What care precautions are there for verbena?

Because verbena likes to grow in sunny, loose and fertile soil, it is best to grow it in an environment with plenty of sunlight. It loves a warm and humid climate, but is not tolerant of drought, so it needs frequent watering. It is not demanding about soil; in loose, fertile, fairly moist neutral soil it can root at every node and bloom even more abundantly!

Do you know what other uses verbena has?

Verbena planting methods and verbena cutting precautions

Verbena is also known as grass five-color plum, creeping verbena, creeping brocade, four-season hydrangea, etc. It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Verbena in the family Verbenaceae, native to South America. It can be used as flowerbed and flower border material, and can also be grown as pot flowers or planted in large areas in places suitable for potted ornamental display or for arranging flower platforms, garden gaps, and tree beds. Now let us take a look at the cultivation methods for verbena!

Growth habits of verbena

Verbena likes sunlight and is not tolerant of shade; it is relatively cold tolerant, poor in shade tolerance, and not drought tolerant. In the north it is mostly cultivated as an annual herbaceous flower, and it can bloom normally in hot summers. It grows in sunny, loose and fertile soil and blooms abundantly. It likes a warm and humid climate, likes sun, and is not drought tolerant. It is not demanding about soil, but in loose, fertile, fairly moist neutral soil it can root at every node, grow robustly, and bloom abundantly. In Shanghai, in places with a relatively warm microclimate, it can overwinter outdoors.

Propagation methods of verbena

1. Sowing: verbena seeds have a relatively low germination rate, only about 50%, and germination is very slow and uneven. At a temperature of 15-17°C, seedlings begin to emerge only after 2-3 weeks. Sowing time is mostly in spring. After the seeds are sown, they should be placed in a dark place. Not only must the soil be kept moist, but the air must also be kept humid. Watering cannot be done by pouring directly from above; use a shallow tray or similar container holding water 3-4 cm deep, then immerse the flowerpot in it so that water enters through the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot. Remove it after the soil is moist, otherwise the germination rate will be even lower.

2. Cuttings: verbena cuttings can be taken in May-June, when the temperature is around 15°C. First take slightly woody branches, cut them into 5-6 cm long sections as cuttings, and insert them into a wet sand bed. Then shade them immediately. After 2-3 days, they can be exposed briefly to morning and evening sunlight to promote growth. After about two weeks, new buds and roots can emerge. When the seedlings grow 5-6 true leaves, transplant them, and when they reach 7-8 cm, plant them in their final position.

Cultivation methods for verbena

1. Soil: verbena is not demanding about soil, but in loose, fertile, fairly moist neutral soil it can root at every node, grow robustly, and bloom abundantly.

2. Watering: because verbena has a relatively shallow root system, attention should be paid to watering in summer to prevent drought. During the maintenance period, too much or too little water is unfavorable to growth. With too much water, the stems become slender and leggy, and flowering decreases; with a lack of water, the plant grows and develops poorly, and there will be premature seed setting.

3. Sunlight: verbena needs to be maintained under shaded conditions in spring, summer, and autumn. When the temperature is relatively high, if it is placed in direct sunlight for maintenance, the leaves will noticeably become smaller, the internodes of the branches will shorten, the lower leaves will yellow and fall off, and growth will be very slow or it will enter a semi-dormant state.

4. Temperature: verbena likes a warm climate and avoids extreme heat. When the summer temperature is above 34°C, growth is noticeably poor. It is not tolerant of frost and cold, and when the winter temperature is below 4°C, it enters dormancy or dies. The most suitable growth temperature is 15-25°C. It is generally sown in autumn and winter to avoid high summer temperatures.

5. Fertilizing: like other herbaceous flowers, verbena has relatively high fertilizer and water requirements, but the fertilization (and watering) principle of "light fertilizer applied frequently, small amounts with more applications, complete nutrition" should be followed, and after fertilizing, the leaves and flowers should be kept dry at night.

6. Pruning: before flowering, verbena is generally pinched twice to encourage more flowering branches to sprout.

Care and management of verbena

The flowering period of verbena is from May to November, and spring and autumn can be said to be the peak growing seasons for verbena. Verbena is not very difficult to plant, and its fertilizer and water requirements are not high either, but during the summer dormancy period it is necessary to pay attention to controlling fertilizer and water, and when watering, the length of the watering cycle should also be chosen according to the external weather.

Verbena

1. Moisture:During growth, verbena is relatively sensitive to moisture. It fears drought and also avoids waterlogging. During the seedling stage, the potting soil must remain moist, which is beneficial to seedling growth. After the plant matures, its drought tolerance increases. If the temperature is high and water consumption is large, attention should be paid to ensuring sufficient water. If there are many cloudy and rainy days, in mild cases the branches and vines become leggy and weak and flowering decreases; in severe cases the stems and leaves gradually wilt or even die.

2. Light:Light is very important to the growth and development of verbena. From seedling growth to flowering, verbena needs sufficient sunlight; then the stems and leaves grow robustly, the flowering branches are dense, flowering is continuous, and the flower colors are vivid. If it is kept in a semi-shaded state for a long time or has insufficient light, the stems and leaves tend to become leggy, flowering decreases, the flowers become smaller, and the flower colors are not vivid.

3. Fertilizing:Verbena requires a relatively small amount of fertilizer during the seedling stage. In order to promote rapid growth of verbena, early maturity, and a shortened seedling stage, appropriate fertilizing is necessary. Fertilizing verbena at the seedling stage should follow the principle of frequent light applications, so as not to damage the roots and affect later growth and development. When cultivating verbena on a large scale, in order to promote full and vigorous branches and leaves and prolong the flowering period, it is recommended to apply more organic fertilizer or increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. During the vigorous growth period, verbena should be fertilized 1-2 times per month.

4. Pruning:The branches of verbena are creeping. If they are not pruned reasonably in a timely manner, it will affect ventilation and light penetration, causing the base to die back naturally, which is conducive to the breeding of pests and diseases and affects normal growth and development. Therefore, in large-scale cultivation, for overly dense branches, timely pruning should be carried out by removing spent flowers, old branches, and pest- or disease-damaged branches, and once each year after the peak flowering period, heavy pruning should be carried out.