Verbena officinalis
Common verbena, Common vervain
- Height × spread
- 0.9m × 0.9m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Flowers
- Spring, Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
From an often untidy mound of foliage with toothy mid-green leaves arise delicate-looking flowering stems. These are upright and branching. Tiny pale pink or white flowers perch at the tip. The stems carry the bumpy brown calyces of spent blooms. A curious combination of delicate flowers and stolid foliage. This is a Southern European and North African native but has spread through much of the world. It is used in Chinese medicine and features in many herbal remedies. Tea can be made from its dried leaves. It is used as a flavouring in the French liqueur Verveine du Velay.
- Flower colour
- Brown, Pink
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Cube
- Height
- 0.9m
- Spread
- 0.9m
- Season of interest
- Spring, Summer
- Flowers in
- Spring, Summer
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Borders & containers
- Borders and containers
- Use for
- Rabbit resistant
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with slow release fertiliser
Apply a general purpose slow release fertiliser, spreading it around the root area of the plant as it is coming into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water to keep the soil moist
For best results, this plant needs soil that is always moist. Water deeply and regularly as soon as soil appears dry. Even for established plants in the ground, a dry week can cause problems with some soils. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather. Or install an automatic irrigation system which will do the hard work for you, even when you are away on holiday.
Without regular watering some plants never fully regain their beauty.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.
Planting & general
Planting
Deadhead blooms during flowering season
Remove flowers as they turn brown and fade. Snip the stem just below the bloom. This will keep the plant tidy and encourage more flowers.
The removal of spent flowers encourages the plant to produce fresh ones, rather than spend its energy on the development of seeds.
Found in
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