Char, why would you crumble the flower head? The seeds fall right out when ripe...

Tap a spent head over a sheet of paper, or place a paper bag over the stalk, cut it off, then invert and give it a shake. The seeds are like tiny little sticks...straight.

And chances are your verbena has self sown itself; you can either let the seedlings surprise you with their choice of placement, or transplant them in Spring.

this was my first year growing this plant too, and I'm in love! Someone shared the seeds with me and I had no idea what it would look like and I'm thrilled. My question was answered about seed collection. However, i see that it will reseed, does that mean it's an annual? Or is it perennial? If anyone knows, please let me know. Does that mean also, if i do collect the seeds, i should have no problem direct sowing? Or should I also wintersow again, like i did this year?
thanks in advance.
Maggie in delaware

Bakemom,
thanks so much for the answer. and great suggestion. Hate when those eggs get spilt from the only basket you've got! drats. The fall direct sowing thing...does that mean if i spread some seed in a month somewhere else I would like my new favorite plant, i may get new babies there come spring if i'm lucky? this is the first year i've grown anything from seed (most everything indoors or wintersown...) so i just can't believe if i spread it ...it will grow... please advise.
maggie

It'll reseed like mad, but it's one of my favorite reseeders. Each plant takes up so little space. Right now, I've got loads blooming their heads off, towering over some plants in the front of the bed. Some of the other occupants are either blooming or going dormant, and as messy as it looks, the VB is just gorgeous. Just cut the head off and drop it in a brown paper bag (shopping or lunch), or an empty tissue box. Just be careful with the bags; there's always ways for seed to escape through the seams. Shake, shake, shake, and you'll have plenty of seed and chaff. I harvested alot of seed last year, and really thought it wouldn't reseed as much as it did, since I cut the spent blooms off. The reason could be that the plants last year were close to the sidewalk, so anyone walking past it would brush against it, and probably scattered the seed.

I only had one or two VB's last year; this year, they're everywhere. And it doesn't bother me ;)

I also love the airy Verbena bonariensis. Although it's listed as Perennial for Zones 7-10, obviously this plant doesn't read its own labels.

Reseeding hasn't been a problem for me here in Zone 8, but I still like to winter sow a few to keep the plants nice and vigorous. The reseeded plants get a slightly later start, but make up for it by being taller. What's not to love about a drought-tolerant plant that doesn't need deadheading?

Tracey and Dirty are right!

Maggie, yes, most re-seeders will grow but it DEPENDS. That pesky answer. One of the reasons we winter sow is to control the seeds' environment. Seeds in nature are plagued by birds and pests, getting washed away and other forces of nature. If you REALLY want this plant and are NOT SURE how it will re-seed for you, winter sow it in addition to other methods. Once you have a handle on how this plant re-seeds for you, then relax and let ma nature sow them. I do this all the time.

This is true for plants like strawflower, nigella, nicotiana, rudbeckia, scabiosa, larkspur, marigolds and others. I had to experiment first.

My suggestion for direct fall sowing is to sow when ma nature does. If you go too early, then you have annuals sprouting in late fall and not in the spring.

My suggestion is to take this analysis plant by plant and ask questions. We love to answer questions here and the lurkers likely have the exact same ones - so don't be shy!

Last year I had three purchased plants of VB. This year I had tons of self seeded plants. Last year they were so much neater! Shorter, more compact. These reseeded guys are gangly as all get out! Still nice, but I prefer the shorter ones. Any idea why this happens? Before I researched this, I thought perhaps they just didn't come true from seed. But apparently that's not it.

Can anybody answer this very old question? Are Verbena bonariensis supposed to be pinched back? I'd like mine more compact, too.

Lime

You can pinch them back if you want to. It makes them a little more bushy. I did it in the greenhouse last year because they looked scraggly, and it did thicken them up some. But when you put them outside, they still get sprawly.

I love this plant and was also told that it was a perennial but like someone else said you won't have much luck with them coming back in zone 6. I do have some little sprouts in my Verbena patch right now & I'm sure that they aren't weeds, so I'll have to wait and see. One thing that I did learn last year was certain types are much more resistant to powder mildew then others. The solid colors seem to do much better if you have a long damp period in the late spring early summer.