If you want a butterfly and hummingbird magnet that also creates a stunning summer show in your containers, then try one of the enchanting verbenas. These vintage flowers have been grown for generations, but they were known for being fussy and prone to disease. That has changed with the improved, modern verbena hybrids (Verbena × hybrida), commonly known as garden verbena.
The hybrid cultivars are short-lived tender perennials (USDA hardiness zones 9–10) and are grown as annuals in northern climates. Their long-blooming flowers rise above fernlike foliage and bloom from May to October. The tiny flowers form rounded clusters that come in shades of blue-violet, purple, rose, red, pink, coral, and white, as well as bicolored varieties. They also may have white eyes, stripes, fringed petals, and more. Verbena is a winner when growing in a planter.
You can find hybrid verbenas that trail or others that grow somewhat upright to 18 inches tall. They make lovely fillers or spillers in planters. Consistent watering and a very sunny spot is important. The secret to great hybrid verbenas in containers is to pinch them back to promote bushier growth. Do not be afraid to cut them back! Deadheading faded flowers also encourages additional blooms. Some hybrid verbenas, such as the wonderful Superbena®, do not need to be deadheaded.
Verbenas pair well with other flowers. Plant two different colors of hybrid verbenas with angelonia, Bidens, calibrachoa, and creeping Jenny for a floriferous planter. Or try the fabulous bicolored verbenas. Hybrid verbenas with their colors and patterns are wonderful eye candy.
I planted this lovely pink verbena in a basket-weave terracotta pot and placed it in a bed. The tawny red coral bells (Heuchera) foliage accent the flowers and pot perfectly.
‘BeBop Pink’ verbena, with its two-tone pink rounded flowers, trails over the edge of a pot, along with a similar lavender white-eyed verbena. Unique flower patterns are a feature of hybrid verbenas. They are both mounding and trailing—great for containers.
A Victorian-style welded wire plant stand, complete with decorative twisted curlicues, withstands the elements and is part of a summer garden. Note the wooden boards that act as a strong base for the heavy planters. They are a helpful added support to the lightweight wire shelf.
An antique, moss-covered pedestal (see the monkey?) serves as a convenient base for an ornate metal urn filled with white New Guinea impatiens. It is a sweet surprise, placed in a partially shady plant bed.
I placed three small pots of flowers on three consecutive stone steps. The contrast of the pink calibrachoa and white trailing ornamental bacopa (Sutera cordata) against the stone is very appealing. Watering daily is a must because the planters are small.