Tarhaverbena Lavender Spires

Verbena macdougalii 'Lavender Spires' is a hybrid between MacDougal's verbena and the hastate verbena, combining the hardiness of the second with the dry soil tolerance of the first. As it produces no seeds, it blooms generously throughout the summer, forming a tall, upright bush topped with candelabra-like lavender-mauve inflorescences. Pollinating insects, especially butterflies, flock to it all day.

The variety forms a clump reaching 1.50m high and 80cm wide. Stems are quadrangular, sometimes branched at the tips, with opposite, lanceolate, coarsely toothed, vibrant green leaves. From June to September, the stems produce spike-shaped inflorescences with numerous purple buds opening into small lavender-mauve flowers of 5mm diameter, blooming from bottom to top over several weeks. Vegetation is deciduous.

Verbena macdougalii 'Lavender Spires' is easy to grow and valuable for providing height to perennial beds. It combines well with gauras, grasses (miscanthus, eragrostis, panicum), Silene regia, roses, Russian sage, shrubby wormwoods, Elymus magellanicus, Muhlenbergia capillaris, shrubby salvias, and Crambe cordifolia.