Blue Vervain Other Common Names: Swamp Verbena, Swamp Vervain, Blue Verbena, Simpler's Joy Scientific Name: Verbena hastata Native to Alabama: Yes
	Wikimedia - Fritzflohrreynolds Click on image to enlarge it

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Basic Plant Information
	I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous. I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous. I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial. I can grow 2 - 6 feet high and 1 - 2.5 feet wide.
Wikimedia - James St. John Click on image to enlarge it

 



















 

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Ecological Benefits
This plant provides food for:
Butterflies	Native Bees	Other Birds	Other Pollinators	Caterpillars
				Common Buckeye

 

Other Plants Found in Alabama with Similar Ecological Benefits:
Gray Vervain (Verbena canescens)		Texas Vervain (Verbena halei)		Purple Top Vervain (Verbena bonariensis)
Narrowleaf Vervain (Verbena simplex)		Hoary Verbena (Verbena stricta)

  

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Maintenance Notes
Dormant in winter. Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase. Can be an aggressive grower. Remove dead flower heads throughout season to prolong summer bloom. When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds.  Water should reach all roots. Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves. Requires heavy watering with good drainage.
Heavy watering with good drainage: water two-three times per week during the summer and twice per week during the rest of the year.

 
 

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Habitat Requirements
This plant prefers:
Full Sun (6+ hours of sun per day) Part Sun/ Shade (2-6 hours of sun per day)		Heavy watering with       good drainage	Sandy, Loamy, or Clay Soil

 
 

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Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification
LEAF DESCRIPTION						Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Stephanie Brundage Click on image to enlarge it
Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)
Shape: Lanceolate		Margin: Serrate		Arrangement: Opposite	Form: Simple
Description:
up to 6 inches long and 1 inch wide, leaves are green in color; stems are square

FLOWER DESCRIPTION						Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Robert L. Stone Click on image to enlarge it
Flower Shapes Chart (JPG)
Color: Purple-blue, Lavender		Shape: Tubular		Bloom Months: Jun - Oct
Description:
Each flower is 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length; flowers are densely packed on each inflorescence; inflorescences grow in upward pointing candelabra-like spikes; 5 petals make up each tubular flower

SEED DESCRIPTION			flickr - Matt Lavin Click on image to enlarge it
Type: Fruit - Nut	Description: reddish, brown triangular nutlets	Months in Seed: Fall
Plant spreads by:
Seeds and Rhizomes/Tubers/Roots & Shoots  Underground rhizomes can spread and create new colonies of plants; can spread by self-seeding; seeds require cool-moist soil

 
 

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Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle: All plants start life as a seed. The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots. The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground. After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers. After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed. When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again. Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

General Plant Life Cycle - Dreamstime Click on image to enlarge it

 
 

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Quick Fact Sheet (Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign: Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign: Editable Word Doc

QR Code (Links to this Webpage)

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Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Plant Database		North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Missouri Botanical Garden		American Meadows

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