Verbena: photo of this beautiful grassy bush for open ground, as well as a description of how the plant looks and what the smell of its flowers and leaves looks like

How often the heart sank, at the sight of amazing, beautiful waves of a purple, blue or silver beckoning sea, spreading over a hot summer meadow. How long can you admire the multicolor variety of gardens in which such an unusually beautiful plant - verbena - grows.

This flower, whose name alone conjures up the delicate aroma of July herbs, envelops in an awe-inspiring breeze of flowering fields, the languid breath of bygone times, from ancient times attributed magical, medicinal and miraculous properties. Let’s tell you whether this plant is annual or perennial, what its aroma looks like, what are the nuances of growing.

What is this plant?

Verbena is from South America; it is a beautiful herb for open ground. It belongs to the verbena family and has more than a hundred species and subspecies growing from Canada to Chile, from Europe to the Far East and Central Asia.

The name of this plant, from Greek (verbum) - the word also means "altar plant". It is also called - "vein of Venus", "pigeon grass", "van-van", "witching plant", "iron ore".

Legends and customs associated with verbena:

The Romans considered verbena a sacred flower of the goddess of love - Venus, attributed to her the properties of arousing feelings and used her as an aphrodisiac.
In Germany, a verbena wreath was often presented to the bride on their wedding day - fortunately, as a sign of providing the newlyweds with plentiful offspring.
In Greek mythology, it was also dubbed the "tear of Juno", because verbena blooms from June to October, namely June is given to this goddess, the keeper of the family, women and fertility.
The ancient Egyptians called verbena "the flower of Isis," among the Scandinavians it was considered the sacred grass of the Thunder Thunder, in Persia - a symbol of the sun.
Druids of medieval Europe venerated the verbena, perhaps, as well as the mistletoe, and collecting it with the corresponding rituals, when Sirius ascended - the star of the Dog - was used for medicinal purposes and magic rituals.
Christians called verbena “cross grass” because it was sprinkled with the blood of Christ crucified on the cross, because according to legend, it was first found on Calvary Hill, and it stopped the blood flowing from the savior’s wounds, also called “holy grass”.

Important! Verbena is a plant not only miraculous, beautiful, but also full of variety. Found from South America to the very Russian Siberia. Certain species and varieties can be either annuals or perennials, grassy or semi-shrubby, 30 to 100 cm high with a tetrahedral, erect, creeping or open stem.

To learn about the useful properties of verbena, who is contraindicated in its use, as well as how the plant is used in folk medicine, click here.

What does it look like?

In Russia, it is most often a herbaceous perennial with a height of 25-30 to 100 cm with a straight, branched stalk, serrated, elongated-oval, lowered leaves of dark green color.

Verbena has a huge variety of coloring options, from white and yellow, to deep purple and blue shades, from blood-scarlet, to pale pink. Flowers are small 1.5-2.5 cm in diameter, sessile with a 5-toothed cup, funnel, almost two-lipped 5-lobed corolla, collected 30-50 each in the final corymbose or paniculate inflorescences, ears and even brushes, often with white or brownish eye.

The greenish or light brown verbena fruits have the shape of a combined nut that breaks into four parts.

You can learn more about ampel verbena, the conditions of its maintenance and care, as well as see a photo of the plant, here.

Photo

In the photo below, you can see how the flowers of a perennial verbena plant, also known as "pigeon grass" look on the flowerbed:

Description of Varieties

There are a lot of species of verbena.It is widely used in medicine - medicinal verbena, in perfumery - lemon verbena "Aloysia trifolia" and gardening. Hybrid verbena and compact verbena, subdivided into several varieties and breeds, found particular fame among gardeners.

In total, this plant has about 250 species and varieties growing around the world, characterized by a variety of shapes and colors.

You can find out what types of verbena there are, as well as see their photos, and from this article you will learn how to grow finely chopped verbena.

Where is growing in Russia?

In Russia, verbena is most often found in the southern European part of the country, in the Caucasus, the Urals, grows in glades, meadows, roadsides, and, as a weed, in sown fields. Verbena is much less common in the south of Siberia and Altai, where the edges of forests, dried up riverbeds and open river banks are carefully kept.

Where to buy and for how much?

In order to acquire verbena, you do not need to overcome any unthinkable difficulties. If you really wanted to admire this beautiful flower on your own flower bed, or window sill, you just need to go to the nearest specialized store where they sell seeds for planting. Also, many types of verbena can be bought online.Both there and there, verbena is sold in bags, 5-10 grams or a few each.

The price varies from 15 to 500-600 rubles, depending on the type, variety and quantity of seeds. The most expensive are hybrid species of perennial verbena, flaunting on the flower beds of Amsterdam and Paris.

