I see it in the spring on the sides of the road where you know it's not getting irrigated and goes dormant in the summer, but I can't grow it either.

I've also never met a daisy that would grow in my garden. Beautiful for a short time and then a horrible death.

I had no success growing this verbena either. It flourished for a couple of months, stopped blooming then went into decline.

Molly

I grow this verbena, and it has done well for me in one spot in my garden. This spot gets watered by the sprinkler so maybe damp but never wet and it also gets full sun until about two in the afternoon.

Thanks - Glad to know there really are spots it can be happy here. I just can't recall anywhere I've seen it thriving perennially outside the arboretum. Did pick a healthy one off the Lowe's clearance rack yesterday, so will try to find a spot with late afternoon shade in the irrigated space and hope for better results. I always watered them as needed; suppose keeping the soil more consistently moist could be a factor.

I have a neighbor that has an ever growing clump trailing down a short wall, mostly shade and watered daily. Gorgeous. I planted mine In ground, dryish and it has declined. Alternately, I have a hybrid verbena, full sun, gets sprinkler water and it does well. However, I'm told they are biannual but it has performed better than Homestead verbena

I haven't had luck with them either. I tried it three times in three different places but never found the right spot. I hope this one stays healthy for you.

Michelle

Amazingly I had a homestead volunteer this spring. It's be years since I tried it. True to form it bloomed nicely in the spring and then declined and eventually died when the weather got hot.

A verbena that's done well for me this year is Verbena rigida. Planted last year it made it through the winter, all that rain in spring, and now the triple digit heat. The bed it's planted in had some compost and a bag of decomposed granite dug in.

(Wow, by some miracle I was able to post.)

Thanks for the comment regarding Verbena rigida - aka sandpaper or rough verbena. I've already purchased seed and will be winter sowing it this year for spring garden. It is new to me and I'm anxious to see how it does. Did it bloom all season for you?

Mary

Mary, it bloomed all season. I just went out to look to see if it was still blooming as it was a few days ago, but no -- just a lot of seeds which I am scattering around.

Thank you so much, Roselee, for this additional information! Now I'm more excited than ever to grow it in my garden. I'm hoping it will prove to be a good nectar plant, too, for all the little flying things.

Mary

You are welcome. And much appreciation to Lorelei who passed it along to me at the San Antonio plant swap a couple of years ago.

I think Homestead is the type of verbena I have and it has lived for two years now. One of my neighbors has it also. She told me she whacks it way back in the spring; otherwise, it dies. I did that with mine and it is looking pretty healthy right now.