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Verbena can be grown in a variety of ways. Since this perennial plant is thermophilic and does not tolerate temperate winters, it is cultivated as an annual. A feature of verbena is almost continuous flowering throughout the season, so it is recommended to plant it as early as possible. It is because of this that seedlings are often used in its cultivation.
How verbena reproduces
Verbena is a perennial heat-loving plant, therefore, in regions with a cold climate, it is grown as an annual. There are several ways to reproduce it:
- cuttings;
- seeds through seedlings;
- seeds in the open field.
The first method gives the largest amount of seed. The second is used when it is necessary to ensure the earliest planting of a plant in open ground. The latter is justified in the climate with the onset of warm weather in mid-spring.
How to propagate verbena from cuttings
Planting material for this method of propagation of verbena is prepared last fall. To implement it, it is necessary to dig up the bushes together with a small clod of earth before the onset of frost and place them in a cool room, the temperature in which is + 8-10 ° C. An ideal option for storage is an insulated balcony or an outbuilding.
The cutting process itself for planting in open ground is carried out in early March. If you plan to grow a plant at home or in a greenhouse, you can do it earlier.
Vervain cuttings are obtained from the tops of the shoots, they must have at least four pairs of leaves.
They are cut with a disinfected knife or garden shears. The cut should be treated with crushed coal. The top with the remains of flowers should be removed.
Rooting is preferably carried out in a substrate consisting of equal parts of sand and peat. At the same time, the cuttings are deepened to the level where the lowest pair of leaves was located. It is recommended to cover the top of the container with a film to create a greenhouse effect. The root system will be formed in about a month.
Rooted cuttings are planted in open ground as soon as weather conditions allow, namely in the absence of night frosts.
How to sow vervain for seedlings
Sowing verbena seeds for seedlings is usually carried out in early March. The soil for growing is a mixture of garden soil and perlite in a ratio of 1 to 1.
Seeds are not buried, but laid on top of the ground and covered with 5-10 mm of humus
Then they are placed under glass and kept at a temperature of + 18-20 ° C. Condensation is removed from it daily.
After 3-4 weeks, all seeds germinate. The glass is removed, and the box with young vervains is transferred to a cool place. Once every 2-3 days, the seedlings are watered. Landing in open ground should occur when the likelihood of returning frosts is gone.
Features of growing verbena flowers in open ground
The plant is relatively unpretentious and does not require any special techniques when growing. If group planting is used, then verbena does not even need loosening the soil or weeding from weeds. It can be grown in areas with any level of illumination. There are also no requirements for the composition of the soil; the degree of its water permeability is much more important. A truly serious condition for growing a crop is only the temperature regime. The plant practically does not tolerate frosts.
How to plant verbena outdoors
The plant has a compact root system, so it can be planted in open ground not only directly on flower beds, but also in flowerpots or even small containers, for example, planters.
When to plant verbena outdoors
The time when the plant can be transferred to open ground depends on the climatic features of the area. So, for example, in the southern regions, landing is acceptable even in early or mid-April. In the Middle lane, this time falls on the first decade of May, and in more northern regions – closer to its middle or end.
Site selection and preparation of soil
Verbena can grow in any corner of the garden, since the degree of lighting does not matter to it. The plant thrives equally well in sunny or shaded areas. No preliminary soil preparation, except for digging and removing plant residues, is required.
How to transplant vervain seedlings
As noted earlier, verbena has a compact root system, so the process of transplanting seedlings into open ground is quite simple and does not require any special measures.
Bushes should be placed at a distance of 20 cm from each other. It is necessary to plant creeping varieties a little more freely – up to 30 cm. The depth of the holes is no more than 10 cm. A little drainage is poured into the bottom of each recess in the form of broken bricks. If the soil is too dry, it is recommended to pour 0,4-0,5 liters of water into the holes.
A bush with a clod of earth is installed in a hole and covered with soil
Pour another 0,5 liters of liquid under it. In rainy weather or in the case of sufficiently moist soil, this can be omitted.
How to grow verbena
Plant care is quite simple. It consists of soil treatment in the first month after planting, watering and fertilizing. The plant has good immunity, and is practically not subject to pest attacks. However, this will be possible if excessive thickening of the plantings and the absence of excess moisture are prevented.
