SOWING INSTRUCTIONS
Depth:
Surface to just cover; requires light to germinate.
Starting Indoors:
Stratify for 30 days. Sow in a container, cover with a plastic bag and refrigerate, or mix seed with damp clean sand or vermiculite, bag, and refrigerate at 35-40°F. Check often for germination and maintain a lightly moist medium. Transplant any seedlings as they germinate. After the chill period, sow into soilless media and keep at 60-70°F.
Starting Outdoors:
Direct sow in fall or earliest spring, or winter sow into pots in the shade, covered with a thin layer of clean sand and a wire screen to keep out mice and voles. Check for water, keeping evenly moist.
PLACEMENT & CULTIVATION
Native to most of the USA, wild vervain's branched spikes of soft pink contrast wonderfully with all those daisies of summer and fall, especially useful in masses with other moisture-loving natives, such as bee balm, swamp milkweed, and sweet coneflower. Best in the wild garden as it runs and self-sows to beautiful effect. A plant host to the caterpillars of the verbena moth, it is also a magnet for bumblebees, specialist bees and beneficial insects.
Watering Details:
Keep moist; tolerates wet settings
Soil pH:
Slightly acid to alkaline
Fertilizer:
If soil is especially poor, add a couple of inches of compost prior to planting and top-dress in the spring yearly thereafter.
When to Cut for Bouquets:
As desired—florets open a few at a time
