Verbena Cuttings

lincolnitess Lincoln, NE(Zone 5b) Aug 26, 2005

I am growing a number of the Babylon verbena this summer and just love them. They are an annual here. Has anyone taken cuttings from verbena and overwintered it indoors under lights? I noticed that the verbena roots in places as it creeps along. Is it better to try digging up those rooted sections and cuttting them back or just using cuttings? Do you root in water or soil? Thanks for any hints. I want to have lots of them next year and this year they were $3.99 each, so want to save a little money. I will be glad to send cuttings to anyone who sends postage. Just let me know. I have purple, blue and bright pink.

Susan

Post #1720550

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daisyruffles Albany, OR(Zone 8a) Aug 26, 2005

Susan,
I have rooted verbenas with no problems.
I have done it both ways.
One way is what I learned at a Master Gardeners propagation class is perlite : soil mixture. You use 9:1 ratio, perlite:soil. Package soil, that is. This way works great. You just have to water the pots with this mixture 1 or 2 times per day. I usually do this in the fall and overwinter them and then pull up the newly rooted plants in the spring and plant them in pots or the ground.
The other way, I just use some germination soil which stays very wet for me. Just pluck in a stem of the verbena and overwinter and plant.
When I do these methods, I cut about 4-6" of a stem, strip the leaves off of the part going into the mixtures, and stick them in.
You can just cut the rooted parts and pot them up too. Either way is great. I just like to see if I can root things and to duplicate the plants I like.
Carol