Originally from South America, verbena thrives when grown indoors from seed and requires little care. It can be grown as seedlings in pots for early bloom, sown directly in warm soil, or grown as a perennial on a balcony or windowsill, enjoying the beautiful, delicate clusters of flowers.
See also: Garden hydrangea - planting and care in open ground.
Seeds
The most important thing is that the seeds must be fresh, so pay attention to this when purchasing. A year or two will pass, and nothing will grow for you, wasting your time and money.
Priming
Mix peat with humus, and your seeds will be happy. Steam the soil if you're sowing for seedlings; if you're going straight into the garden, dig it up, add humus, and water it with warm water.
Planting dates
For seedlings - February-March, in the ground - the end of May, so that the soil is warm and frost is not expected.
How to plant
For seedlings: fill the boxes with soil, water them, and simply scatter the seeds on top, then add a little soil and river sand. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place. In about three weeks, all the seeds will sprout. Once 3-4 leaves appear, transplant them. Do not water the soil, but only mist with a spray bottle. When the weather warms up, take them outside gradually to harden off.
Directly into the ground: in the south, this process is natural, so there's no need to fuss with seedlings. As soon as the weather warms up, around mid-May, prepare a bed in a sunny spot, water it, poke holes, and place the seeds, covering them with soil. You can cover them until they sprout. If you plant in groups, weeds won't grow; if you plant individually, mulch, and increase watering during hot weather and flowering.
Reproduction
In the fall, water the bushes and dig them up, wrap them in plastic, and store them in the basement. In the spring, take them out, trim the cuttings, and plant them in peat and sand—this way you can propagate verbena from cuttings, which is very convenient. Cover these with plastic as well, and let them root. Take them out periodically to harden them off, and by mid-May, you can transplant them into the ground.
When you transfer the plants, pinch off the tops so that the bush does not stretch out, but grows.
Apply organic fertilizer once, then add ash or nitrophoska, and that's it—enjoy the beautiful verbena blooms in your garden!
Interesting information - Growing potatoes wisely without weeding or hilling.