White Vervain
Verbena urticifolia
Tiny white flowers on branching stems that native bees and small butterflies work for weeks. Naturalizes readily; seeds feed goldfinches in fall.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Not the showiest plant we carry, but one of the most ecologically productive. it fills a critical mid-season pollinator role for small native bees and butterflies that need accessible small flowers.
White vervain isn't glamorous: thin branching stems, tiny white flowers, a weedy presence that most conventional gardeners would overlook. But in the native garden it earns its place through sheer ecological productivity. The small flowers are powerfully attractive to native bees, wasps, and small butterflies, including painted ladies and skippers that need compact, accessible florets rather than deep tubular flowers. It blooms for weeks, producing successive flushes of tiny blooms up branching stems. It naturalizes readily from seed in disturbed areas and edges, making it excellent for filling in rough spots in a wildlife garden. The seeds feed goldfinches and other small birds in fall. A plant for gardeners who care more about what's happening ecologically than what the neighbors think.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown white vervain propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 2–5 ft · 12–24 in wide
- Bloom time
- Midsummer through fall
- Bloom color
- White
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Family
- Verbenaceae
- Native range
- Eastern and Central North America
Care notes for white vervain.
Full sun to part shade in average, moist soil. Self-seeds freely to naturalize. allow it to fill in edges and rough spots. Thin seedlings if they become too dense. Short-lived but replaces itself reliably from seed. No fertilizing, staking, or pruning needed.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside white vervain.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.