you plant verbena for summer blooms. If the blooms slow, trim the whole plant by a quarter for a new show of flowers in 2 to 3 weeks.
How do you look after verbena in pots?
Containers are great for Verbena, as established plants are somewhat drought-tolerant, and they like to dry out between watering. Container-grown Verbena usually needs water once a week, but feel the soil and water when the top few inches are dry to the touch.
Does verbena grow well in pots?
It's easily grown in containers, and a verbena hanging basket filled with trailing varieties creates a spectacular visual accent on the patio or indoors. Whether started from seed or established plants, even novice container gardeners can grow it.
Should I cut verbena back?
Garden care: In cold conditions Verbena bonariensis can suffer dieback if cut back in autumn, so it's best to leave the plant until spring and cut back the old growth when you see the new shoots emerging at the base.
Why is my verbena dying?
If left unpruned, it may appear to be dying as it goes to seed. Overwatering is also deadly for the verbena so water only when the soil is dry. Too much fertilizer or fertilizer applied on a hot day can burn the plant's roots which can kill it.
Can verbena be a houseplant?
With the right knowledge about growing lemon verbena as a houseplant, you can enjoy the beautiful fragrance and delicious, refreshing taste throughout the year.
How often should I water potted verbena?
While the verbena flower is drought resistant, the blooms are improved with regular watering of an inch (2.5 cm.) or so each week. Water verbena plants at the base to avoid wetting the foliage. However, verbena plant care may not include weekly water if rainfall in your area has reached an inch (2.5 cm.) or more.
Can verbena be grown indoors?
But if you'd like to keep your tender perennials year after year, you can winterize your fuchsia, geranium or verbena plant to enjoy again in the spring by bringing it indoors.
Can verbena survive winter?
Overly severe fall pruning can reduce cold hardiness and plants may not survive a cold winter. Most verbenas are short-lived, so you should plan on replacing them after two or three years. However, some species can re-seed and naturalize in the garden.
Does verbena need sun or shade?
It wants at least six hours of sunlight a day, prefers well-drained soil but isn't picky about the quality of the soil, and needs about an inch of rain a week. Those requirements are not unusual for most annuals, but unlike other, tougher plants, verbena does not recover well from lapses in care.
Can you put verbena in hanging baskets?
Trailing plants like petunias, verbena and calibrachoa are best for planting your hanging basket. They cascade over the basket sides, where their flowers can be easily seen from below.
What is verbena care?
Fall verbena care is focused on getting the plant ready for the coming winter and involves deadheading. Even flowers that are drooping but aren’t already spent should be removed.
How Often to Water Verbena?
The rule of thumb you may already be acquainted with for watering verbena plants is an inch of rain per week is the amount of water the verbena plant needs.
Why is my verbena plant getting wet?
Especially the foliage. Verbena favors watering from the base so the water (and fertilizer) is directly fed to the plant roots and kept away from the foliage. Feed the roots and let them take care of the plants.
How to deadhead verbena in the summer?
Deadheading is best done throughout the summer by cutting around 2-inches below the tip of flower to both encourage new growth and to control height. Fall verbena care is focused on getting the plant ready for the coming winter and involves deadheading.
How to lighten soil for verbena?
If you find your garden soil is heavy on clay or has more rocks than soil, one way to lighten it is to add sand. That can be effective at improving drainage and air circulation, both of which are fundamental for verbena care.
Can verbena blooms be irreversible?
A lapse in the care of the verbena plant at any point is usually irreversible as they tend not to recover well. To get the most blooms from the verbena plant, care and attention needs to be a priority. This isn’t the type of bloomer you can plant and forget, relying on nature to meet the plant’s nutritional requirements.
Can verbena be planted in clay?
The advantage of using this is the clay soil is better at releasing moisture as it tends to hold water. That’s the reason you don’t want to be planting verbena plants directly in clay heavy soil.
Why is my verbena flowering?
One of the most fuss-free flowering plants you can grow, verbena suffers from few pest or disease problems. When issues do arise, they are usually caused by lack of enough sunlight or poorly drained soil. Here are some stress signals to look for and potential solutions.
What is lemon verbena used for?
Its leaves give off a lemony scent when rubbed and are widely used in aromatherapy products, perfume, medicine, and as a culinary herb.
How far does a trailing verbena spread?
A trailing verbena characterized by a multibranching growth habit, spreading up to 3 feet to create a dense low-growing carpet of blooms. Also highly mildew resistant and thrive under a wide range of weather conditions.
How tall is a verbena plant?
There are also tall verbena varieties ( Verbena bonariensis ), also called Brazilian vervain or purpletop vervain. Plants are 4- to 5-feet-tall, usually grown as an annual, and have 2-inch clusters of flowers on slender but sturdy stems.