Watering and top dressing
Watering is carried out as the top layer of the soil dries. Usually the time between them is 3-5 days. The norms are determined visually – the soil after this procedure should remain slightly moist. During flowering, the intensity of watering is recommended to be increased to once every 2-3 days.
Top dressing is done once a season (usually a week before flowering) and is carried out using a complex fertilizer for ornamental plants. Instead, you can use organic matter in the form of rotted manure or compost.
Weeding, loosening, mulching
Weeding and loosening the soil should be done only in the first month after planting the plant in open ground. In the future, when the bushes grow, these activities will not be required.
Loosening the soil is carried out before each watering, but it is not done deep, by 2-3 cm.
Weeding is done once a week. At the end of the first month, the soil is mulched with straw and more loosening during irrigation is not done.
Trimming
Since verbena is grown as an annual plant, there is no need to form a bush. Sanitary pruning is to remove faded inflorescences.
Care for verbena after flowering
With proper watering and top dressing, flowering of verbena continues until late autumn (the onset of the first frost). Therefore, no specific care, other than the previously mentioned removal of inflorescences, is required for the plant.
At the end of the season, if it is not necessary to form cuttings for the next year, the verbena is simply pulled out of the ground and destroyed, and the site is dug up, adding some organic fertilizer to it.
Wintering
Verbena winters only in the southern regions. In this case, the shoots should be cut to the very root, and the bush should be covered with spruce branches.
Pests and diseases
In general, vervain is well resistant to most common diseases. However, if you do not follow the rules of agricultural technology, in particular, do not maintain watering rates, the plant can be attacked by a fungal infection.
The most common vervain disease is powdery mildew. Perhaps only in arid regions it does not appear. Even when the plant is grown as an annual, the chance of infection with powdery mildew is about 50%.
When affected by powdery mildew, verbena leaves first turn purple and then die off.
The methods of treating the disease are standard: the infected foliage must be removed from the bush, after which they begin to spray it. In this case, Bitertalon, Difenoconazole, Ridomil Gold, etc. are used.
In the case of an advanced infection, when plaque covers the entire plant, and there is a high probability of rot, Fosetil is used.
Of the verbena pests, aphids and a mining fly can be noted. Traditionally, their activity begins in mid-May.
Aphids prefer to be on the underside of vervain leaves.
Folk methods (soap solutions, ash diluted in water, etc.) are ineffective in this case, since it is difficult to process a large amount of relatively small foliage. Therefore, it is best to use spraying. As a means of treatment, it is recommended to choose insecticides of the neonicotinoid or carbomate groups: imidacloprid, pimetrosine, pirimicarb.
Mining flies outwardly differ little from the same fruit flies. They lay eggs on the plant, from which the larvae hatch. Young caterpillars break through passages in the plates, called mines.
The result of the activity of the larvae of the mining fly is clearly visible on the leaves of the plant.
To get rid of the pest, you should remove the affected fragments of the bush and spray the rest with insecticides.
To combat the mining fly, you can use the previously described drugs against aphids. In addition, the Plenum agent, sold in the form of water-dispersion granules, does a good job with the pest.
Is it possible to plant verbena before winter
It makes sense to plant vervain in open ground at the end of the season only in the southern regions, where the negative temperature does not fall below -3 ° C. The root system of the plant has the same frost resistance as the stems with leaves. Therefore, one should not hope that the bush will overwinter.
Planting seedlings before winter is also not justified. First, plants will have their annual rhythm of activity and rest shifted. Secondly, the seeds will require mandatory stratification, leading to a decrease in the percentage of germination. Thirdly, by the middle of winter, the size of the seedlings will be so large that you will have to think about transplanting the plant into a larger container. That is, we will not talk about backyard, but about home cultivation of vervain.
Conclusion
Growing verbena in cold climates is possible both in seedlings and in seedlings. In any case, you need to understand that this perennial does not tolerate frosts with temperatures down to -3 ° C, that is, in most of the CIS it can only be cultivated as an annual plant. If a lot of planting material is required, the propagation of verbena with the help of cuttings harvested in the fall will be justified.
