This is an amazing plant. Locally, in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is a perennial, and is wonderfully erect, wistful really. A favorite. And oh, my, do the butterflies and bees love it! The Carpenter bee, Xylocopa californica, likes it as well as every butterfly and skipper that comes through the garden. It is a must-have plant for a butterfly garden. It is possible to imagine that every butterfly known only to feed on "plant nectar" (rather than a known plant species) will feed on this plant. Watch for the list of butterfly species known to feed on this plant grow like a weed.

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) are dependent upon garden plants and will very happily feed on this Verbena and red-flowering passionflower, Passiflora, as well. A stray Funereal Duskywing (Erynnis funeralis), flying very much outside its normal range, found its way to this plant. While visiting the garden it fed exclusively on Verbena bonariensis, selecting from a smorgasbord of flowering options that included other Verbenas. We are pleased to report the expanded appeal of this plant to wildlife.

Try this plant in a container - the larger the better - but it is true that butterflies will come to its flowers even if the plant is in an 8" pot. This plant should be sold out at the nursery and sold in six-packs or flats.

The dimensions for this Verbena are correct, and it has a very open form - 3' wide at the top, with long stems emerging from a very small base. As with many plants, especially perennial and annual species (perhaps not hybrids), Verbena bonariensis leans over as it matures. Seems plants do this for one or maybe two reasons - to spread seed away from the base and enable sunlight to more easily reach the secondary growth. It is the secondary growth that extends the growing season. Once established it requires very little water.

There are 108 species of Verbena, or VERVAIN, a member of the Verbenaceae family. Verbena stricta is a short-lived perennial that grows in Zones 4-7, to over three feet tall, and tolerates dry conditions. There are seed vendors online who sell seeds for this perennial. And Missouri botanical has good information as well. The perennial Verbena rigida attracts birds, bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies and grows from seeds or cuttings. It is hardy in Zones 8-11, flowers in summer, grows to two feet tall, and is drought tolerant. Verbena bonarensis is a favorite to insects. It can grow to over 6 feet tall in Zones 7-10 and blooms from summer into fall. It can naturalize – sometimes a bit too aggressively as it can be invasive in favorable conditions especially found in the southern United States on parcels near wetlands.