verbena bonariensis

hi there, we had a lovely verbena last year but wondered when it should start sprouting again? it looks very woody and im thinking we may have lost it because of the bad winter we had.





Willow

 

Is only half hardy Willow so could well have lost it, no sign of life on mine yet either still time though, keep your eye open as mine seeds around prolificly so you may find some seedlings in a few weeks.

 

thanks simbad, will keep a lookout for seedlings. mines in a flower bed so do they still selfseed and sprout?

 

Hello Willow, they are perennial here with me and are in full bloom at the moment. I cut them back to ground level and they re-shoot from there .. not sure they are self-seeding. I am running 22-24c day temps at the moment and 15-17c nights so I'd say give it a chance to warm up there and see what happens.

 

As Simbad says it is not totally reliable - though I have to say that in Yorkshire the old plants have always resprouted for me - though I haven't looked for or seen any growth yet this year. But even if it doesn't resprout - don't worry. They are prolific self seeders, and the seedlings should flower in the first year.

Do you have any others Victoria? There are plenty of other lovely perennial Verbena like rigida and hastata that would be totally hardy with you. I particularly like V. 'Homestead Purple' which has huge flowers, but I have to lift it each winter and keep it under glass.

 

Hiya Peter .. that's interesting you say about them being prolific self-seeders as I have never in the years I've had them seen any seedlings, only the mother plants ....

 

I was given some seed last year. I might try some!
It seems awfully fashionable at the moment.

 

This is the first year I've managed to overwinter Verbena B. Every other year they've been killed by the cold and I think they only survived this winter because apart from December it was relatively mild. They are now showing proper signs of life, but most years I've had to buy new plants - not a huge hardship as one small plant costing £1.99 grows into a monster and flowrs until the frosts.

Yes, apparently they do self seed, but I've never found this. But it's worth growing them for the butterflies, their height and beauty.

 

Agree with Peter there are other varieties that are much hardier, I have hastata and even after last winter they're resprouting already.
Yes Willow I find seedlings around the parent and in the gravel and even cracks in the paving, hard to spot at first and if your a really tidy gardener(unlike me,lol) you could easily miss them and weed them out.

 

Victoria - I saw that you said that you were unsure whether they self seed. I think it all depends on climate, and not just where you live, but also the variation in climate from one year to another.

I have noticed that almost every year its a different plant that really likes the conditions and self seeds everywhere. This year I have Primula seedlings everwhere - at least ten times as many as over the whole of the last 5 years. Obviously the conditions this year were just right. Another year it was Centranthus that was everwhere - though it always fairly good at seeding. Verbena bonariensis self seeds a lot for me but in some years its more than in others. I am not that surprised that it doesn't self seed for you Victoria, as the usual recommendation for germinating Verbena seeds is cold stratification, ie a good period of cold weather.

Another aspect, that we have discussed before is when you cut down the border plants at the end of the season. Being in the north I like to leave the foliage over winter as protection, and then cut it back in the spring. But many people in the south will cut it back in the autumn.

As I said I leave my foliage on over winter and my Verbena always comes back. I noted with amusement that a a while back there was a new curator at RHS Harlow Carr, which is just three miles from me. Having come up from the south the new curator had the gardens, including the Verbena, cut back in the autumn. All their Verbena died that winter. Whether that was the sole reason or not - I don't know. But it has reinforced my view of cutting back in the spring.

 

They are horrible little small seeds and a real pain to prick out.I managed to drop mine off of the fridge and spent an afternoon potting them up into a small plug plant tray.I just hope they are worth it because they do look nice

 

morning all


thanks for all your replies, i live in west yorkshire and the winter was dreadful so may well have killed my plant. But like they say never give up hope lol.


off for brekkies now see you all later


Willow

 

OK- I did try this after all.

Can I ask about germination rates and whether it would prefer a spell in the main garden rather than the slightly warmer cold frame?

 

I had this plant in my garden when I lived in Cheshire it was a prolific self seeder for me for a number of years, I was pulling up dozens of them when they were growing where I didn't want them. The parent plants then died after about 3/4 years, not after a particularly harsh winter; perhaps they are short lived.

Before it started self seeding I found it fairly easy to strike cuttings too from new growth....