Why are my verbenas leggy?
Leggy plants and sparse flowering are often a result of too much shade. Move your verbenas to a spot in the garden where they get 6 or more hours of sun. Verbenas recover well after transplanting, so don't hesitate to relocate your plants to a better location. Powdery mildew is the most common problem seen in verbena.
What color is the verbena?
The purple flowers on this verbena stand out from the others with icy-white eyes. For a different take on the purple and white color scheme, try Superbena Stormburst, which has pale violet flowers with distinctive white stripes.
When does blue vervain bloom?
Mainly known for its use as a medicinal herb, blue vervain ( Verbena hastata) grows 2 to 6 feet tall and blooms July to September. In the wild, it forms colonies with slow-spreading rhizomes and self-seeds.
How much sun does a verbena plant need?
When you are ready to learn how to grow verbena, you’ll want to locate this tough specimen where it gets eight to ten hours of sun each day.
Can verbena be lost in winter?
Perennial varieties of the verbena flower are often lost when planted in soil that becomes soggy following heavy winter snow or spring rain. Good drainage can offset this problem. Improve drainage before planting verbena by working in well-composted, organic material.
Can verbena be planted in summer?
Continued blooms throughout the summer are possible if the gardener keeps the plant trimmed back. Some are hesitant to remove parts of the plant regularly, but this is often necessary when planting verbena for summer blooms.
How much sun does a verbena plant need?
Verbena is generally pretty happy-go-lucky. It wants at least six hours of sunlight a day, prefers well-drained soil but isn’t picky about the quality of the soil, and needs about an inch of rain a week.
How tall do verbenas grow?
Best Places to Grow. While some varieties of the flower grow upright and top out at a height of about three feet, most of us are probably familiar with the shorter varieties of verbena available in shades of red, purple, white, blue, and pink. These are perfect as an accent to almost any combination of other annuals.
What to do if your plants get infected with mildew?
If your plants do become infected with a fungal problem like powdery mildew, a general-purpose fungicide should do the trick until conditions dry up. Insects seem to cause more trouble for this flower than anything else, and unfortunately the list of potential pests is extensive.
How often should I cut back a rose plant?
Some sources suggest cutting the plant back twice a season, but I do it more often; I’ve found that removing spent foliage once a month or so is ideal for keeping your flowers in bloom.
What to do if your plants are refusing to flower?
If your plants are refusing to flower or are grown out and leggy, a quick haircut is the trick to encouraging those blossoms to start forming again .
Is verbena a happy flower?
My frustrations were grounded in the sheer volume of plant material to take care of, and now that I’ve spent time with verbena in a smaller and more easily manageable setting, I’ve found it to be a lovely and happy flower to grow.
Does verbena need extra care?
Flash forward years later and I recognize that, yes, this flower does need a bit of extra care to be at its best, but not that much. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products.
What color are verbena flowers?
Verbena flowers come in an array of cheerful hues including red, pink, apricot, lavender, purple, blue, white and bicolors. Clusters of small star-shaped flowers on mounding, trailing or upright plants are complemented by green lanced-shaped leaves with finely toothed edges.
When does verbena bloom?
When grown in optimal conditions, annual verbena can bloom continuously from the time of planting until the first hard frost. Perennial types flower from summer into fall.
How tall is a verbena plant?
Garden verbena ( V. x hybrida ), with a mounding or trailing habit, is the type most commonly grown. Plants can reach 6-18” tall and 12-30” wide. Hardy in USDA zones 8-11, this tender perennial is most often treated as an annual. Dozens of varieties come in a range of flower colors. Popular for hanging baskets, window boxes, container gardens and landscape beds.
How tall does a purple verbena grow?
Purpletop verbena ( V. bonariensis ), also known as tall verbena, is an upright form with purple flowers. Hardy in USDA zones 7-11, plants grow 3-6’ tall and 1-3’ wide. Highly attractive to butterflies and other pollinating insects, the open airy form makes this useful as a background or structural plant.
What type of soil does Verbena thrive in?
Soil: Verbena thrives in soil amended with compost, but can adapt to many soil types as long as there is good drainage. Compacted or clay soil can lead to root rot.
What zone do verbenas grow in?
Most are grown as annuals, but some common types are hardy in USDA zones 7-11.
What is superbena violet ice?
Superbena ® Violet Ice has deep lavender flowers with a large white eye that creates a riveting effect. Blooms may be somewhat variable. Allow enough room to accommodate the vigorous growth so nearby plants aren’t overwhelmed. Use this trailing annual at the front of beds or as a spiller element in containers.
How to grow verbenas again?
