How to grow fragrant verbena in your own garden: tips for beginners

Verbena is a rather unpretentious plant. Stratified seeds can be sown as early as March-April, and the seedlings are planted in the ground in the second half of May or early June. Verbena blooms for quite a long time – from June to October, so it will become a real decoration of the garden.

In late summer, watering should be gradually reduced, and the plant should be fertilized 3-4 times per season. How to grow a fragrant verbena in your own garden – read the article on OBOZ.UA.

How to grow verbena

In some types of verbena, the seeds are covered with a dense shell, which makes the germination process very difficult. Therefore, gardeners often resort to stratification, that is, cold treatment of seeds. The planting material should be spread out on a damp cloth, placed in an opaque plastic bag, and put in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Stratified seeds can be sown either directly into open ground or for seedlings. Sowing for seedlings is carried out in March: containers are filled with light humus soil with sand or perlite. After 20-30 days, when the verbena begins to germinate, you can move the containers to a cooler place.

Young verbena should only be sprayed with water when the soil is dry. Planting in the garden is carried out when the weather is finally warm. Verbena can withstand short cold snaps, but prolonged frosts can cause irreparable damage to the sprouts.

How to plant verbena

Planting verbena varies depending on the variety: flowers of compact species should be planted at a distance of about 20 cm, and between the bushes of creeping varieties there should be at least 25-30 cm. A little drainage material should be thrown into the holes beforehand so that water does not stagnate in the roots of the plants.

How to care for verbena

Regular watering is required during the period of active growth and flowering of the plant, and in the second half of summer, the level of moisture should be reduced. You should also loosen the bed to ensure air circulation for the root system.

Gardeners advise mulching the area with rotted leaves or decorative material when planting verbena – this way there will be much less weeds.

Verbena needs mineral and organic fertilizers, and organic matter is applied only once a season so as not to overload the soil with nitrogen. Verbena will turn lush green from nitrogen, but, unfortunately, it will not bloom. Complex fertilizer can be used 3-4 times a season.

Subscribe to the OBOZ.UA channels in Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.