There is an old legend about the origin of this flower, which states that a plant grew from every drop of blood of the crucified Christ. His name is verbena. In the Middle Ages, a witch's potion was prepared from it, but we just decorate flower beds with it and admire the lush flowering.

Verbena: Popular Types and Varieties

Verbena is a native of the tropics and subtropics of America. The Verbenov family includes about 200 species, some of which have pronounced medicinal properties. Different types of verbena are annuals and perennials, have different heights and are very different in appearance.

Of the wild verbena, the most significant are the following:

  • Verbena is marsh or finely dissected. It can bloom already in the seedling period, her flowers with an “eye”, white or lilac-bluish, are collected in inflorescences-balls that carry long peduncles.
  • Verbena officinalis. It is not particularly decorative, but it has healing properties. Its root system is powerful, the stem has branches, on which there are peduncles with very small lilac flowers.
  • Verbena is beautiful. The plant is distinguished by long, thin, branching shoots; it can be a groundcover or ampelous. Inflorescences are spherical, composed of purple-violet flowers.
  • Canadian verbena and double-cut verbena.The leaves and flowers of these species are larger, their color is pink, white-pink or pinkish-lilac.
  • Verbena is tough. Her flowers are small, bluish-purple. It winters well in regions with a mild climate. If you put the rhizome in a box of wet sand, it will survive well until spring when kept in a cool basement.
  • Verbena Argentinean. One of the tallest species, reaches a height of one and a half meters. In nature, this is a perennial plant, in the middle lane - an annual. The bush of such a verbena is branched, with numerous shoots, at the ends of which there are inflorescences of purple or lilac flowers.
  • Verbena is spear-shaped. Another tall species that can grow up to one and a half meters. On erect stems there are spike-shaped multi-flowered inflorescences of small lavender-blue or purple flowers. The species is frost-resistant, and therefore this perennial verbena may well winter in the open ground in the middle lane.
  • Verbena lemon or fragrant. Representative of medicinal verbena. These are tall plants up to 2 m tall with lilac flowers collected in spike-shaped inflorescences. An oil is made from it, which is distinguished by pronounced antiseptic properties.

In decorative floriculture, the "palm" belongs to hybrid varieties. Breeders have created many verbena, differing in height, size of flowers and their color.

Large-flowered varieties:

  • Etna. A plant up to 50 cm tall already in May is covered with red flowers with a white "eye".
  • Yulia. The beginning of flowering is June. The flowers have a purple-purple color and a white "eye". Height - 40 cm.
  • Cardinal. Flowering begins in July, the flower is red. Height - 40 cm.
  • Defiance. Ground-cover form, the length of the shoots is up to 30 cm. Red flowers have a carmine hue and a greenish “eye”, surrounded by openwork white border.

Compact varieties:

  • Amethyst. Blooms in July with blue flowers. Does not grow above 30 cm.
  • Crystal. Its white flowers can be seen at the end of June. Height - 20 cm.
  • Splendor. Beginning in July, purple-violet flowers decorated with a white “eye” blossom. Bush no higher than 20 cm.

Growing verbena from seeds at home

Verbena is propagated vegetatively - by cuttings and sowing seeds. Between seedlings and flowering, the time interval is from 50 to 70 days. Because of this, a seedling method of growing is preferable.

Dates of planting seeds for seedlings

When to sow verbena? Sowing seeds for seedlings is possible from early March to the end of its second decade.

Plants sown at the beginning of the month will need light. If you sow in the second decade of March, the seedlings will completely cost natural light.

Preparation of soil and containers for growing

Verbena is grown with mandatory picking, so any container with a height of not more than 8 cm is suitable for sowing. Open holes for water drainage in its bottom.

Verbena soil must meet the following requirements:

  • good water and air permeability;
  • have a neutral soil reaction;
  • to be loose.

Fertility in this case is not necessary. You can use the ready-made shop primer by adding well-washed sand there for loosening. To acidity corresponded to the norm, for every 2 liters of soil mixture add half a glass of ash. After this, the soil is sieved. You can prepare the soil yourself.

It should have the following composition:

  • 2 parts of peat;
  • 1 part of garden land;
  • 0.5 parts of sand.

To destroy weed seeds and pathogens, the soil is steamed for about an hour. To ensure good moisture capacity and breathability, half a glass of perlite is added to each liter of the seed mixture. It will not be superfluous to disinfect the soil with a fungicide solution. Suitable "Maxim" or "Fundazole." The solution spills the soil already placed in the container.

How to sow verbena seeds?

Verbena seeds remain viable for 3 to 5 years. In different species, their germination is not the same.In hybrid verbena, only a third of the seeds sown will sprout, and in some species of plants, a dense shell interferes with seed germination. They need stratification. To wake up the seeds, they need to be wrapped in a damp cotton cloth, put it in a bag of opaque polyethylene and kept on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.

