Verbena

Value to bees

Nectar

High

Pollen

Moderate

As a honey crop

Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus

Which bees, and why

Worked by bees, butterflies, hoverflies and day-flying moths together. The flat head is a landing platform and the florets are shallow enough for short-tongued insects, which is why it does better for bees than buddleia despite the similar butterfly reputation.

Short florets with reachable nectar, so genuinely accessible to honey bees and small solitary bees as well as to long-tongued visitors.

Worth knowing

Good ratings sustained over an exceptionally long season, and delivered late — verbena is often the last substantial nectar in a garden before ivy.

Flowering

In flower

June to November (northern hemisphere)

One of the longest flowering seasons of any hardy perennial, often carrying on until the first hard frost cuts it down.

When nectar flows

Steady nectar production over months rather than a heavy short flow. Florets open in succession across the head, so a single cluster stays productive for weeks.

Year-to-year variation

Very dependable. Not a honey crop.

Growing it

Conditions

Full sun and well-drained soil. Short-lived but self-seeds freely, so a planting perpetuates itself.

Size

1.2-1.8 m tall and only 45 cm wide.

Native range

South America — Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

Suits

Small gardens, Large gardens, Containers and window boxes, Meadow or wildflower area

• Plant it in front of shorter things rather than behind them. The stems are so sparse that you see straight through it, and the flowers appear to hover.
• Leave the stems standing over winter rather than cutting back in autumn — the hollow stems are solitary bee habitat and the seed feeds goldfinches.
• Not fully hardy in colder regions and may not survive a severe winter; it usually returns from self-sown seedlings regardless.

What it looks like

Stiff square stems with sparse rough leaves, branching into flat-topped clusters of small lilac-purple florets. The overall effect is of colour floating in mid-air.