How to Plant and Grow Verbena

Verbena is the ideal plant to cascade over retaining walls, containers, baskets, and window boxes. As long as its soil is well-drained, verbena will reward gardeners with countless clusters of blooms all season. It is also drought-tolerant, making it an excellent choice for rock gardens and for planting in cracks between stones.

Verbena flowers are held in constantly blooming circles atop the tips of the stems. These flower stalks bloom all season long and continue to grow, producing new buds all the time. This eliminates the need for deadheading, as they bloom on top of wilted flowers. Petals on the verbena flower are varied, with fringed edges, stripes, white eyes, and streaks of color.

Where to Plant Verbena

Verbena needs eight hours of full sun in moderately rich, well-draining soil to produce a seemingly endless supply of blooms. It is ideal for climbing fences and trellises or cascading from baskets, but it is just as happy in rock gardens or as a groundcover. Other varieties are more upright and a good option for smaller spaces and containers.

Verbena grows as an annual in many areas but is hardy in USDA Zones 7-9.

How and When to Plant Verbena

In spring, after all danger of frost has passed, set verbena plants into the garden. Loosen well-draining soil to a depth of 12 inches and space the plants 12 to 18 inches apart. Remove the verbenas from their pots and loosen the roots if they are pot-bound. Set them in the ground at the same depth as in the nursery containers and water them regularly until they are established.

Verbena Care Tips

Light

Plant verbena in a location that receives eight to ten hours of sun daily. The plant will live with only six hours of sun daily but won’t flower prolifically.

Soil and Water

Soil that is not well-draining should be amended with compost or leaf mold before planting verbena. The plant tolerates several soil conditions, but having wet feet is not one of them. After they are established, verbena plants have average water needs—an inch of water once a week is sufficient—and can tolerate short periods of drought.

Temperature and Humidity

Verbena plants are cool weather stars. They flower in spring, weeks before most other plants in a garden, and again in autumn when the weather cools. In the heat of the summer, they may slow down their showy display.

In general, verbenas are not fans of heat and humidity. Annual verbenas don’t perform well in hot, damp summers.

Fertilizer

Applying fertilizer with a 3-1-2 ratio, such as 16-4-8, in late spring and again after trimming the plants is usually sufficient unless they grow in poor, sandy soil. For the amount to use, follow the product label directions.

Pruning

When the summer heat arrives, annual verbenas may slow down on blooming or become leggy. If this happens, trim up to one-third of the plant, but no more, to improve its appearance and encourage autumn blooms.

When growing verbenas as perennials, cut back the old stems of the plant to 2 inches before new growth starts in spring.

Potting and Repotting Verbena

Verbenas are excellent additions to window boxes, hanging baskets, or other containers. The size of verbenas varies considerably; choose a pot that will hold three plants for the best display. Select containers that offer excellent drainage and fill them with high-quality potting medium. Don’t move the container outside until after the last frost in spring. Put the container in a sunny spot and water it when the soil is dry to 1 inch. If your verbena is an annual, it won’t need repotting; it will die at season’s end. If it is a perennial, repot it in a slightly larger container with fresh potting soil, and you may get another year or two out of the short-lived perennial.

Pests and Problems

As far as problems go, verbenas are relatively free of disease. The biggest concern is mildew, which shows up on the plants as a powdery white residue on the leaves and eventually causes the plant to slowly decline in vigor. It will not kill a plant but will stress it. The best solution for powdery mildew is to plant verbena in an area with good air circulation, ensuring the plant’s leaves dry out well after rain or watering. If this has been a problem in the garden in the past, clean up any old plant debris, such as dead leaves or stems on the ground. Cleaning up old material is the best prevention. Rotate placement so the same susceptible plants aren’t in the same spot each year.

How to Propagate Verbena

If you’re interested in growing annual verbenas in your garden or containers, you can start them from seed. However, if the plant is a hybrid, stem cuttings are a better propagation method because they result in seedings that are identical to the parent plants.

When starting from seed, sprinkle seeds over rich, well-draining topsoil in spring and don’t cover them. Keep the soil moist, and the seeds will germinate in a few weeks.

Start plants from cuttings in late spring. Cut a 3-inch stem with no flowers on it. Remove all but the topmost one or two sets of leaves. Dip the cutting into rooting hormone and plant the cutting in a small pot filled with moist, well-draining planting medium. Place the pot with cutting inside a clear plastic bag. Place it in a location that receives bright light—not full sun. The stem will begin to root in about six weeks.

Types of Verbena

Many common verbenas are hybrids of different species.

‘Aztec Red Velvet’ Verbena

Aztec red verbena (Verbena ‘Aztec Red Velvet’) offers rich red flowers with a creamy center on a plant that spreads to 12 inches. It has a trailing growth habit and spills over the sides of a container.

‘Babylon White’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Babylon White’ bears pure white flowers on a trailing plant. It’s more disease-resistant than many other verbenas. This early bloomer resists mildew and is drought-tolerant.

‘Fuego Dark Violet’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Fuego Dark Violet’ is a vigorous selection with large clusters of rich, violet-purple flowers and excellent heat tolerance. This lovely plant grows to 2 feet tall and blooms repeatedly throughout the season.