For uniform and friendly seedlings, the seeds can additionally be soaked in a solution of a growth stimulator according to the instructions.

How to sow seeds:

  • we fill the container with soil, level it and slightly compact it;
  • we take a piece of paper, bend it, pour seeds into the recess and gently shifting them, distribute them on the surface of the soil (you can do this simply with your hands);
  • sow verbena sow superficially, so the seeds do not need to be sprinkled with soil, they just need to be moistened with water from the spray gun;
  • we mark the crops with a label and place the container in a mini greenhouse;
  • you can cover it with glass or put a plastic bag on the container.

Seedling care at home

During seed germination, light is not required for crops. But in order to speed up the process, you can hold the container for several days by the heating radiator - so the seedlings will appear faster.

The seed container should be placed on a well-lit window sill. The temperature at this time is required from 15 to 17 degrees. Watering seedlings should be moderate.

Picking seedlings

They start picking when 3 to 4 true leaves grow in young Senti. Verbena tolerates the transplant well, but in order for the plants to take root more quickly and start to grow, the root system should be tried to maintain as much as possible.

You can transplant plants into a large common box, but it is much better to plant them in individual containers. Then, when transplanting to a permanent place, they will more easily take root.

After picking, young verbena needs a more fertile soil of the following composition:

  • two parts of garden land and peat;
  • 0.5 parts of sand.

The soil will be fertile by adding a glass of ash and a tablespoon of full fertilizer to 3 liters of the mixture.

When picking, plants need to be deepened to the level of cotyledon leaves. In further seedlings, watering is necessary as necessary, and top dressing every 14 days with special fertilizer for seedlings. If the variety is ampelous, you need to pinch it, removing the top above the fourth pair of leaves.

Before planting, plants need hardening. Hardened seedlings are not afraid of freezing to -3 degrees.

Planting seedlings in a permanent place

Planting verbena in the flower garden can be carried out after May 15, since it is a cold-resistant plant. For it, you need to choose a well-lit place with fertile soil that has a neutral reaction. The distance between plants is maintained in accordance with varietal characteristics. Usually between bushes maintain a distance of 30 to 40 cm.

It is not recommended to thicken the planting of verbena, otherwise it can get powdery mildew in wet summers.

  • Before planting, the earth is dug up, introducing one and a half tablespoons of full mineral fertilizer for each square meter.
  • Plants are planted in holes well watered with water.
  • After planting, the soil is mulched with peat.

Open Verbena Care

Growing verbena is not difficult. Caring for her is quite simple. You just need to take into account the requirements that the plant makes to environmental conditions.

The nuances of watering verbena

Verbena is a drought tolerant plant. Watering it requires moderate. If there is excess moisture, the verbena flower can become infected with fungal diseases. Lack of moisture is also undesirable. The plant perceives it as a signal to stop flowering and seed set. Therefore, when watering, you need to observe the middle ground.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

With an excessive amount of fertilizer, especially nitrogen, the bushes grow rapidly, but bloom poorly. Organic verbena fertilizers are not suitable for the same reason.

  • In the first half of the growing season, the bushes are fed with solutions of complete mineral fertilizers.
  • Starting in mid-July, there should be no nitrogen in the fertilizing, but only phosphate and potassium fertilizers.

During the season, verbena should receive from 3 to 4 dressings.

Care during and after flowering

So that flowering is plentiful, sprouts that have sprawled and lay down on the ground can be sawed. They very quickly start the roots, from which the bushes become even more magnificent.

An important point is the removal of inflorescences from which the petals circled. If this is not done, seeds will begin to form. Flowering will not be so plentiful. If you want to collect your own seeds, some of the inflorescences are not removed.

Verbena Diseases and Pests

If the plant is properly looked after, verbena will not hurt - it is extremely resistant to diseases.

  • If damp weather was added to the inaccuracies in the care, then an outbreak of powdery mildew is possible. They treat verbena with fungicides: colloidal sulfur, Fundazol.
  • When invading aphids or spider mites, the use of insecticides or insectoacaricides will be required.
  • So that verbena does not appear various rot, you must strictly observe the regime of supplying plants with water and not fill the bushes.

Collection and storage of verbena seeds

The vast majority of verbena species cannot survive our winter. But you can collect seeds from faded plants. They will not preserve the varietal characteristics of the parents, but from this the plants obtained from them will be no less interesting.

If a particular variety is selected for planting, it is better to purchase seeds in a store. But in all other cases, you can not spend money and procure your own raw materials.

To do this, follow this algorithm:

  1. We collect the boxes when they become brown.
  2. We lay them out on paper to dry well. The layer of boxes should not be thick so that they do not mold.
  3. The seed material is often mixed.
  4. Free seeds from dry boxes and put them in a paper bag.

In order not to guess in the spring what is in it, the package must be signed.

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