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Verbena rigida Santos

pink vervain

£6.99
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At a Glance

Verbena rigida 'Santos'

Overview
Verbena rigida 'Santos' is a hardy, low-growing perennial celebrated for its vivid purple flower clusters and spreading, mat-forming habit. Flowering over a long season, this eye-catching plant provides a reliable splash of colour from early summer to the first frosts. Perfect for everyday gardeners, ‘Santos’ is easy to grow and ideal for front-of-border planting, containers, or sunny gravel gardens where it will spread gracefully without becoming invasive.

 

Key Features

  • Botanical Name: Verbena rigida 'Santos'

  • Common Name: Slender Vervain

  • Flower Colour: Bright purple with a rich, velvety hue

  • Foliage: Narrow, toothed, mid-green leaves forming a dense, spreading clump

  • Height: 60cm (2ft)

  • Spread: 45cm (1.5ft)

  • Flowering Period: June to September

  • Hardiness:Hardy in the UK down to temperatures of -5 to 1 degrees Celcius (RHS hardiness rating H3)

 

Why Grow Verbena rigida 'Santos'?
‘Santos’ is prized for its intense flower colour, compact size, and exceptional drought tolerance. It’s a great choice for adding bold, consistent colour to lower levels of the border, paths, or containers. Its free-flowering nature ensures a vibrant display for months, while its neat, low-growing habit makes it a tidy and reliable performer, especially in sunny, well-drained locations.

Ideal Growing Conditions

  • Sunlight: Thrives in full sun

  • Soil: Prefers light, well-drained soil; copes well with poor or sandy soils

  • Watering: Drought-tolerant once established; water during extended dry periods

  • Feeding: A light application of fertiliser in spring helps encourage strong flowering

 

Care and Maintenance
Verbena rigida 'Santos' is easy to maintain and rewards minimal effort with a long flowering season. Deadheading will help extend blooming. In colder parts of the UK, it may benefit from a protective mulch in winter or can be grown as an annual. If overwintering in situ, ensure good drainage to prevent root rot. It can self-seed lightly in suitable conditions, offering more plants for free the following year.

 

Pollinator Friendly
A magnet for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies, ‘Santos’ is an excellent choice for pollinator-friendly gardens. Its small, nectar-rich flowers provide a vital source of food throughout the summer and autumn months.

 

Garden Uses

  • Ideal for the front of borders and edging pathways

  • Excellent in pots and containers for sunny patios or balconies

  • Suitable for gravel gardens and Mediterranean-style planting

  • Useful for ground cover in well-drained soils

  • Blends well with wildflower-style or informal planting schemes

Companion Planting Suggestions
Combine with silver-leaved plants such as Stachys byzantina (Lamb’s Ear), or soft grasses like Festuca glauca. Pairs well with other sun-lovers like Salvia, Eryngium, or low-growing Achillea.

 

Interesting Fact
Verbena rigida is native to South America, where it thrives in hot, dry conditions. The 'Santos' variety was bred for compactness and vibrant colour, making it ideal for modern gardens with limited space.

 


Verbena rigida 'Santos' is a fantastic, fuss-free perennial that delivers months of rich colour and pollinator interest. Whether used in containers, borders, or gravel gardens, it adds energy and vibrancy with very little upkeep. A top choice for gardeners of all levels looking to brighten up sunny spaces with long-lasting blooms and tidy, reliable growth.

Buying Perennials from Jacksons Nurseries

At Jacksons Nurseries we lightly trim back our perennials after flowering and trim them back at the end of the season to ensure that the plants remain neat and tidy whilst in the pot. The more tender the plant the less we cut back to help protect exposed stems from winter frost. Depending on the plant variety we will then prune back further in spring once the risk of the more severe frosts is over.

As a result, depending on the time of year you buy perennials, they may not look like images showing their ‘prime time’ in flower and looking at their best.

From late autumn onwards and dependent on variety, there may be very little visible above the soil except for a few cut back dormant leaves or stems. It is perfectly normal for dormant plants to look like this from autumn onwards, they will however burst back into life in spring.

Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.

Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.

Perennials are described and classified differently by different gardeners but all would agree that they are plants that come into flower every year from early spring to late summer, the exact time dependent on variety and most die back to ground level in autumn and winter.

As for all plants, soil preparation is time well spent. Dig over the area to be planted ensuring that the ground is free draining. If not then you may wish to either consider planting in a different spot or raising the level of the planting area by adding additional topsoil, well rotted garden compost and/or well rotted manure. Add ‘Fish, Blood and Bone’ fertiliser or a high potash fertiliser to encourage good root growth and development.

It’s always a good idea to plant a few of the same plant together, we recommend planting in 3’s or 5’s to provide a bold effect but allowing them plenty of room to develop.

Always check eventual plant heights when planning borders to ensure that the taller plants are at the back (or at the centre of an island bed) followed by the medium and then smaller low growing plants.

Remember to deadhead perennials after flowering, trim back lightly in autumn as required to tidy the border and if necessary trim again in spring once the risk of heavy frost has passed.

If perennials get too big, start to flower less and less or if it seems to be dying off from the centre, consider dividing the plant but always check that the particular variety is happy to be divided and that you divide at the right time of year for the plant.

By using this simple guide and a little time, perennials can make an absolutely spectacular difference to your garden.

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