I Love this Plant, Blog #1
I am planning to introduce a favorite plant each week and provide the basic benefits and care instructions. I am not limiting my selections to just perennials for our region, and will make it clear. But I will provide the benefits and reasons why I am focusing on my pick, today selection is a good example of a tender perennial that just may be a good fit for your garden.
There are different reasons why we choose plants, some reason are; edibles, color of the bloom, fall/winter interest, texture, drought and pest tolerant features. Whatever the reason my goal is to help you with good plant selection.
This weeks plant pick is Verbena bonariensis.
Verbena bonariensis is a tender perennial, only hardy for USDA zones 7-10. You may wonder why I am writing about this plant, one reason is its beauty, and it re-seeds easily.
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| Photo by Marnie Brennan |
This tender perennial is grown as an annual in some regions. It enjoys well drained soils in full to part sun. Verbena will tolerate our unique soils if the drainage is good. Collecting seeds will let you disperse where you want them to grow, wait until the last frost and toss them out. You can also start them inside 6 to 8 weeks before the first of May for great plant starter plants.
Notable Characteristics:
These clumping plants grow rapidly, and you can expect 3 to 5 feet in height, and 2 to 3 feet in width. The tall stems will provide clusters of tiny rose-violet flowers that start blooming mid-summer all the way into fall.
Verbena bonariensis displays a unique form that is sometimes called a see-through plant, it looks very wispy. This plant can also be used in containers or for bedding choices, but works perfect as a boarder plant behind shorter varieties. If you should get to many plants from self seeding they are easily maintained by hand pulling.
This plant has no serious insect or disease problems, meaning rabbit and quail should leave it alone. In areas that are more moist you may have to watch for powdery mildew.
On a personal note, my mother-in-law gave me this plant when I lived in Sonoma County and I loved the fragrance, plant under a window.
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