A flowering plant with the beautiful name verbena is rightfully considered a decoration of a garden, vegetable garden or balcony. But we’ll figure out how to preserve it and whether it’s possible to dig up verbena for the winter. The flower has more than 200 varieties, including both annuals and perennials.
Long studies of the plant by breeders led to the creation of a new species, verbena creeping or ampelous. This type of flower decorates a garden plot and is often used in design solutions.
Is it possible to dig up verbena for the winter?
Verbena is a tropical, heat-loving plant, and some varieties of the flower can easily tolerate light frosts. If the region has mild winters with positive temperatures, then it is enough to insulate the flower bushes with straw, sawdust or dry leaves. But in the central part of the country the winters are harsh and the beautiful, delicate flower will die. Therefore, to preserve your beloved pet, you need to carefully dig it up and send it to winter until spring.
How to preserve verbena in winter?
The dug cuttings of garden verbena are sent for storage in dark, cool basements, cellars or outbuildings. You can also transplant the dug up bushes into pots.
Verbena in pots and flowerpots will be perfectly preserved in the winter at home if you follow the following rules:
- In late autumn, before the first frost, transplant the flowers into pots and containers and bring them indoors.
- Cut the shoots off the stems by half.
- If inflorescences appear on the plant during wintering, remove it.
- Actively developing shoots are constantly pruned.
- The air temperature must be cool, otherwise the flowers will begin an active growing season.
- At the end of winter, they are cut short and transplanted into fresh soil.
In this way, the overwintered plant becomes stronger, and will delight you with its luxurious inflorescences much earlier than its counterparts planted and grown from seeds..
When and how to dig up a plant?
In order to preserve your favorite flower in winter, in late autumn you need to cut the bushes by about 1/3 and carefully dig them out. There must be a large lump of earth left on the root system. Throughout the entire storage period, it is necessary to slightly moisten the roots of the cuttings.
The plant preserved in this way will serve as an excellent material for propagation by cuttings and obtaining new seedlings, which in the spring can be planted on a plot of land, in a garden or vegetable garden.
Preparing the premises
To preserve the dug up cuttings of verbena, the room should be cool, well ventilated, without unnecessary light sources. And for flowers that are transplanted into containers and pots, any room in a house or apartment with good ventilation, humidity and lighting is suitable.
Temperature and lighting
Flowers overwintering in pots and containers should be kept in a well-lit room; the best location for placing flora representatives is the south side of the house or apartment. The room where the flowers are located should not be very heated; the average temperature for wintering verbena is from 10 to 15 degrees. Otherwise, the plant will actively grow and bloom.
If it is not possible to create the necessary conditions, you need to carefully monitor the plant and prevent an active vegetative phase.
Trimmings
During the winter, plants must be pruned. The first pruning is done in late autumn, before digging up or replanting the flower for wintering.
Next time the cuttings are cut off before planting. But plants that have overwintered in pots and flowerpots must be pruned throughout the winter.
Transplantation into open ground
The cuttings stored in the cellar are planted in new soil and transferred to a heated room at the end of February. After a long winter, verbena needs a lot of light and warmth. The flower quickly emerges from hibernation and begins to actively grow and develop. As soon as the temperature regime is restored and the frosts are over, the verbena can be safely transplanted into open ground.
Plants that have overwintered in the greenhouse conditions of a house or apartment are planted in open ground without prior preparation.
The ampel variety of verbena can not be replanted, but left in a flowerpot or container. The beautiful, spreading lashes of the flower will decorate any garden plot, gazebos or alpine slides.
Don't forget that verbena is a delicate, tropical plant that needs a lot of warmth and sun..
