Take the Fuss Out of Verbena: A Growing Guide

Verbena spp.

The first time I interacted with verbena, I kind of hated it.

I was working at a garden center many years ago and discovered quickly the shoulder pain incurred from watering over one hundred hanging baskets at a time, especially for one particular flower.

Verbena was a troublemaker as far as I was concerned, a flower that refused to stay attractive unless I babied it.

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.

Top down view of a various colors of Verbena flowers in bloom.

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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.

Take the benefit of my experience in learning how to speak the language of this flower, then put it to use in your own garden!

Verbena Basics

“Tears of Isis” is a nickname for verbena and probably one of the coolest common flower names I’ve ever seen. Although the flower is native to the Americas and to Asia, it is a popular plant around the world.

Bicolor pink and white verbena flowers

Images of the flowers have been carved as wards and talismans against the evil eye, and the plants were supposedly used to staunch the wounds of Jesus after his removal from the cross, apocryphal though that may be. Verbena has also been used as an herbal tonic through the years, and in aromatherapy.

Verbena can be grown as a perennial or an annual, more commonly as the latter. Brace yourself for some self-seeding craziness; the taller, upright variety has pestered me for this entire summer since it blew into my herb bed!

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.

A butterfly sits on top of a purple verbena bloom cluster.

You’ll find verbena in butterfly gardens as well. All types of pollinators from hummingbirds to butterflies to bees love these clustered flowers and will be regular visitors wherever it is found.

These are often used as a filler or a spiller plant in containers but may perk up many areas in the garden too. My favorite use for verbena is to add a red variety with red-and-orange marigolds and some dusty miller. The colors practically bark summertime, but they can pass as fall colors too!

Growing Essentials

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.

Clumps of white verbena flowers. Close up.

Those requirements are not unusual for most annuals, but unlike other, tougher plants, verbena does not recover well from lapses in care. Without regular attention it will turn into a burnt-up, flowerless clump of unappealing foliage.

Luckily, that extra attention doesn’t take much time out of your gardening schedule. Keep in mind that if you’re growing your flowers in the ground, they’ll require less attention since their roots can “dig deeper” and often solve their own problems, while container-grown plants need much more frequent and regular care since they’re in a more isolated environment.

Careful Watering

Watering is the biggest hangup I’ve seen people experience with these flowering annuals. Too often, the gardener will soak the soil too much and cause the stems of the plant to rot, or they won’t water at all and the once-lush foliage crisps up into something like a breakfast cereal.

The best solution is to simply inspect your verbena every day during hot or dry weather. Once the foliage begins to flag (garden speak for turning limp and hanging like a flag on a windless day), it’s time to give it a drink. While an inch of rain a week is a good guideline that can be difficult to measure, an inch of rain during scorching weather isn’t going to be enough to keep the plants happy.

A Good Haircut Here and There

Verbena tends to get pretty leggy as it grows, and this was part of my initial dislike of the plant. But enough time and experience with this annual led me to discover that all it needs to perk right back up is a good shearing a few times a year.

Close up of apricot colored verbena blossoms.

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.

The amount you remove is dependent on how often you’re doing it. If you cut the spent foliage and flowers back once or twice a year, you can safely remove up to a third of the plant and still expect a flush of new flowers.

If you’re cutting it back more often you’ll remove less, maybe a few inches at a time, or just the spent blooms themselves.

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.

A Boost of Nutrients

More than other annuals I’ve worked with, these blooming annuals require frequent feeding.

My go-to fertilizer for annuals has always been Jack’s All Purpose 20-20-20 Fertilizer, available via Amazon. It’s water soluble, safe to use when applied as directed, and works really, really well.

J R Peters Jacks Classic 20-20-20 All Purpose Fertilizer (via Amazon)

I’ll give my plants a boost of Jack’s every two weeks at the directed amount (about 1 tablespoon per gallon). These prolific flowers respond well to a regular meal, so feed ‘em often!

Dealing With Problems

Like most plants, verbena can be susceptible to fungal issues in wet conditions. Avoid this by practicing smart water techniques and encouraging ample air circulation. Use a soaker hose, or water in the morning so plants can dry before nighttime sets in.

