How to Grow Verbena by Seed

Verbena has long been cultivated in gardens both as an ornamental plant and as a fragrant herb used in perfumery and herbal medicine. Common verbena, or Verbena x hybrida, is the most widely cultivated variety, particularly in warm climates with a long growing season. The plants grow easily from seeds and mature in their first year, but the young plants are susceptible to a fungal infection called damping-off and must be kept moderately dry during the germination period to ensure survival.

Plastic bag
3-inch peat pots
Potting soil
Measuring spoon

Instructions

- 1
  Store the verbena seeds in a plastic bag inside the refrigerator for one week prior to sowing. Do this approximately 10 to 12 weeks before the last hard frost in spring.
- 2
  Sow the verbena seeds in individual 3-inch peat pots filled with potting soil. Place two seeds on the surface of the soil. Cover them with a 1/16-inch-thick layer of potting soil since the seeds require darkness to germinate.
- 3
  Pour 5 to 6 tbsp. of water into each peat pot to moisten the top 1/2 inch of soil. Maintain moisture at that level until the plants mature, but let the surface of the soil dry out slightly between waterings to keep the soil from becoming waterlogged.
- 4
  Place the potted verbena seeds in a warm and bright location where temperatures stay between 65 and 70 F at all times. Limit direct sun exposure on the pots to less than two hours each day.
- 5
  Watch for germination in three to four weeks. Thin the seedlings as soon as they grow to 1 inch in height. Remove the less developed of the two verbena seedlings from each pot.
- 6
  Keep the verbena seedlings near a large window or outdoors on a sunny, sheltered porch until all danger of frost has passed. Plant the young verbenas -- peat pot and all -- in a sunny bed with draining soil. Space the plants 12 inches apart.

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