PlantFiles: Purpletop Vervain, Brazilian Verbena, Upright Verbena
Verbena bonariensis

An erect, clump-forming tender perennial with stiff, widely branched stems, it can reach 3-6' in height with an open, airy spread of 1-3'. The airy, see-through habit of purpletop verbena makes it a good choice for the front or middle of a mixed border. Weave a line of purpletop verbena through a bed or border of other butterfly flowers.

Best planted in columns or masses because it is so thin it will be overlooked all by itself. Will freely self-seed if not deadheaded.

I've had this plant in my garden for two years - a quart-sized pot has overwintered, as well as re-seeded nicely. A keeper!

In my zone 6b, this is a self-seeding annual. The foliage is so sparse that I prefer to grow it through a shrub in order for the flowers stand out. The butterflies and bees love it!

In central to coastal Texas (zones 8-9), Verbena bonariensis behaves like a short-lived perennial. Like other plants adapted to semi-arid conditions, it needs to spread its roots far and wide; therefore, it quickly becomes pot-bound in a nursery liner (one gallon or less) and looks terrible in no time. I obtained my start for free from a nursery proprietor in Houston who saw me selecting homely orphan plants from the obscure back benches.

Most xeriscape specimens tend to look dreadful in pots but recover quickly in the ground. In my garden, that initial plant bloomed itself to death after a spectacular show over several months. It came back from seed the next season. Owing to the low germination rate of the minute seeds, I do not consider this plant invasive. Volunteers tolerate transplanting quite well. Hummingbirds and butterflies love this plant. Keep it well away from pathways -- you will find the leaves prickly-scratchy.

In this area of Victoria in Australia, Purple-top Verbena has become an invasive weed, covering large areas of open ground and crowding out the native species. Pulling the plants is fairly effective control, but the prickly stems make gloves a must.

Verbena bonariensis has become one of the favorite plants in my (full sun, Northern Virginia) perennial bed. This plant starts blooming in late spring and continues all summer long. The small flowers are a wonderful neon-like shade of purple. The flower stalks shoot a couple feet above the main foliage making it rather unique, but also requires some thought on how to integrate this into your garden.

I love this plant too, because of the very bright flowers. It seems to glow.

I live in Northern Irealnd and I would not be without this plant - it self seeds (a lot) in a gravel bed beside my pond, but it is easy to weed out from this. The butterflies love it (attracts peacock butterflies which aren't too common here). From last week (mid Sept), blue tits were hanging acrobatically from the flower heads - not sure what they were eating - there was up to 10 at one time - a truly beautiful sight. Added to this, it is always a much admired plant by garden vistors and there is always a self -seeded plant to give away. I wouldn't let it loose in a normal soil bed though!!

I was told this plant was hardy to Zone 5, but they never come back after the winter (I've tried 3 times).

- Kathleen (NW Rhode Island)

Funny, I didn´t know this species until recently, when I found some growing volunteerly on a road side near here. I guess it can become weedy under some conditions.

I love this plant, despite it being currently 'trendy' in the media. The first year of growing, it only grew to about three feet, with a couple of flowerheads. The following year it's at about six feet and very floriferous, having overwintered happily in our thick British clay. Looks fantastic next to bamboo.

Verbena bonariensis easily self seeds here in the Eastern section of the Green Mountains of Vermont (zone 4B). Its quirky, lacy charm is overshadowed by the frightening potential of seeding into nearby pastures and fields, making it less than desirable as a gardening choice in our rural areas. We planted one 4-pack of small plants three years ago and have had to pull out numerous plants each year that self seeded into fields nearby. Hispid stems make this task unpleasant. Perhaps even in an urban setting the pant might not be appropriate, because it could potentially establish in urban waste places and escape into the countryside in a wide range of climates. This species seems to adapt to most soils and the seeds can over winter even in our cold area.

Brazilian Verbena creates a lacey scrim giving the brightly colored plants behind them an air of mystery. After 3 years in my Zone 8 garden, I realize how neutral a shade the lavender flowers are, but the self-sown combination of this Verbena in front of purple-rose Cleome is an especially fetching color echo.

Perhaps the nutrient-poor sandy soil in their bed is the reason that Brazilian Verbena's spread has been modest. My original plants were winter sown. Seed is easy to collect and share.

This is actually surviving the winter here this year; I found a plant when I was cleaning out my beds the other day! I have heard that we are now unofficially zone 6, and my information says that Verbena bonariensis is hardy in zones 6-10. Other years it has just self-seeded itself. Stratification and darkness aid germination of seeds.

While there have been complaints about this being a rampant reseeder, in my garden, the more it reseeds the better. Unlike other reseeders, the foliage is so sparse it looks wonderful coming up through other plants, whether they're shorter or taller! And while other plants may be spent for the season, these bloom just about until frost for me, and the butterflies love it.

One of the BEST plants for attracting Butterflies!!!

I've seen Hummers at it too.

I let it self sow and let it grow everywhere. If I don't like a seedling in a particular spot, I pull it out. I let it grow in front, middle and back of garden, its slender stems don't block other plants.

Great plant!

While I find this perennial very pretty, it can self seed in droves! It loves our Mediterranean climate and though I thought I had eradicated it, the seed lay dormant in the soil for almost 4 years. I have it again! It comes back with a vengeance!

This plant not only reseeds like crazy, it is also a perennial in my zone 6 garden. I've got some plants that are 3 years old, the old stems will die back to the ground in the winter and new growth comes back at the base every year.

This plant is awesome! I started with (3) 1 quart plants from the local nursery and the next year, I had hundreds of plants! It re-seeded in the nearby pasture and completely filled a 100 square feet area with purple blooms in late April, continuing to bloom all summer. The butterflies do love it. I plan on sharing some of the seeds with others this year.

This is actually returning from the roots here in zone 6a after a pretty hard winter. It is not from reseeding, but actually from the roots.