PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Verbena bonariensis
Verbena bonariensis
🌸 Flower
🔁 Perennial
Tall, wiry, see-through stems topped with purple flower clusters from July to the frosts. A favourite of butterflies; self-seeds gently.
When to plant and care for it
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Flowers
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Verbena bonariensis: what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well until established, then in dry spells
- Soil
- Well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 45 cm
- Height
- 1.5 m
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- No feeding needed
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 7–11
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 45 cm apart, and firm in.
- 0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
- 7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.
Every year
- AprilCut Back in Spring
Leave old stems over winter to protect the plant, then cut them down in spring as new growth starts.
- AugustIn Flower
Covered in butterflies — take a photo.
More flowers to grow
Photo: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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