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Verbena canadensis 'VERACITY ROSE' rose vervain, clump verbena
Verbena
Vervain is a well-known and widely used perennial or self-seeding annual that has inhabited our planet since the Tertiary period — that is, tens of millions of years ago. Can you imagine a sabre-toothed tiger lurking between its stems, or prehistoric horses, mastodons, and mammoths grazing on its foliage all day? Scientists believe that the genus Verbena originated in present-day South America during the Eocene epoch (56–34 million years ago) and spread widely during the Oligocene (34–23 million years ago), when the climate slightly “cooled” — still tropical, but starting to dry — which helped the expansion of the drought-tolerant vervain. Thanks to so-called tropical land bridges, it reached North America, too, about 3 million years ago.
Vervains can exist as diploid (one set of chromosomes = limited but stable genetic information) or polyploid (multiple chromosome sets = richer but less stable genetic diversity). South America tended to produce polyploid plants, but surprisingly, only diploids with the most basic genetic setup managed to take hold in North America. It seems nature decided the hardier types would survive up north — leaving the gene-play to their hot-blooded southern cousins.
Rose vervain is a perennial native to the southeastern and east-central United States. It naturally thrives in sunny, open habitats, forming low, richly blooming mats throughout the summer. Thanks to its adaptability, it has become a popular garden plant in warmer zones (USDA 6–10), while in colder regions it is typically treated as an annual. And now — a fun fact about that species name canadensis, which might suggest it hails from Canada. Not so fast. The label comes from a time when “Canada” was used to refer to a broad swath of North America, not just today’s country. The species was formally assigned to the genus Verbena only in 1894 by American botanist N. L. Britton.
Veracity Rose is a low-growing to ground-covering cultivar of rose vervain with a compact, spreading habit and a height of around 15–20 cm — and in exceptional cases, with cautious watering and regular feeding, even up to double that. But the most fantastic thing isn’t its vibrant pink colouring, which draws in plenty of pollinators including the hummingbird hawk-moth — but rather its remarkably long bloom period: from June all the way through October, no exaggeration. It continually produces fresh shoots, topped with dense, umbel-like clusters of small, short-tubed flowers. The stems easily root where they touch soil, which allows the plant not only to spread well beyond its original clump, but also to enhance its nutrient intake, making it more beautiful and vigorous week by week. The foliage is noteworthy as well: although modest in size, the leaves are attractively and deeply lobed, deep green, slightly glossy, slightly leathery, and they form a lush, finely textured backdrop for its breathtaking floral display.
As a typical prairie plant, vervain pairs beautifully with perennials that share its environmental preferences. You may feel like you’re basking under the searing South American sun, while at your feet spreads a pastel palette of companions like lavender-hued Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) with silvery foliage; low-growing sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa) with finely divided leaves and golden yellow flowers; drought-tolerant grasses such as blue fescue (Festuca glauca) or the soft textures of feather grasses (Stipa), which you might feel compelled to stroke each time you pass by, along with compact cultivars of threadleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata). It also blends beautifully with flat-leaved sea holly (Eryngium planum) and its steel-blue bristly blooms, the brilliant blue of hardy leadwort (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides), tirelessly flowering gauras (Gaura lindheimeri) or with coneflowers — whether the classic purple (Echinacea purpurea) or the more unusual paradoxically yellow (Echinacea paradoxa).
Vervain performs best in dry to disturbed conditions — it thrives on rocky subsoil, slopes, ditches, embankments, or in sharply drained planting beds. It tolerates a wide pH range and requires full sun. Once established, it copes well with drought, although occasional watering during extreme summer heat is beneficial. Regular feeding during the season encourages prolonged flowering, as does light deadheading. When grown in containers, it benefits from a period of winter rest — with minimal watering and overwintering indoors at temperatures between –5 and +10 °C. When planted in garden soil, it is fully hardy down to –23 °C (USDA Zone 6), provided that the substrate is not persistently waterlogged in winter.
Last update 20-06-2025
