VERBENA 



VERBENA 



1913 



admiration of flower- lovers. A host of showy-flowered 

 and zonal pelargoniums w T ere offered to the public. 

 Henderson says that in 1870 he sold 20,000 pelargoniums 

 and that in 1875 he sold 100,000. In many bedding ar- 

 rangements the Verbena was wholly superseded by the 

 pelargonium. The tuberous-rooted begonias and Phlox 

 Drummondii likewise contributed to the neglect of the 

 Verbena, the latter of the two largely superseding it as 

 an exhibition plant. In the west of England, however, 

 the Verbena continued to be used to a slight extent as 

 an exhibition plant up to 1889. 



(2) About this time (1870) the Verbena was beset witli 

 unusually destructive insects and diseases. These 

 troubles were not new, for as early as 1844 it was rec- 

 ognized that there was difficulty in preserving plants 

 over winter on account of the attacks of mildew and of 

 greenfly, but the reward was sufficient compensation for 

 the required vigilance. It is probable that the highly 

 artificial conditions and "coddling" to which tbe Ver- 

 bena was subjected during the period it was used so 

 extensively as an exhibition plant, contributed to weaken 

 its constitution and thereby to heighten the destructive 

 influence of the mildew and aphid. 



The prospects for the Verbena have somewhat im- 

 proved within recent years. The German varieties 

 maintained their constitutions better than the English 

 ones, and the American climate seems better suited to 

 the Verbena than the European. Owing to the long 

 recognized difficulty of "wintering over," the treatment 

 of the Verbena as an annual has come into practice and 

 its success is most gratifying. With tbe improvement 

 of the habit of growth by the evolution of a race of 

 "compactas " and by the fixing of tbe various colors so 

 that they will come true from seed, the Verbena has 

 gained a new lease on present and future popularity. 



The form and size of the individual flower and of the 

 flower-cluster have been closely associated and have had 

 a concomitant evolution. By observing Fig. 2649 it is 

 apparent that in the prototypes of our present garden 

 forms of Verbena hybrida the individual flowers are 

 irregular, the upper lobes of the corolla being nar- 

 rower, large vacant spaces occur between the lobes, and 

 the flowers are relatively small. I", chamadry folia is 

 the most irregular, V. incisa and V. teucrioides are 

 somewhat less irregular, while I', phlogiflora (if the 

 artist was true to his subject) bad nearly symmetrical 

 lobes. In none of these species were tbe corolla-lobes 

 expanded strictly in a plane at right angles to the tube. 

 The flower-cluster of V. chamadry folia was likewise 

 very defective, from the florist's standpoint, in that 

 considerable portions of tbe space were unoccupied, 

 giving to his eye a ragged, unfinished appearance. V. 

 incisa and phlogiflora were appreciably better in this 

 respect, while in V. teucrioides the flowers were unsat- 

 isfactorily scattered along a sparse spike. The Verbena 

 fancier soon established in bis mind an ideal of "pip" 

 and "truss," toward which he constantly selected. This 

 conception doubtless changed from decade to decade, 

 but the essential features remained fairly constant. 

 This ideal type is admirably exemplified in Fig. 2050, 

 which is a reproduction of an apparently idealized litho- 

 graph of 1872. The individual flowers are over an inch 

 in diameter, the lobes are geometrically symmetrical 

 and fill the space perfectly, but do not crowd. The 

 flower-cluster is of graceful, oblate-oval form, with no 

 unoccupied spaces and yet not overcrowded. 



Though the Verbena breeder probably never com- 

 pletely realized the ideal flower and cluster, this ideal 

 has had a most significant influence. The greatest 

 progress in improving the size and form of the individ- 

 ual flower and of the flower-cluster was made during 

 the fifties and sixties, especially during tbe period in 

 which the Verbena was used as an exhibition plant. 

 This is quite natural, because exhibition plants are seen 

 at close range, and the English gardeners of this period 

 were very formal in their tastes. On the other hand, 

 such a high degree of symmetry is not sought in flowers 

 used for bedding and for borders. They are seen at 

 greater distances. Abundance of bloom and depth of 

 color are of greater importance. It is probable that the 

 best Verbenas of to-day would hardly come up to the 

 standard of those grown by the English gardeners of 

 1868 if judged by formal symmetry. 



The Verbena has little tendency to "sport" toward 

 the production of double flowers. However, such forms 

 occasionally occur among seedlings. 



Development of the Eye. — The only "eyed" effect ob- 

 servable in the prototypes of V. hybrida was that pro- 

 duced by the palisade of white hairs in the throat and 

 the yellowish color of tbe inside of the tube. At present 

 we have numerous races of "oculatas" with distinct 

 white or yellowish eyes of various sizes. Two different 

 kinds of color markings are spoken of as "eyes;" viz., 

 dark centers and lemon or white centers. In this dis- 

 cussion the term is applied only to the latter. In a list 

 of 48 select varieties published in 1848 several are de- 



2650. An ideal type of Verbena. 

 Adapted from an English colored plate of 1872. 



scribed as having dark centers, two have lemon eyes, 

 and two have white or "light" eyes. It seems evident 

 from the plates of this period, however, that these 

 "light" or "white" eyes were very small and would now 

 be unworthy of the name. The "clear yellow eye " of 

 "Lord Leigh" is probably the largest distinct eye 

 produced prior to 1863. Previous to this time many 

 varieties had been admired for their dark centers which 

 were doubtless very pleasing; since 1863 less attention 

 seems to have been given to the dark centers and more 

 to the development of distinct white or lemon-colored 

 eyes. The recognition of a distinct class of oculatas 

 does not seem to antedate 1870, and it is the impression 

 of the undersigned that the French and German Verbena 

 fanciers deserve most of the credit for the recent de- 

 velopment of the important oculata class. The ideal 

 oculata of to-day has a clear, distinct, white eye of 

 only medium size. Very large eyes are not so pleasing. 

 They have a tendency to give a "chopped " appearance. 

 Beds. — The first stem parent, V. chamcedry folia, had 

 red flowers, and red in its various modifications of crim- 

 son, scarlet, rose, etc., has been predominant through- 

 out the entire history of the Verbena. Every accessible 

 list of varieties from 1845 to the present shows a pre- 

 ponderance of reds. Robinson's Defiance, a brilliant 

 crimson, very popular in the fifties, has left so strong 

 an influence as to give the class name "Defiance" to 

 numerous varieties and strains, some of which are 

 doubtless direct derivatives of this historic variety. 



