Herbaceous Plants to Cherish
| Published: 29th September 2008 07:18 |
Verbena bonariensis - Herbaceous Plants to Cherish
This is again one of my favourite perennial plants. 
The flowers are delightful and composite - that is several small flowers growing in one flower head - and will grow, with careful dead-heading, from early summer to early autumn.
Propagation is relatively easy. I have sown seed of verbena bonariensis in September and the seedlings will overwinter and provide good sturdy plants for the following year. Alternatively, sow seeds in early spring, hardening off the seedlings to provide good, healthy plants in mid to late summer. As mentioned earlier, verbena prefers a light, fairly dry soil, so ensure that the compost into which the seeds are sown is not too damp or the seeds may not germinate or seedlings rot.
It is not unknown for verbena bonariensis to ‘self seed' into the smallest of areas such as the crevices between rocks and between paving stones. As they are fairly light-rooted in their early stages, it is possible to ease the seedlings from their chosen place and either replant them in the garden or pot them up for future replanting.
You may also like to try dividing the plants and potting-up the young divisions, potting them into larger pots when they are starting to outgrow their original pots. It is always a good idea to pot-on plants to avoid them becoming pot-bound, although verbena bonariensis will tolerate a little ‘tightness' in the pot.
I will cover the subject of pot-bound plants in a later article but if you would like to know more about the principles of potting-up and potting-on, please contact me on martinjhorne@hotmail.com
Happy gardening!
Martin Horne
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