 Glandularia puchella
Common Names: moss verbena, South American mock vervain, cutleaf
verbena
Family: Verbenaceae (verbena or vervain Family)
Perennial Annual Attracts Butterflies Can be Grown in Containers
Flowers
Description
Moss verbena is a freely branching annual (or a tender perennial)
that can get about a foot tall, but usually sprawls over and spreads
along the ground, rooting at the nodes. A single plant may cover an
area 3 ft (0.9 m) in diameter. The aromatic leaves have three lobes.
Each is finely dissected into many linear segments that are about a
quarter-inch long giving the plant an almost mosslike appearance.
Large clusters of pink, lilac, purple or white flowers 3 in (7.6 cm)
across are produced all summer long. Each individual flower is about
1 in (2.5 cm) long and a 1/2 in (1.3 cm) across, with a slender,
tubular base that flares abruptly to form a flat corolla with five
petal-like lobes.
Several cultivars have been selected. 'Alba' has white flowers
and threadlike leaf segments; 'Tapien Pink' has pink flowers, and
'Imagination' has purple flowers and is available from seed.
Location
Moss verbena is native to Argentina and Chile, but has escaped
cultivation and become established in much of the SE US from North
Carolina to Texas. Moss verbena is a weedy little flower that is
especially abundant in fields and along road shoulders, where it
creeps beneath the mower's blades and paints acres with bright pinks
and purples.
Culture
Light: Moss verbena does well in full sun; in areas with hot
summers, it does well in partial shade.
Moisture: Moss verbena is fairly drought tolerant, and requires a
well drained soil.
Hardiness: Moss verbena is an evergreen perennial in USDA zones
9B-11, and a perennial that dies back in winter and resprouts in
spring in zones 7B-9A. It is grown as an annual in cooler zones.
Propagation: Moss verbena can be grown from seed and is easy to
start from cuttings. Take tip cuttings 2-3 in (5.1-7.6 cm) long in
spring or summer and root in moist, warm potting medium. Roots
should develop in a couple weeks.
Usage
Use low growing moss verbena in annual flower beds or in the front
of borders. Butterflies are attracted to the flowers which bloom
from spring until the first frost. Pinch back stems to encourage
more branching and dead-head faded flowers to encourage more
blooming. Moss verbena looks great in a hanging container.
Features
Moss verbena should be used much more in southern gardens. It grows
fast, is tolerant of drought, blooms all season long, is free of
pests and diseases, and requires almost no care. It can be mowed
down with a lawn mower and it comes right back. If you can't find
moss verbena in local garden centers, you might be able to get some
cuttings from the edge of a farmer's field if you ask nicely.
Moss verbena is sometimes sold in garden centers under the name,
Verbena erinoides, which actually is a synonym for V. lanciniata, a
South American annual that is similar to moss verbena.
Although moss verbena is an exotic species in North America and
it readily self-sows, it has not become a pest and is not listed by
organizations that monitor invasive weeds. |
