Verbena

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Whitefly

Whitefly

Aleyrodidae

A puff of white when you brush the leaf, and stickiness underneath.

, Thrips

Thrips

Thysanoptera

Silvery streaking with black specks — the specks are how you tell them from mites.

, Spider mites

Spider mites

Tetranychidae

Fine pale stippling in hot, dusty, dry weather. Visible webbing means you are already late.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

,

to keep them in check — plant nearby.

Growing from seed

Start Verbena indoors about 8 weeks before your last frost. Seeds usually come up in around 21 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 45 cm apart. Expect the first blooms in roughly 90 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  Lungwort
  

  LungwortGreat pair

  • ❧Lungwort attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly and more that attack Verbena
  • ❧Verbena draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Lungwort acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Verbena
• 
  Red Mustard
  

  Red MustardGreat pair

  • ❧Red Mustard attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly and more that attack Verbena
  • ❧Red Mustard suppresses pests that trouble Verbena
  • ❧Red Mustard acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Verbena
• 
  Wasabina
  

  WasabinaGreat pair

  • ❧Wasabina attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly and more that attack Verbena
  • ❧Wasabina suppresses pests that trouble Verbena
  • ❧Wasabina acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Verbena

How to grow Verbena

1. Sow8 weeks before frost
2. Germinates21 days
3. Space45 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~90 days

Water: Low · Height: 150 cm · Soil: Well-draining, average — tolerates poor dry soil