Consider using cuttings to multiply your verbena stock, if you want to grow them again. Cut a stem just below the node, or thickened place on a stem. Plant them in soil and keep them moist and shaded until they take root.
What are common mistakes with verbena care?
Overwatering and watering from overhead are common mistakes with verbena care.
How long does it take for verbena seeds to sprout?
Keep the soil damp but not overwatered. Use warm water to keep the soil warmer during germination. Seeds will take approximately one month to sprout.
What color are verbena plants?
Buying the verbena plants allows you to ask the clerks how tall they grow and compare different colors. You can find verbena plants in white, red, purple, pink or multi-colored varieties. ...
How to encourage flowers to grow?
Fertilize the ground with flower fertilizer, and fertilize it monthly for the rest of the growing season. During the first few weeks after planting, water your plant to keep the soil moist. To encourage your flowers to grow, prune ¼ of the plant’s top growth after the first full bloom.
Can I give my plants enough water?
Community Answer. You might not be giving them the proper amount of water. Review the watering steps in the article to ensure that your plant isn't getting too much or not enough water. I would also recommend mixing some fertilizer into the soil to give your plants a nutrient boost.
Is verbena a perennial or annual?
It is an annual in seasonal climates and a perennial in warmer areas, where blooms are frequent and colorful throughout the summer. Steps.
How to protect verbena plants in winter?
Add mulch around the plant to protect it during winter. Once you have finished deadheading, add a layer of mulch around the base of the plant. You can use a mulch that contains wood shavings, leaf mold, or compost. This will help protect the verbena in the winter.
What is it called when you tip a verbena plant?
This is called tipping the plant. It can help the plant branch out, which will give you a fuller, bushier verbena plant instead of a sprawling or patchy plant.
How to get rid of flowers that droop?
As the flowers begin to droop, fade, or die, cut them off at the base of the flower. You can also twist the stem and pinch the flowers or seed heads off. Throw them in a compost pile or in the trash. [11]
What to wear when trimming a garden?
Make sure to wear protective clothing, like gloves, when trimming in the garden.
When do verbenas bloom?
This usually occurs in the middle of the season. Verbena plants often have brilliant first blooms, but if you don’t trim these, the plant may not produce more flowers over the summer. Don’t be afraid to trim the plant while the first blooms are still in place.
Can verbena be planted in winter?
If you allow the verbena to propagate naturally, you won’t be able to control the spread of verbena, but the new seedlings may be hardier and more drought resistant than verbena grown from clippings. Some people prefer to leave seed heads in winter because it helps liven up the winter garden.
Do you disinfect shears before or after pruning?
Make sure to disinfect your shears both before and after pruning diseased plants with rubbing alcohol.
Cultivation
- Gardeners looking for a flowering annual with a long blooming time and an ability to attract butterflies should consider the reliable verbena. This versatile plant comes in more than 250 perennial and annual varieties that range from vivid trailing plants with copious blooms and plan…
Culture
- Keep plants evenly moist until established, when they can tolerate some dry spells. Verbena is somewhat drought tolerant, and it certainly does not do well in boggy conditions, but you must not underwater it either. Soggy plants will succumb to botrytis blight, but drought-stressed plants will attract spider mites. Water verbena as you might your lawn, with an inch of rain or irrigation eac…
Climate
- Annual verbena may decline quickly when summer weather turns hot and humid. In warmer climates, perennial verbenas may grow better than the annual form.
Benefits
- All verbenas benefit greatly from regular deadheading. This not only removes the seed heads that signal the plant to rest but also helps to keep sprawling plants in their place in your landscape. If you have a large planting of low-growing verbena, you can accomplish this quickly with a string trimmer.
Risks
- Verbena is vulnerable to a range of houseplant pests. Some, such as leafminers, are just an annoyance, but others (aphids, spider mites, scale, mealybugs, whiteflies, and thrips) can wreak havoc on your plants if you don't take steps to control the infestation. If your verbenas show signs of insect pest infestation, you will have to weigh your desire to use an insecticide with your desir…
Flora and fauna
- All types of verbena are welcome in the butterfly garden. Tall varieties belong in the cottage garden, naturalized meadow, or back of the border. A companion planting of bronze fennel with tall verbena is the perfect way to support a butterfly's life cycle, as swallowtail butterflies like to feed on the bronze fennel foliage, and the adults are nourished by the nectar-rich verbena flowers.
Uses
- Verbena plants are available in a variety of heights and a range of colors that cover the pink, red, and purple spectrum. All of the plants bear clusters of shallow flowers that butterflies find irresistible. Many plants have lacy or needle-like foliage. Verbena plants have a rich history in herbal medicine and are still used as a remedy for digestive ills and insomnia.