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Verbena rigida (Sand Paper Verbena) - An evergreen perennial to 1 to 2 feet tall and spreading wider from underground by rhizomes. It has rough textured 2- to 3-inch-long dark green leaves that have sharp points on the well-spaced lobes along the leaf margin and on leaf tip and with small vivid purple fragrant flowers held in tight clusters on branching panicles from spring through fall - can bloom into winter in mild climates.
Plant in full sun (best) or in partial shade in a well-drained soil. Tolerates heat and dry conditions but also more regular irrigation and is cold hardy to 0 °F and useful as a long blooming annual in even colder locations. Cut back hard to the ground after flowering or when looking haggard and it will quickly resprout. Has been a little pesky in some locations as it will spread wide if allowed and has been known to reseed in the garden. The flowers are attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies, but the rough foliage is resistant to predation by deer.
This plant is native to Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. It was first described by German botanist Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel in Systema Vegetabilium in 1827 and others have proposed it be included with Verbena bonariensis as Verbena bonariensis var. rigida (Spreng.) Kuntze, Verbena bonariensis var. venosa (Gillies & Hook.) Chodat or Verbena bonariensis forma venosa (Gillies & Hook.) Chodat and it is sometimes listed as Glandularia rigida, but the current name according the Royal Botanic Garden Kew's database remains Verbena rigida. It has also gone under the common names Prairie Verbena, Stiff Verbena, Upright Verbena, Tuberous Vervain, Slender Vervain and Hardy Garden Verbena. In England, where it typically is called the Hardy Garden Verbena it received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993. We grew this plant from 2017 until 2020.
Information displayed on this page about Verbena rigida is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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