Are verbena's annuals?

I planted this purple verbena in the spring of 2010. I did not expect it to survive our unusually cold winter. It is now blooming like crazy.. What gives? I thought this was supposed to be an annual.

Up close..

Lucky you, your zone must be just right for it to overwinter.
Ann

You are right, annabell52. A friend told me yesterday there are both annual and perennial types of verbena for my area. Hey, I'm glad - now I don't have to replant under the mailbox again..

That is one beautiful Verbena.
Vickie

That's a homestead verbena - one of my favorites. It thrives on neglect and will bloom on and off all summer and fall, usually keeps some green during the winter. If I accidentally break a piece off, I just stick it in the dirt in another flower bed.

Thanks Nia3.. I threw away the tag and wondered what I had bought. I love the stuff..

Last year it didn't bloom much at all, but you're right, it did stay a little green over the winter.

I've always assumed they were perennials in frost/freeze free zones and annuals elsewhere. It is very possible that it reseeded itself. Quite a few annuals will reseed themselves down here when they die in our summer heat and then return again the following winter. Annual phlox consistently does that in my yard each year.

Actually it is hardy to zone 6a. It stays pretty much green all winter here.
There are annual verbenas as well, but I've never had much luck with them, so I don't know if they reseed or not. I don't think they like our humidity.
Anyway, you can look this up in the plant files under verbena homestead purple.
There is a pink homestead as well. I would love some of those, too!

Thanks, Am going to see if i can find one somewhere. Maybe thru a local nursery.
Vickie

I have this verbena too. However, I thought Homestead Verbena was a darker purple.http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/11681/
I have a hot pink, a white, and a pink and white one, but I am afraid they will not return.
I need to make more cuttings of the purple verbena I have. It is so pretty and it actually has two shades of purple---both, a reddish purple.

Hardy to zone 6a? And I thought I was done buying plants...LOL!

I also have a verbena that keeps coming back year after year, I was told that the purple one can be a perennial in my area as well if it is in a sheltered area.. I got this from a friend way back in 2002 and it has been moved to severel different locations as it was being crowded out.. Maybe someone knows exactly which one I have?

One of the issues with getting verbenas to return, aside from freezing out in colder wetter climates is good drainage.

If tender perennials can escape root rot and have a mulch to fend off some of the rain water they have a better chance.

Homestead purple is an old hardy classic that once was quite popular. Nowadays there are so many look alike modern hybrids it's hard to tell which variety is which though.

FYI Hummingbirds and butterflies like the old-fashioned varieties for their abundant nectar. Especially Verbena bonarienses, which is the tall stick verbena which can perennialize in some northern gardens, but also readily reseeds on its own.

If it came back from last year, more than likely it should be treated as a perennial in your area. Now do you know how to collect the seeds from it or is it sterile? If you don't know how to find the seeds, maybe somebody knows and will tell us all. Thanks for sharing.

bazuhi,

one idea for preserving 'tender perennials' from year to year when in a cold zone is to dig them out in say, October, and pot them up and bring them into a sheltered place like a garage, shed or basement.

They will go dormant and won't need sunshine and just water once a month or so. Then in April (or after hard freezes are over) bring them out into the sunshine in a sheltered place like sunny side of the house or a sun porch and let them get started growing again.

A lot of work, but good for some tender plants. Some years when I'm not too lazy, I pot up my small honeysuckles, some special agastaches and salvias, in addition to my verbena 'homestead purples', and stack them up in the garage. Then bring them out in springtime into a sunny space to come back to life.

Another idea for preserving tender perennials in a borderline zone is to put a few temporary stepping stones around your plant for the winter. This will keep excess moisture away and collect warmth from the sun to keep the plant cozy.

Seed saving is always fun to do, too, but sometimes the hybrids don't set viable seed or the seeds don't come true to the parent. I've had good luck with some verbenas.

I bought one from High Country Gardens a couple years ago. It is supposed to be hardy and so far it has proven so for me! Here's a picture of it in spring. https://picasaweb.google.com/FlutterbugGarden/SpringGarden2011#5630797765291557394

Meredith, very pretty picture of Verbena. I checked out your other flowers too, beautiful! Some, I didn't recognize.

Thanks!

What beautiful photos of your gardens. Hope you didn't mind us peeking. Which variety is your lavender? How old would you say that clump is? I have never tried growing it but Freda Cameron from NC always recommends Spanish lavender. Love that lily black bird that's red in color. Your purple monarda..do you know the variety's name?Pineapple sage in the container on your deck. Did you just plant it this year? Looks so healthy and lush. Might have to try that next year. Can't beat that Yvonne's Salvia for color, can you? Will that mandevilla vine take a lot of sun? I've always wanted one of them. Purple Rain daylily is going on my wish list! Like South Seas too. Which lily would look good with Black eye susans? Does that tall verbena become that tall in one year? That might be something I could plant behind the BES or do you suggest something else?

No of course I don't mind! :) I have a link to my Garden Photos on my DG home page.. The reason I post them is so people can browse through for ideas. Browsing through others posts, blogs and web albums is what helped me decide what plants I wanted to try when I was starting my gardens. So to answer your questions, my Lavender is English Lavendula angustifolia I am pretty sure I can't grow Spanish Lavender unless they have hardy new hybrids.. I actually grew mine from seed I got in a DG swap and I think it's either 2 or 3 years old. I'd have to double check my seed starting records to be sure. It may look like one large clump but I planted 3 plants about a spade distance apart from eachother in two spots and the kinda grew together to look like one big clump. I have luck planting most perennial seedlings that way. The purple monarda are also seed grown originally from a burpee seed packet labeled Panorama Mix. The purple was my favorite so I've tended to weed out the other colors and keep the purple. Those have been growing here since 2006 or 2007.. The only time I've had luck with pineapple sage here was that year, that was actually last year and I wasn't able to overwinter it. So the trick was to buy a plant already flowering from the nursery and plant it in a whiskey barrel it took off, but it didn't look so hot after it flowered. I had tried them before and they never flowered for me. The nursery probably forced it somehow because they do specialize in forcing flowers for the large garden expos along the atlantic coast.. The Mandevilla does need a good deal of sun and I have successfully overwintered it two years now. I slacked off getting it hardened off and into full sun so it's a bit behind and just getting flower buds now, but that was my fault.. The Purple Rain Daylily and South Seas are both very good perforing Daylilies. Purple Rain was loaded with flowers every day for at least 3 weeks.. The tall Verbena is an anual here and yes it gets that tall in one year. You are going to find it gets taller quicker if there's a little compost added into the soil. It reseeds a little for me but definitely not a nuisance I would like to see more of it actually. Back to the BES, not sure when yours bloom because I know there are lots of different types but mine are the Goldsturm type and they are just blooming now, while most of my DLs are finished I have a couple cultivars putting out a few blooms but purple rain finished about a week or 2 ago. The verbena however would be nice with them and might be perennial for you, it is margingally hardy in zone 6, or so I've heard. I have my BES with Purple Coneflowers behind them.. They bloom together for a short time but then the Rudbeckias take over while the Coneflowers wind down.