Categories: Gardening

Verbena Hybrid Empress Flowers

Verbena Hybrid Empress flowers provide a mass of color in the fall when used as a ground cover in flower beds.

I love the Verbena family or Verbenaceae because most of the flowers and plants provide butterfly nectar food such as banana lantana, Golden dewdrop and Blue porterweed. I grow Beautyberry bush in my Florida backyard which is also in the Verbena family. Birds love to eat the berries from the beautyberry bush.

My all-time favorite native plant from the Verbena family is Tampa Mock Vervain (Glandularia tampenis) or Verbena tampensis. However, my Tampa Mock Vervain typically comes up in the springs but begins to go to seed by the early fall. Since Tampa Vervain is an endangered plant, I always keep a close eye on my flower bed in the spring to make sure my Tampa Vervain has returned.

The Verbena Hybrid Empress flowers are patented flowers. They will not reseed because they are sterile.

You can buy Verbena Hybrid Empress in various colors such as Empress strawberry charme and Empress Burgundy charm.

Although I’m a fan of native Florida plants, I don’t see any harm in planting the Verbena Hybrid since it’s not invasive and the butterflies and bees can benefit. The Purpletop or Verbena bonariensis is native to Brazil and Argentina.

Verbena is great for a bee garden to help the bee population that suffered from the honeybee die off problem.

Here are some tips for growing Verbena:

No. 1: Verbena Hybrid plants grow to be about 18 to 24 inches. Space about 36 inches apart.

No. 2: Plant Verbena Hybrid Empress in the full sun to part shade.

No. 3: Verbena is clump forming and makes a beautiful groundcover. One Verbena plant can cover a six foot space.

No. 4: Because Verbena is a drought tolerant plant it is ideal for xeriscaping and for hot desert climates.

No. 5: Many Verbena plants are hardy in zones 5 to 10 but check your local nursery for the best plant for your zone. Verbena is grown as annual in colder climates and flourishes in the cooler weather in Florida in the fall and winter.

Verbena plants typically have sandpapery stems and branches with leaves clustered in a rosette at base of plant. The range of colors for Verbena include shades of red, rose, lavender, peach, pink, purple, blue.

My endangered Tampa Mock Vervain is a lavender/blue color. It is truly my most adored plant. Since it is a native wildflower, it’s important to purchase it from a nursery that specializes in native plants rather than disturbing it in the wild. The Tampa Mock Vervain is not patented and does reseed unlike the Verbena Hybrid Empress, but, it’s not easy to find.

Enjoy the colors, but plan on having to replace Verbena the following year since they typically behave as an annual.