Verbena stricta

I can’t imagine buying a plant named hoary vervain, but then botanists aren’t trained in marketing. This easy-to-grow US native is found in virtually all 50 states, except Maine and California…hmm. The fuzzy, green-leafed rosette expands upwards in spring, topping out at 3′ with branched flower spikes from July-September that resemble green pipe-cleaners. Do Gen-X’ers know what pipe cleaners look like? Oh, silly me…bong cleaners, of course! Each spike is home to a ring of pink-lavender flowers that seem to move upward daily as new flowers open. A few hits off the bong and the flowers will seem to move both up and down. V. stricta can seed around a bit, but we find that an end of season circumcision prevents unwanted “accidents.”