Guest author Dan Songster contributed this article featuring Lilac Verbena, an early blooming native plant that attracts butterflies and other pollinators.

Plant of the Month: Verbena (Glandularia) lilacina, Lilac Verbena, Cedros Island Verbena

• Type: Evergreen herbaceous subshrub
• Light: Full to part sun
• Soil: Adaptable
• Water: Adaptable

Although it looks like the name for this Genus has been changed from our well-known Verbena to something related to a medical condition, Glandularia, the plant is just as lovely as ever.

Description

As one of its common names suggests, this plant is found on Cedros Island off the west coast of Baja California, just within our California Floristic Provence. It can quickly form a mound about 24 inches high (give or take) and three to four feet wide. With its delicately-dissected green foliage and soft lilac to violet flowers blooming nearly year round, this is an eye-catching addition to any Southern California garden.

Garden Conditions

Although its foliage may be almost fern-like, don’t be fooled into thinking it might be a touchy or finicky plant. This is one tough and versatile garden performer, accepting a variety of soils without complaint, taking drought conditions, and for those of you in the foothills, it is even somewhat resistant to deer nibbling. If that is not enough to recommend it to have a place in your garden, it also possesses a light spicy fragrance and the flowers attract numerous butterflies!

Ease of Care

My favorite part about this enduring perennial is its long blooming period and ease of care. Lilac verbenas bloom most of the year with a peak in spring and summer and although it does best with well-drained soil, it will take clay if not overwatered. 

It also is great choice for a parking strip or other narrow spot where watering may be difficult. It has low water needs and can go extended periods without any water, but a monthly watering from late spring through the first rains of fall keeps this plant looking lush with continuous flowering.

Foliage

Dr. Constance Vadheim of the blog Mother Nature’s Backyard wrote, “Veteran Southern California gardeners know the trick of pairing lush, green plants with the soft gray and blue-green foliage common in the Coastal Sage Scrub plants. The contrast is nothing short of magical! The problem is finding smaller shrubs that are both drought tolerant and vivid green. Lilac verbena is one such plant.”

A good choice for mixed borders, a walkway border, as a bank cover, even as an addition to a butterfly garden. Lilac verbena can be a very good container plant too! It combines well with sages, mints and buckwheat.

Pruning

As the seed heads multiply, the flower production drops, so shearing off outer six inches of the plant every winter (or more if you are brave) will keep the blooms coming and keep the plants tight and tidy. Slugs and snails may do some damage if encouraged by overwatering, just as powdery mildew may appear if you are too generous with the hose and/or have planted in too much shade.

Two Cultivars

Verbena lilacina ‘De la Mina’ is the more commonly sold plant with darker purple flowers and a slightly more compact appearance. Carol Bornstein, former director of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, discovered this selection in the Canyon de la Mina at the northern end of Cedros Island. After garden trials at the SB Botanic Garden, it was introduced to the nursery trade in 1998.

Verbena lilacina ‘Paseo Rancho’ is the larger pink-flowered cultivar that Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, (now California Botanic Garden), introduced and although not as easily found in the nursery trade, it certainly has its own charms. Some say the fragrance of ‘Paseo Rancho’ is more intense than ‘De la Mina.’ The old catalog from Annie’s Annuals poetically states “….A flurry of soft lilac blooms that sing in the sun and shimmer under the moon….Finely cut foliage gives this plant a light and airy appearance. A brilliant option for moon gardens. Notably robust.”

Either form of Cedros Island verbena is a dependable, colorful, and butterfly-friendly addition to your native garden. Try planting one in your home landscape this spring.