Does anyone grow this in their garden?
I'm in a zone 5/6 and wasn't sure if this would reseed on its own or would
I need to replant each year.

Thanks.

They should resow quite nicely..I usually have them come up so thickly I just have to keep at them until I get the quantity that I think need to be in that location..Lots of people won't grow them because of reseeding but I find them worth the effort...

Welcome, Julia! Nice to have you.

What a gorgeous garden in your icon!!!

I have a terrible problem with so many things reseeding, so I'm probably not the most reliable source of information but... Verbena bonariensis is the most invasive thing I have ever planted. I've been trying to eradicate it for at least 4 years, but I still got a lot of volunteers last summer. All of the little seedlings with the reddish purple center are VB, and they're all over every flower bed.


They're also not supposed to be perennial here but they winter over in my yard with no problem.

But- it's a pretty plant and attracts loads of butterflies.

Karen

Thank you all for the help. Have you noticed any of the following problems which I found on a site: Problems: Whiteflies, aphids, slugs, snails, scale insects, spider mites, powdery mildew, Septoria leaf spot, rust. I was concerned with the rust issue as I grow many daylilies and don't want this infecting them. Any thoughts?

Janice: Thank you for the Welcome. I'm slowly getting to all the forums here on ATP and will hopefully gleem some ideas from the cottage gardeners to add to my garden. The avatar is a pic of one section of daylilies that grow here. I keep adding more plants each year. I'm so addicted to gardening.

Julia, some years my VB get powdery mildew, though not always.

Seems to me that any plant is far more susceptible to powdery mildew if the plant is stressed. The worst years I've had for PM have been years which are extremely hot, humid, and droughty. I think those things just stress a plant and then it's more susceptible to problems.

Karen

Karen: Thanks for the follow-up.

I grow Verbena bonariensis in my garden, and it does reseed. That being said, it is a perennial but not a long-lived one, but it manages to reseed every year somewhere, and I also collect the seeds and broadcast them where I want them. I also plant some in trays for the nursery; it is easily grown that way and will bloom the first year.. It is a beautiful flower and one I would never want to be without.

I've been trying to be without it for 4 or 5 years. I can't get rid of it. After growing it for 2 years, I think the seed bank in my soil will last forever. It's probably the most invasive thing I've ever planted.

When they get powdery mildew, it's not a pretty sight.


That said, it did like it for those 2 years.

Karen

I have grown Verbena bonariensis in the Piedmont and in the mountains of North Carolina for about 30 years, and invasive is one of the very last words I would use to describe it. Maybe it's the location, but I never have enough plants from natural reseeding each year, and so I began gathering some of the seeds growing extras in the greenhouse. I've always been fearful of not having any of this Verbena in my garden - that's how much I love it. I think a lot of folks feel the same way because it is the plant I sell the most of in my nursery. I strongly advise against taking someone else's word for something they consider invasive, unless it's Kudzu or Wisteria. This Verbena is an asset to any garden and if you are lucky to have too many in any given year (I should be so lucky), they are easy enough to pull up. If you are really worried, which you shouldn't be, you can always deadhead the spent flowers before seeds develop. This is one of the very best perennials out there.

Here in zone 3 it does not make it through the winter for me.
I do a winter sow of it every year, and that way I can keep it in the garden.

Interesting that both sides feel so passionately! Same with my daughter and I. I love it and she hates that it reseeds everywhere! Usually when I find a seedling I dig it up and put it with others because a mass planting is STUNNING!!!

I don't find them hard to pull out if you don't want them either. I use them for fillers in my bouquets for market. Last year I had extra and stuck them in a vase and sold like hotcakes! Or course that's different than the plant.

By the way, my daughter asked me to get her some seeds again this year, since she has more room she wants to grow it again! LOL

I grew this plant under a Dogwood tree last year. I don't think it was ever without butterflies once it bloomed. I'd never want to be without it again either!

Mine did get some powdery mildew, but it didn't seem to bother the plant at all.

My garden verges between zone 5 and 4B and it does not reseed at all for me. I do mulch very heavily to help retain moisture in our high desert climate, though. I wintersowed it for the first time last season and it's blooming now. I love it and will continue to wintersow to have it every summer, doesn't seem to have any issues here but we have very low humidity.

LizinElizabeth said:... it does not reseed at all for me.

Not for me, either...I wish it would.

Ugh. I've lost track of how many years I've been trying to get rid of it, must be 5 or 6 years. It still pops up.

Karen

At this time of year, this stuff is one of the things ruling, blanketing the roadsides in this area, where not mowed. Possibly in many areas, it's hard to notice going faster than about 25 MPH, even if blooming profusely. I've not noticed butterflies flocking to it over other plants.

There are at least a billion of these blooms in this pic I took yesterday. At any given moment there are many butterflies in my small yard, gulf fritillaries, and tiger and black swallowtails but I didn't notice any creeping for a mile down this road at about 5 MPH (and back,) stopping often to get out and take pics, besides occasional cabbage whites and little yellows. Around where I am, I see no evidence of the value of spreading this invasive plant any more. I'm sure it IS all about location, both for how the plants/seeds perform, and their use as a nectar source. Many plants are that way.


Photgraphed in macro though, the flowers sure are cute!! I love tiny flowers!

This plant does not reseed itself in the ground for me here in zone 5 but it does pop up in my pots every year. I have a group of large pots that work as holding area for my homeless plants and the verbena has found its way into the pots and has faithfully reseeded for several years now.



so you might try a large pot ?

I had one plant, just one, sprout from dropped seed this year, but it bloomed after most of the butterflies were already gone. Starting it earlier in the season is still a better option for me, I think.

I have never seen the seeds really. I bury the entire head on flowers like that, but for me, this reseeds itself very well and I have enough space that I usually just let it be. I'm always thankful when I'm looking for cut flowers too. In fact, we are going to market one last time tomorrow and I found a handful of it still in blissom that I can use in my bouquets.