{"product_id":"verbena-rigida-plants-slender-vervain","title":"Verbena Rigida, Slender Vervain","description":"\u003cul class=\"pdp-specs\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVariety:\u003c\/strong\u003e Slender Vervain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLatin name:\u003c\/strong\u003e Verbena rigida, syn. Verbena venosa\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eType:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tuberous perennial\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlower:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fragrant clusters of vivid purple\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 60cm (2ft)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpread:\u003c\/strong\u003e 45cm (18in), spreading gently by rhizomes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlowering:\u003c\/strong\u003e July to October\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePosition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full sun, any well-drained soil, thrives on chalk\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHardiness:\u003c\/strong\u003e Borderline hardy (RHS H3): fine in mild, drained gardens, mulch or lift elsewhere\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePruning:\u003c\/strong\u003e Cut to the ground in early spring when new shoots show\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRHS AGM:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes, it holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWildlife:\u003c\/strong\u003e On the RHS Plants for Pollinators list\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSold as:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2L pot-grown plants\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlant outdoors:\u003c\/strong\u003e After the last frost, and any time through summer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDelivered:\u003c\/strong\u003e Year round. \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/collect-your-order-from-castle-cary\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCollection from Castle Cary\u003c\/a\u003e also available\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePurpletop's knee-high cousin: the same electric purple, brought down to the front of the border and kept flowering until the frosts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eVerbena Rigida: The Knee-High Vervain\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eVerbena rigida, the slender vervain, is a tuberous perennial around 60cm tall that carries dense, fragrant clusters of vivid purple from July to October. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit and sits on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list, both earned: on a warm September afternoon the flowers work as hard as a buddleia, drawing bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies until the light goes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMost gardeners know its tall relative already. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/purpletop-vervain-plants-verbena-bonariensis\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePurpletop Vervain\u003c\/a\u003e is the see-through 1.5m one for the back; rigida is the same saturated purple at knee height, denser, stiffer, made for the front edge, gravel gardens and pots. (The frost-tender trailing verbenas sold for hanging baskets are a different thing entirely; don't judge this plant by them.) One plant becomes a drift over a couple of seasons, spreading gently by rhizomes and a little self-seeding, all of it easy to edit with a trowel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHardiness, handled honestly: this is an H3 plant, South American by birth, which explains both the marathon flowering and the dislike of wet feet. In mild or coastal gardens with sharp drainage it comes through winter under a deep, dry mulch. In cold gardens or heavy soil, lift the roots after the first frosts; they're pencil-thin tubers, so you store them exactly like dahlias, in barely damp sand somewhere frost-free, and replant the clumps you recieve back from storage after the last frost. Winter wet is the killer, not cold alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePlanting Partners for Verbena Rigida\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe purple flatters warm colours, so let \u003ca href=\"\/products\/echinacea-cheyenne-spirit-plants\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eEchinacea Cheyenne Spirit\u003c\/a\u003e throw its oranges and scarlets around it at the same height. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hidcote-english-lavender-plants\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHidcote lavender\u003c\/a\u003e shares the sun, the drainage and the bee traffic along a path edge. And because rigida wakes late in spring, plant \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/tulip-bulbs\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003etulips\u003c\/a\u003e among the crowns: they flower and fade before the vervain needs the space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy Ashridge?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe list Verbena rigida as an H3 plant and say so plainly, with the two overwintering routes on this page rather than in the returns process. Your plants arrive in 2L pots ready to flower this season, grown peat-free, and guaranteed like everything we sell.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently Asked Questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eIs Verbena rigida hardy?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorderline: it's rated H3, reliable outdoors through winter only in mild gardens with sharp drainage. Elsewhere, mulch the crown deeply in late autumn or lift and store the tubers like dahlias. Drainage is the whole game.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat is the difference between Verbena rigida and Verbena bonariensis?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHeight and placement. Bonariensis is the airy, see-through one at 1.5m for the middle or back; rigida is denser and richer purple at 60cm for the front. Same border, two storeys; we grow both.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWill Verbena rigida spread?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGently, yes: it creeps by rhizomes and self-seeds a little, so a single plant becomes a drift within two or three seasons. Unwanted pieces pull out easily in spring, so it never becomes a thug.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eIs Verbena rigida the same as Verbena venosa?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes. Verbena venosa is simply the old name for Verbena rigida, and some nurseries and older books still use it. Same plant, same purple, same tuberous roots.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eHow do I overwinter Verbena rigida?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo routes. In free-draining soil, cut nothing back and lay a deep, dry mulch over the crown at the start of winter. In cold or heavy gardens, lift the tubers after the first frosts and store them frost-free in barely damp sand; pots can just move somewhere dry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhen should I cut back Verbena rigida?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn early spring, once new shoots show at the base; never in autumn. The old top growth is part of the plant's winter protection, and cutting it early invites the wet into the crown.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Ashridge Nurseries","offers":[{"title":"Potted \/ 2L","offer_id":57171354976582,"sku":"PEREVERRIG-2L","price":9.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0947\/0351\/8022\/files\/close-up-of-verbena-rigida-purple-vervain-flower.webp?v=1787306527","url":"https:\/\/www.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/products\/verbena-rigida-plants-slender-vervain","provider":"Ashridge Nurseries","version":"1.0","type":"link"}