Verbena rigida (V. venosa)
Common: Verbena, Purple verbena, Sandpaper verbena
Family: Verbenaceae
Origin: Native to Argentina
Sunset Zone: All zones
Light: Full sun
Soil: Performs well in any soil type with drainage.
Water: Needs little water
Plant in parking strips, along driveways, and on dry banks, walls and crevices where they will display color all year.
Useful in low maintenance gardens. Good for erosion control.
Upright branching stems, herbaceous perennials, with a life of 2-3 years. Fast growing. hardiest and most vigorous of the genus.
Foliage mass may last years. Coarse leaves, rough and dark green, 2-4 inches long.
Lilac to purple-blue flowers in cylindrical clusters on tall, stiff stems. Blooms in summer and fall. Needs heat to thrive. Can be grown as annual. Blooms in four months from seed. Hardy to 15F.