Spectracide Immunox 3-in-1 Insect & Disease Control (via Amazon)

If your plants do become infected with a fungal problem like powdery mildew, a general-purpose fungicide, available via Amazon, 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.

A field of purple verbena.

Aphids, caterpillars, gall midges, leaf miners, mealybugs, mites, scale, and whiteflies are the most common annoyances. If you can’t tolerate these pests on your plant, an insecticidal soap can be used, or the suggested fungicide above can be used on insects as well. But before you start spraying, consider that the pests might not be a huge problem.

An acceptable level of loss should be something every gardener is aware of simply because our environment is soaked in pesticides and other harmful sprays. If we can let a few aphids dine on our annuals before we start squirting on the chemicals, we’ll be better off for it in the end.

Besides, insects are part of a healthy garden, even if those insects occasionally damage our favorite ornamentals!

Where Can I Buy?

Great question! You’ll be able to find live verbena at almost any garden center during the spring and summer growing season, but starting from seed is a relatively easy process.

They can take a long time to flower, with some requiring as many as 90 days, so be patient while waiting for these beauties to open up.

Start your seeds indoors about ten weeks or so before the last freeze date. Sow a few seeds per cell or container, and prepare to wait as long as three weeks for them to germinate. Cover the seeds with a light layer of soil; they need darkness to germinate!

Once they start popping up, thin the seedlings out once they reach a height of about two inches, choosing the healthiest and strongest seedling per cell to keep.

Harden the seedlings off outdoors, and plant them outside when they’re hardy!

I like to take a week to harden my seedlings to the outdoor conditions by following this simple schedule:

  • On Day 1: Keep your seedlings outdoors for an hour and bring them back in.
  • On Day 2: Keep your seedlings outdoors for two hours and bring them back in.
  • On Day 3: Keep your seedlings outdoors for three hours and bring them back in.

Continue this process, adding one hour to their outdoor duration on each day of the week, and by day seven your seedlings should be completely hardened to the outdoors.

Favorite Varieties

Imagination

For a taller and more upright flower, consider the ‘Imagination’ verbena. I love that dark purple color, and these flowers will add a nice bit of variety and texture to your garden beds and containers.

A close up of a cluster of Imagination Verbena flowers.

Imagination Verbena

The plant will reach a height of about sixteen inches.

Find them on True Leaf Market.

Bonariensis Verbena

This is a more primitive species of verbena that’s more true to its wild relatives. A favorite in cottage gardens, this drought-tolerant variety will grow as a perennial in zones 7-10. It’s a big attractant of butterflies and bees.

A close up square image of Verbena bonarinensis growing in the garden pictured on a soft focus background.

Burpee Bonariensis Verbena Seeds

It has clusters of small violet-blue flowers with just a few leaves.

Find it now available at Burpee.

Quartz XP

Like a little variety in your life? Check out the ‘Quartz XP’ series. These flowers are far from subtle and demand to be seen – but when they look this good, that’s not a problem!

A clump of Quartz XP verbena in mixed colors.

Quartz XP Series Verbena Seeds

They will rarely reach heights taller than a foot. Available in Burgundy Eye, Red with Eye, Scarlet, Silver, White, Blue, or Mix.

Find them on True Leaf Market.

Now Get Growing!

Verbena is a lovely flower that demands nothing more than some regular love, and that makes it an excellent addition to the garden beds or containers of the gardener who enjoys tending to their plants, no matter how fussy they are.

A close up of a clump of red verbena flowers.

You’ll have luck mixing your verbena with marigolds, canna lilies, heliotropes, and other sun-loving annuals, or just throwing it right into your butterfly garden. As long as you’ve got the desire to tend to this little flower when it needs your love, you won’t be disappointed when adding this flower to your garden.

Thanks for reading! Drop us a line in the comments below to share your experience growing these beauties.

And if you enjoyed this guide, check out some our other flower growing guides such as:

Photo credit: True Leaf Market, Burpee Seed Co, Shutterstock.

Photo of author

About

Matt Suwak was reared by the bear and the bobcat and the coyote of rural Pennsylvania. This upbringing keeps him permanently affixed to the outdoors where most of his personal time is invested in gardening, bird watching, and hiking. He presently resides in Philadelphia and works under the sun as a landscaper and gardener, and by moonlight as a writer. An incessant questioning of “Why?” affords him countless opportunities to ponder the (in)significance of the great and the small. He considers folksy adages priceless treasures and is fueled almost entirely by beer and hot sauce.

