How to Grow Verbena: Planting, Caring, and Growing Vibrant Blooms

• Purpletop Vervain (Verbena bonariensis): 4 to 5 feet tall with clusters of small lavender flowers. Short-lived perennial that will self-sow.
• Blue Vervain (V. hastata): 2 to 5 feet tall; resembles V. bonariensis, but is more tolerant of cold and moist soil. Blue-violet flowers.
• Rigid Verbena (V. rigida): The plant spreads by long rhizomes (underground stems) in all directions and forms a thick groundcover. The plant is hardy and drought resistant. ‘Santos’ grows to about a foot tall with pinkish-purple blooms.
• Moss Verbena (V. Tenuisecta): Moss verbena has finely cut leaves and a very low growing habit. Many of the cultivars are hybrids with other species. Tapien Series plants have lacy foliage and small flowers in many colors that cover the plant from early summer until the first frost. The plants are resistant to powdery mildew. ’Edith’ is a compact long flowering plant with fragrant lavender-pink flowers.
• Trailing Verbena (Glandularia canadensis): These low creeping plants are tolerant of heat and drought and will flower all summer. ‘Homestead Purple’ has dark purple flower clusters. ‘Appleblossom’ has long-flowering large, pink flowers with a white center. ‘Taylortown Red’ is a vigorous plant with red flowers.
• Annual Verbena (G. x hybrida): This is a common garden bedding plant. Most varieties will decline once summer heat increases. ‘Texas Rose’ has reddish-pink flowers. ‘Blue Princess’ bears deep blue flowers. ‘Tuscany Orchid Frost’ features extra-large pink flowers. 

Verbena vs. Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora)

Lemon verbena, a small shrub with lemon-scented leaves, is popular as an herb garden plant; its leaves are used to flavor a number of dishes, from seafood to yogurt dips. Although lemon verbena is in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, it’s classified in a separate genus as true verbena (Verbena) and Glandularia.