‘Fuego Pink’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Fuego Pink’ offers rich pink flowers on a vigorous spreading plant. It blooms from late spring to mid fall.

‘Fuego Red’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Fuego Red’ is a fast-growing variety that shows off big clusters of star-shaped, brilliant red flowers that are excellent in cut flower arrangements.

‘Imagination’ Verbena

Verbena tenuisecta ‘Imagination’ is a popular deep violet-purple variety that grows 8–12 inches tall and spreads beautifully in hanging baskets. It is also attractive as a flowering groundcover on a slope.

‘Lanai Lavender Star’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Lanai Lavender Star’ bears clusters of lavender-purple flowers striped in white. It grows 10 inches tall and 24 inches wide. The flowers of this plant do not set seed; they are sterile.

‘Lascar Burgundy’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Lascar Burgundy’ is a mounding plant with medium-sized burgundy-red flowers. It flowers early and is excellent in combination with other verbenas.

‘Peaches and Cream’ Verbena

Verbena x hybrida ‘Peaches and Cream’ is a showstopper with peach and creamy-white blooms. Plants are 8–10 inches tall and spread 12 inches. It is particularly attractive to butterflies.

‘Quartz Silver’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Quartz Silver’ is a compact, upright variety with white flowers flushed with silvery lavender. It grows 8 inches tall and wide and is frost-tolerant and heat-tolerant. It attracts bees and butterflies.

‘Temari Patio Red’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Temari Patio Red’ offers bright red flowers on mounding plants 14 inches tall. It is perfect for hanging baskets and is winter-hardy in mild areas.

‘Superbena Pink Parfait’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Superbena Pink Parfait’ shows off wonderful soft-pink flowers over fuzzy, disease-resistant foliage. It grows 12 inches tall and spreads to 24 inches. It is lovely in the garden or containers.

‘Superbena Large Lilac Blue’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Superbena Large Lilac Blue’ is a vigorous selection with good disease resistance that bears large lilac-blue flowers. It grows 12 inches tall and can spread 4 feet across as a groundcover. It will trail over the sides of a container or hanging basket.

‘Superbena Burgundy’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Superbena Burgundy’ is a vigorous selection of rich burgundy flowers from spring to fall. It grows 12 inches tall and can spread 4 feet across as a groundcover. It is lovely trailing over the sides of containers or hanging baskets.

‘Tropical Breeze Red and White’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Tropical Breeze Red and White’ offers good resistance to powdery mildew and shows off white flowers liberally streaked in red. It grows to 18 inches tall and spreads to 20 inches.

‘Tukana Scarlet Star’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Tukana Scarlet Star’ features large bright red flowers with a sparkling white eye. It’s heat tolerant and flowers all summer, growing 8 inches tall and 24 inches wide.

‘Temari Bright Pink’ Verbena

Verbena ‘Temari Bright Pink’ is a trailing selection with clusters of bright pink flowers that bear tiny white eyes in summer. It trails to 1 foot.

Purpletop Vervain

Purpletop vervain (Verbena bonariensis) is a tall, purple-blooming, prairie-type verbena that happily reseeds in the garden. It is upright and clump-forming.

Verbena Companion Plants

Larkspur

The pale and dark blues of larkspur are some of the prettiest you’ll find in the garden, and they come with little effort. Plant larkspur once and allow the flower heads to ripen, scattering their seed, and you’ll be assured of a steady supply of larkspur in your garden for decades. Larkspur is basically an annual version of delphinium, an all-time favorite perennial. Larkspur produces lovely spikes of blue, purple, pink, or white flowers in spring and summer. They look best clustered in small patches. Like many cool-season annuals, it’s a good winter-blooming plant for the Deep South. Plant larkspur from seed directly in the garden in early spring. Larkspur doesn’t like to be transplanted. It prefers rich, well-drained soil and ample water. When hot weather strikes and larkspur starts to brown and fade, pull out the plants, leaving a few to brown and reseed.

Petunia

Petunias are failproof favorites for gardeners everywhere. They are vigorous growers and prolific bloomers from mid spring through late fall. Color choices are nearly limitless, with some sporting beautiful veining and intriguing colors. Many varieties are sweetly fragrant. Some also tout themselves as “weatherproof,” meaning the flowers don’t close up when water splashes on them. Wave petunias made this plant even more popular. Reaching up to 4 feet long, it’s excellent as a groundcover or when cascading from window boxes and pots. All petunias do best and grow bushier and fuller if you pinch or cut them back by one- to two-thirds in midsummer.

Snapdragon

Few gardens should be without the easy charm of snapdragons. They get their name because you can gently squeeze the sides of the intricately shaped flower and see the jaws of a dragon head snap closed. The blooms come in gorgeous colors, including some with beautiful color variations on each flower. Plus, snapdragons are an outstanding cut flower. Snapdragons are especially useful because they’re a cool-season annual, coming into their own in early spring when the warm-season annuals, such as marigolds and impatiens, are just being planted. They’re also great for fall color. Plant snapdragon in early spring, a few weeks before your region’s last frost date. Deadhead regularly for best bloom and fertilize regularly. Snapdragons often self-seed in the landscape if not deadheaded, so they come back year after year, although the colors from hybrid plants will often be muddy-looking. In temperate regions, the entire plant may overwinter if covered with mulch.