Goodding Verbena is a sensation with pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds, and also with human garden admirers. This southwest native is a strong nectar producer which may bloom most of the year if watered. Its profuse, lilac-colored flowers are grouped in dense, rounded clusters at stem tips, with charming effect. The stem and deeply-divided leaves are very hairy, and spread to form a low mat. This is a short-lived perennial, living only 2-4 years, but when happy, it reseeds on bare ground, providing you with more plants for years. Plants look their best with occasional summer water, about every 2-4 weeks, but let the soil dry out between waterings. They may look a little scruffy in the summer heat. The only care they may take is deadheading spent flowers to ensure more flowering throughout the season-but leave some heads to spread seeds for future plants. Wonderful as an accent, small ground cover, along borders and walkways, in rock and wildflower gardens, courtyards and landscape mounds.