Attention! The germination rate of verbena seeds can be extremely low, up to 30% of the total sowing, so consult a specialist before rushing to buy one or another variety you like, it may be that it requires special care, or has other, specific properties.

What does the smell look like?

If you pick a twig from a young tree and clear it of bark, you can feel the smell of verbena: it is a gentle, pleasant honey-spicy-citrus aroma. It is this unusual smell that verbena flowers have. This smell reminds of fresh herbal tea with lemon peel, frosty evenings by the fire or hot July twilight in the middle of the fields.

The most “fragrant” and used in perfumery is “Aloysia trefoil” or “lemon verbena”. It grows freely, in the territory of South and Latin America, from where employees of the Madrid Botanical Garden took it out in the 18th century.

The new flower immediately came to taste in Europe, especially captivating the British with its rich and delicate bouquet.

Verbena perfumery is still one of the favorite in many countries and among many nations, however, the "magical aphrodisia" with this delicious aroma is very expensive.

Care

Verbena is unpretentious, but photophilous and thermophilic, for her well-being requires a temperature of + 20 ° -28 ° in the summer and -5 ° -12 ° in the winter. Caring for this plant is not difficult enough, but you still have to follow some rules.

Verbena is very resistant to heat and even drought, but do not abuse their stamina. In the first weeks after planting, the plant is moderately watered, so it rather takes root. During active growth and flowering, watering is carried out regularly, and closer to the second half of summer, the amount of water obtained is reduced.
Air circulation for the measles system is ensured by loosening the soil in extreme heat, but only after heavy irrigation.
If the verbena bushes are planted in a group, then weed control is necessary only at the very beginning, because this plant grows very quickly, covering the soil with a thick, fluffy carpet, as soon as this happens - the need for weeding immediately disappears. But with a single planting, weed must be weeded constantly, while the verbena grows and blooms.
Advice! If, after planting, the soil is mulled with overripe grass or decorative material, then you will not have to loosen the soil or fight weed grass at all.
In order for verbena to grow up healthy and please the eye with its beauty for a long time, the soil is enriched with mineral and organic fertilizers.
1. During the flowering season and active growth, mineral fertilizers are applied 3-4 times.
2. One has to be extremely careful with organic ones, since a saturation of the soil with nitrogen leads to the fact that the flower grows into a gorgeous, green bush, but, alas, it refuses to bloom. Therefore, the plant should receive organic matter only once a season.
Withered inflorescences are removed - this gives a good growth of new formations. It is considered superfluous to give shape to the plant itself, carefully cutting it with garden scissors.
During periods of extreme heat, the flower is hung with a white cloth to prevent damage and drying out, and from October until the very beginning of spring, it is kept at room temperature, because it comes to rest.

You can grow verbena at home, choosing a suitable place where there is enough light and heat, although verbena feels great in the shade, but it grows best in open places.

To learn about how to care for verbena, as well as see a photo of a flower, click here.

Breeding methods

There are two main ways of propagating verbena. Growing verbena from seeds and using cuttings.

Seeds do not need pre-sowing preparation, they are sown in loose, previously enriched with fertilizers soil without deepening. The first sprouts hatch for two to three weeks at a temperature of + 25 °, after which they are transferred to a cooler place, and they are planted in the ground only when there is no risk of repeated frosts.
Young sprouts are watered very carefully, because excess moisture can very well lead to disease, and even to death of the plant.
The second method, more time-consuming, it requires you to forget about planting material since the fall, when individual verbena bushes are moved to a cool room, where the temperature does not exceed + 10 ° with a fair lump of earth.
Reference! Cuttings are made in the spring, although if you plan to decorate your own house or a greenhouse with verbena, then this can be done at any other time.
Cuttings - trimmed tops of shoots with leaves, process and root in a mixture of peat and sand, deepening only to the first leaves trimmed from below.

Watch a video about growing verbena from seeds:

Diseases and Pests

Most varieties of verbena are very resistant to a few diseases that can affect this culture, but if its conditions are violated, infection with the "whitefly", "black leg", and leaf spotting is possible. "

The main weakness of verbena is increased soil moisture, and strictly observing it, it is possible to prevent the appearance of the worst enemy - the "powdery mildew" whose disease leaves acquire a purple hue, and if the appropriate measures are not taken in time, they die, after which the plant itself dies.

Conclusion

Verbena is one of the most beautiful plants on the planet that does not require special care and is able to give its bright colors from the beginning of summer to the coldest weather. This herbaceous shrub was worshiped by the ancients and composed ballads, it was admired all over the world for its unique properties, velvety aroma and unsurpassed beauty, observing the simplest rules, not tiring, but obligatory, everyone can enjoy the whole gamut of feelings bestowed by this flower.