Each plant has its own history. Their origin is sometimes shrouded in mystery and magic, and vervain is no exception. About this plant goes the legend that it emerged from the drops of blood of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion.
By its properties to ward off evil spirits, dishonest people call it pigeon or cast-iron grass, and poetically “Juno’s tears”. From it they prepared a love drink, hung it on the door as a keeper of the family hearth, dried it.
Variety description
Verbena is a grassy plant for open ground, but can grow as a shrub. Verbena is from South America and belongs to the Verbenov family. This family has about 250 species. Verbena is a perennial plant, but in Russia it is grown as an annual.
The plant is afraid of frosts, but can tolerate a slight cooling. The plant is picky and very simple, even for novice gardeners. Verbena will grow when it is planted in the ground and through seedlings. Seedlings need to do in February-March.
A small plant of 20-30 cm blooms with white, purple and pink fragrant flowers and beautifully smogitsya in a flower bed, balcony boxes. curbs. Verbena, despite being a perennial plant species, dies after frosts, but blooms until October in southern Russia.
Verbena finely cut sometimes called verbena hybrid. The leaves are pubescent with bristles and oblong in shape or elongated, rectangular. The arrangement of leaves is opposite. It has two varieties: large-flowered and low compact.
Krupnotsvetkovaya or mammoth has a bush height of 40 - 50 cm, and a low compact - 20 - 30 cm ... Stems of large-flowered vervain are creeping, large flowers. Low compact has erect stems and flowers are not large in size and forms dense bushes.
Conditions of detention
Planting in the soil in early spring allows in the summer period after transplantation into the soil to get a bright blooming flower bed. The plant develops very long, about 3 - 3.5 months. The temperature range for seedlings is + 14 ° + 18 ° С, in the ground under the film from + 21 ° to + 24 ° С.
Vervain soil prefers slightly alkaline, easily drained and avoids waterlogging and stagnation of water. For such a plant suitable light fertile loam.
The plant can easily tolerate the sun, but it is better not to allow the soil to dry out. Constant watering will provide long flowering and abundant vegetation, but if watering is not enough for her, then she will begin to form seeds. At first, after planting in the ground, it is necessary to free the flowerbed from weeds, after active vegetation, verbena weeds are not scary.
After a strong heat, the plant needs to be pierced and watered abundantly. In the second half of summer, when the heat subsides and the watering becomes less intense, it decreases. Water the plant should be warm water adding fertilizersuch feedings should be carried out 3-4 times per season.
Landing
Before planting, seeds should be soaked overnight in water, this refers to the seeds of vervain fine-cut. Some varieties of vervain have a thick skin and cannot germinate themselves. Such seeds need to be stratified by freezing. Seeds are laid out on a damp cloth and placed in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Before planting seeds in the soil, the soil is treated with a fungicidal agent.. Seed germination is not high and germinates by only 30%. For the cultivation of seedlings suitable light humus soil or sand. The box with the seedlings is placed in a warm, well-lit place and covered with glass. regular watering and wiping of moisture from the glass, easy ventilation will ensure seed germination for 20-30 days. Seedlings should be moved to a cooler place.
Caring for seedlings is to moisten them with a spray while the soil dries. A month after the appearance of these leaves, it should be dived into separate pots for seedlings. Top-dressing with mineral fertilizers should be carried out two weeks after their adaptation in new conditions.
Transplantation of pots into the ground should be carried out after the establishment of warm weather, otherwise the plant may die. Verbena seedlings should be transplanted into the ground with a clod of earth in which she grew up in a pot. This will not harm the roots of the plant. On the flower bed should be done before planting the hole, lay fragments of bricks at the bottom of the hole, crushed stone to create drainage.
Pour water into the wells and wait for her to leave. After planting a sprout of verbena in the hole and slightly flatten it on top of the ground. If the transplant time after rain, then watering the soil is not necessary. Plants in dry weather need to loosen, it will make the soil light and the plants will grow better.
Breeding
IMPORTANT: Verbena is propagated by seed and cuttings. This flower is dioecious and can pollinate itself.
The plant can not leave the kidney renewal as the climate does not allow it to grow after a period of seasonal dormancy. But she gives seeds from herself. These seeds when planting them will be very different from the parent plant. The best option is to buy seeds through a retail network.
Reproduction by cuttings in our climate begin in the fall. The plant is dug out of the ground along with the ground in order not to damage the vervain root system, cuttings are placed in containers and stored in a cool place until spring. In the spring of the cutting pruned tip and put it in a nourishing soil. Conditions of care and technology is the same as for seedlings.
Watch the video on breeding verbena cuttings:
Diseases and growing problems
Verbena is a moisture-loving plant, but if you get carried away with watering, it can cause root and leaf rot. To reduce the mode of watering will help mulching the leaves of the plant itself. It can affect nematodes and fungi, therefore, to prevent fungal infections in the soil, it is treated with a fungicide solution before planting. She is also prone to tle. You can get rid of aphids using insecticides.
Verbena is a perennial herb. It is simple and unpretentious in care, which makes it possible to grow it with great success even to a not very experienced gardener. The correct mode of watering and minimal knowledge about this plant will allow him to please his flowering until October. Climatic conditions do not allow verbena to be a perennial plant in Russia.
