Verbena hastata

Blue Vervain

• Average to very wet or slightly dry soils
• Full Sun to Light Shade
• 36” to 60” tall, 18” to 24” spacing -taller in wet settings, shorter in dry settings
• Summer Blooms
• Ontario Native, Thrives in Garden, Meadow and Wet Meadow Ecosystems

Another native plant that simply arrived in the garden one day. -One of the many benefits of only pulling the ‘weeds’ once I know who they area.
They grow to around 30” to 50” in the urban garden beds or the country vegetable garden. In the dry meadow they are a bit less vigorous, reaching around 18” to 30”.
The candelabra of little purple-blue flowers are an early July to early August affair, working their way up from bottom to top like a slow burning firework. The pollinators seem to enjoy the blooms and various small critters dine on tiny bites of their leaves, which the plants don’t seem to be fussed by at all. These Verbena really don’t seem to expect anything of me, care wise. I do gather and distribute their seeds though. I like to share the joy.
With their variable height, I suspect that these would exceed 5’ in a mixed, wet meadow setting, since moisture levels seem to be the primary factor in exuberance of growth.
Much like Rudbeckia hirta, these can bloom in the first year from seed, especially if started a bit early and then transplanted to the garden when the weather warms.
I’d say that these would easily blend into a perennial border or English style garden. They also do very well in waterside restoration plantings.