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Verbena bonariensis late
Hello, I had given up hope of seeing my verbena bonariensis back again, when I finally noticed tiny shoots today (8th May). We have had a really mild winter and sunny spring so far with only three mild frosts. Isn't early/mid May a bit late for it to be waking up? Has it only just made it through the winter? Should I have mulched it to protect it? I did cut it back late in the Autumn to about 8" because of wind rock, but there was no frost for ages afterward. Was I too brutal with the secateurs? It was newly planted last year and did really well. Any Suggestions for this year gratefully received.
Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.
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I'm only just beginning to see some of mine braving the cold winds.
I've got patches of VB here and there all over my garden and have for many years. Sometimes they seem a bit late, but they always come back - in abundance - eventually
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Thanks for that reassurance
Mine are only just starting to look alive here.
If you like it Emerion, you can make more plants by taking cuttings from it when it's quite big later in the year. I find they strike very easily if you stick them in a pot of gritty compost
I then leave them over winter in the shelter of other plants and shrubs, and let them grow on until they're big enough to plant out.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I gave my VB a good mulch of garden compost in late autumn and thankfully they started to show signs of growth in mid April of this year . I did prune them down in Autumn so that the plants had a good chance of coming back this year. Some say you should leave.the growth and cut in back in spring. I have never really done that and had no problems with regrowth. Luckily, we had a mild winter and an early spring that helped them bounce back as well
Three of mine are far more advanced than one of them. They seemed to pop up very early this year in SE.
Last edited: 07 May 2017 20:05:49
I pull most of mine up from the previous year and just let self-sown seedlings grow. I can already see lots - only 1/2" tall atm, but they'll be 6ft+ by the summer
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.