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First Impression: Verbena hastata ‘Pink Spires’ is a clumping perennial with stiff erect squarish stems. Leaves are opposite with coarse teeth. In summer, plants are topped by narrow spikey panicles of small tubular purple flowers. Plants thrive in full or part sun in moist or wet mucky soils.

Habitat & Hardiness: Occurring in wet meadows, floodplain prairies, ditches, disturbed pastures, wet river bottomlands, stream banks, fields and waste areas throughout the United States and Canada. They also adapt to disturbed wetlands and moist higher quality habitats. This cultivar is hardy in USDA zones 3-9.

Plant Description: Verbena hastata ‘Pink Spires’ is a slender upright perennial with multiple stems and short rhizomes. Stems are square and green or reddish with white hairs. The leaves are opposite with short petioles. Leaf blades are lance shaped with prominent veins that are about 6” long and 1” wide with coarsely toothed edges and pointed tips.

For about 6-12 weeks in mid to late summer stems are terminated by narrow spike-like panicles. The foot-long panicles are candelabra-like and each consists of numerous ¼” pink-purple florets. The florets are tubular with 5 spreading lobes and long grayish or reddish sepals. Mature inflorescences are 1’ long with florets toward the top and persistent sepals full of small reddish brown nutlets below. Plants grow up to 3′-4’’ tall with 1-2’ spread.

Along with being deer resistant, livestock will not eat verbena. And to make this plant even better they easily self seed in the right habitat while also being able to be done from divisions or cuttings if you so incline.

Cultural & Maintenance Needs: Grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun with a moderate tolerance for salt and temporary standing water. Typically forms colonies in the wild by both thick, slowly spreading rhizomes and self-seeding. In garden situations, tip pruning or deadheading can prevent excessive seeding and encourage a branched bushier form.

Landscape Uses: This is a good choice for a Wildlife Garden, border of a Water Garden or wet Meadow. Plants are also used as Butterfly Nectar Plants or as part of a Grouping or Mass Planting. Verbena hastata ‘Pink Spires’ has Showy Blooms and is appropriate for Cottage Gardens, Deer Resistant Plantings, Low Maintenance Plantings, Rain Gardens, Stormwater Management projects and Perennial Borders.

Companion & Understudy Plants: Try pairing Verbena ‘Pink Spires’ with Aster puniceus, Caltha palustris, Carex bicknellii, Eupatorium maculatum, Iris versicolor, Lobelia. siphilitica, Panicum virgatum, Scirpus pungens, Scirpus validus or Spartina patens.

Physostegia virginiana has similar candelabra shaped inflorescences and similar cultural needs and could be substituted in some situations.