Blue Vervain Plant

Blue vervain for sale here is Verbena hastata, a native wildflower that sends up branching spikes of small purple-blue flowers in midsummer and loves damp ground. We ship it bare-root in packs of 25, 50, 100 and 500, for rain gardens, pond edges, pollinator beds and wholesale buyers.

Blue Vervain Size, Zones and Sun

Plants stand 2 to 5 feet tall in stiff, upright clumps that stay only a foot or two across. Zones 3 to 8 suit it. Full sun gets you the most flowers, but part shade is fine. What it wants above all is moisture. Damp to wet soil is home, and clay, loam and sand all work so long as the ground doesn't bake dry.

Blue Vervain Flowers

Each stem branches like a candelabra, with a slim spike at every tip. Blooms open from the bottom of a spike upward, only a few at a time, so color lingers through mid and late summer instead of arriving in one rush. Individually the flowers are tiny. En masse they read as a haze of deep purple-blue.

Blue Vervain and Pollinators

Bees do most of the visiting, and the verbena bee is a specialist that leans on plants like this one. The leaves feed verbena moth and common buckeye caterpillars, and cardinals, sparrows and juncos eat the seed in fall. To plant it with company, see our list of perennials that bring in pollinators.

Where to Plant Blue Vervain

Rain gardens, pond banks, ditch edges and low spots that stay damp are the natural homes. A regular border works too if you water through dry spells. Plant 18 to 24 inches apart. Got a soggy corner nothing else likes? Our guide to planting wet spots shows what to put there.

Planting Blue Vervain Bare-root

Soak the roots for an hour, then set each plant with the crown at soil level and the roots spread out. Firm the soil and water well. Spread a layer of mulch to hold moisture, and keep the bed damp through the first season.

Buying Blue Vervain in Bulk

At 2 feet apart each plant takes about 4 square feet, so a pack of 25 fills roughly 100 square feet, 100 plants cover about 400 and 500 plants cover about 2,000. Packs of 25, 50, 100 and 500 let you match an order to a single bed or a whole wet meadow.

Good to Know About Blue Vervain

Moisture is the one thing to get right. Plants sulk in dry soil, so mulch and water during dry stretches. Blue vervain also self-seeds, which is welcome in a meadow and worth trimming back in a tidy border. Rabbits may nibble young leaves, though most animals leave it alone because of the bitter taste.

Blue Vervain for Meadows and Rain Gardens

In a wet meadow it mixes well with swamp milkweed, great blue lobelia and Joe Pye weed. In a rain garden it takes the soggy stretch after a storm and the dry spell after it. Cut stems back in late winter and new growth comes from the base.

Blue Vervain Plant Sizes, Packs and Shipping

Blue vervain plants ship bare-root in packs of 25, 50, 100 and 500. Volume pricing available. Browse more wholesale perennials for sale.