In the summer of 2004, I walked across the street to a pasture that was fixing to become a subdivision and got seeds to a vervain. It was growing among the Johnson grass and ragweed, stood about waist high, and bloomed from spring to fall. I put the seeds in my raised bed over the winter, and several came up. I potted them, then planted 4 of them last spring. I thought that I had gray vervain. It is hairy, with large leaves, and blooms small purple vervain blooms, similar to Texas vervain, on long spikes. It is very upright, except for the one the armadillo got into the middle of. Last year they got to be about 3' tall and wide. This year, those vervains are at least 4' tall. One, with the flower spikes included, is nearly as tall as I am (5'2"). They began blooming in mid-April and are still going strong. They are visited by hummers, wasps, bees, and those flies that look like bees, as well as butterflies. I love the plants, but had placed them in front of some roses. Obviously I will have to move them next year, since they are thickly foliated and almost as tall as the roses. So, is this gray vervain on steroids? I've looked in "Wildflowers of Texas" and can find no vervain listed with this type of flower that gets this large. It's obviously a native. It was growing in an abandoned pasture that hadn't been used in 20 years. It did not reseed itself last year in my pasture, or in the bed I have it in, that I have seen. I do have Texas vervains in the pasture, but not this. Any ideas native plant people?
What type of vervain do I have?
I looked around some, could this be it?
http://www.floralimages.co.uk/psalviverbe.htm
Josephine.
No, the flowers are not like that. It is definitely a vervain, I think. I'm just not sure which one. Thanks for responding.
Can you put up a picture?
It's not this one, is it?
http://www.plantasvasculares.uns.edu.ar/herbario/galeria/img/verbena_bonariensis_p16_16.jpg
Actually, I've seen another one more like you describe but I haven't got an ID for it.
I don't have a camera, so I can't post a picture. Linda, it's not the one on the link that you posted. The blooms are up and down the spike, like a Texas vervain's are. It's got large, hairy foliage. The leaves are opposite, with heavily toothed to lobed margins that remind me of chrysanthemum leaves, kind of. They are feel almost sandpapery, due to the hairs on them, I guess. The largest leaves are toward the bottom, and are probably 4" long and 2" wide. They go up long stems, to the bloom spikes, which may come up singly, or in groups of three or more. On some spikes, there are small leaves. The flowers are simple, very small, 5 petaled, on long spikes. I would think it was verbena hastata, which gets up to 6' tall, but the general field guide I have on wildflowers, not specific to Texas, indicates that it blooms from June to September. This one started blooming toward the end of April, and last year, was still blooming in November. I'm in a puzzle.
Here is a good link to Vervens hastata, maybe this will show it better.
I would not let the time of bloom be the guide, because many of my plants are blooming a month ot two early, I think it was the crazy winter we had.
Josephine.
Josephine: You forgot to include the link.
Thanks for the help y'all.
I am sorry I will have to try and find it again.
Here is the link I forgot to post.
http://www.missouriplants.com/Blueopp/Verbena_hastata_page.html
Josephine.
Thanks, Josephine. While the vervain leaves don't look exactly like those in the picture, I think I do have V. hastata. It says that the leaves can be double serrate, and most of the leaves look almost lobed, like small oak leaves. Now, I'm going to have to figure out where to move them in the fall. Maybe where I have some Mexican hats growing in a bed with Maximillian sunflowers. I have Mexican hats in the pasture, and those vervains will hold their own with the Maximillian sunflowers better, I think. The Mexican hats look like midgets next to them. I'll just change them out.
I hope they do well for you, it looks like a beautiful plant, it should be a great combination of purple with the yellow maximiliam sunflowers.
I love the native plants.
Josephine.