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Carolyn J Woodward
Carolyn J Woodward (@guest_4090)
4 years ago

I live in the high desert Southwest. Last year I planted several healthy verbena plants. Over the winter they lost their leaves and flowers. So far (May 10) there still is no sign of tiny leaves or buds. I fear they died over the winter. Why would this be?

Allison Sidhu
Allison Sidhu(@allison-sidhu)
Reply to  Carolyn J Woodward
4 years ago

High desert areas are known for temperature extremes, which general hardiness zone recommendations may not account for. Verbena is generally hardy in zones 7-11 and it is heat and drought tolerant, but it needs regular watering if you live in an area that doesn’t get regular rainfall. There are also some annual species that will not come back each year, and perennial varieties of this plant can be short-lived. Do you know what species you had? What were the conditions like in winter in your area? There may be another species available that is more suited to your climate.

phung
phung (@guest_4157)
4 years ago

The work of growing and caring flowers always brings interesting things. I am happy when the flowers are the most beautiful when blooming.

Angela
Angela (@guest_4729)
4 years ago

Nice article! Verbena is new to me this year. I’m figuring it out as well. I find that mine do not bloom continuously they explode in bloom then go dormant about two weeks and do it all over again. I wish I could keep a continual bloom but seems it’s on an all-at-once schedule. I hope I can keep them during the winter in Texas. Sheltering them as needed. Thanks!

Carmen
Carmen (@guest_8339)
3 years ago

Please add a way to print your article!! This is very informative and I’m sure your readers would like to keep all this information as I do and will keep it in a binder as a reference!

Allison Sidhu
Allison Sidhu(@allison-sidhu)
Reply to  Carmen
3 years ago

Sorry we don’t have a print format option available, Carmen. What you might like to do is save your favorite articles as a PDF.

Marilyn Waddell
Marilyn Waddell (@guest_8356)
3 years ago

My verbena is getting brown on the tips of the leaves so is it too dry or to wet?

Sue
Sue (@guest_8850)
Reply to  Matt Suwak
3 years ago

Sending you a picture of my current verbena issue – any suggestions?

2AAA91E4-9C23-4245-86F5-BFE5EC83D5A7.jpeg
Lorna Kring
Lorna Kring(@lornakring)
Gardening Writer
Reply to  Sue
3 years ago

Your potted plant is looking spent, Sue, but it can bounce back with some attention.

I suggest you cut it back by half, water deeply, then apply a water soluble, all purpose fertilizer.

Maintain regular, deep watering, deadhead as needed, and fertilize every two weeks until the end of the growing season.

This should produce a second wave of growth and flowers for you to enjoy. Thanks for asking!

Hannah
Hannah (@guest_8858)
3 years ago

This article was very helpful. Recently got verbena, the quartz one.

Maureen Paton
Maureen Paton (@guest_10098)
3 years ago

Here in the UK, the Summer season has come to an end, and I have Verbena in a pot, and I wonder if one can collect seeds from the plant for next year. Good article on Verbena.

Allison Sidhu
Allison Sidhu(@allison-sidhu)
Reply to  Maureen Paton
3 years ago

These flowers self-seed readily, but it should be easy to collect these at the end of the season for replanting since you are growing yours in a container (rather than in a garden bed where the seeds may scatter around the flower beds). Wait for the seed heads to dry on the plant, clip them, and place them in a pie plate or on a rimmed baking sheet to dry fully in a cool, dry place for about a week. The seeds are very tiny, so some gardeners don’t even separate them from the chaff before putting them in jars… Read more »

Maureen Paton
Maureen Paton (@guest_10101)
3 years ago

I live in the UK and the Summer has just ended. I have a pot of Verbena, and wonder if there are seeds from the flower that I can sow next year. Good Article.

shelley r mckinney
shelley r mckinney (@guest_12702)
2 years ago

Great article!! I followed your simple directions and they went from scrappy to beautiful, almost overnight (merely a few days)

Sandra Dunham
Sandra Dunham (@guest_13097)
2 years ago

Want to know how to deadhead verbena. Do I use scissors and cut off the dead heads or just try to pop off the top like geraniums?