Temari Patio WhiteDo you recall when verbena was just a seed annual available in bedding plant packs and flats? Today, it is one of the most essential vegetative annuals for hanging baskets, patio planters and filling out beds with carpets of color.
The first really popular vegetatively propagated verbena was ‘Homestead Purple,’ a canadensis type introduced by Allan Armitage at the University of Georgia (UGA) in the late 1980s. “Before ‘Homestead Purple,’ most of the verbenas were seed propagated and treated as commodity bedding plants,” he says. “They were okay, but certainly the verbena market was not growing. There were a few vegetative forms out there, but they were weak and had little vigor.”
The first two significant vegetative verbena series were introduced by Japanese flower breeder Suntory Flowers — Tapien and Temari. For verbena, breeding priorities continue to be mildew resistance, the ability for new flowers to overgrow old flowers, and heat and humidity tolerance.
Glorious groundcover
Suntory’s Tapien series is a groundcover type that produces a carpet of blooms from April through November. One plant can carpet an area up to 3 feet wide and crowd out weeds. Constantly in bloom, Tapiens hold up in heat, humidity and light frosts and thrive where other verbenas fail. Plants are tender perennials, hardy to Zone 8.
Vigorous Tapiens are versatile for pots, baskets, window boxes and landscapes. Tapiens continue to be refined and are available in five colors: Blue-Violet, Lilac, Pink, Purple and Salmon.
“Tapien Blue-Violet is probably the number one verbena in the California market,” says grower Danny Takao of Takao Nursery in Fresno, Calif. “With low disease issues, Tapien verbenas have become the mainstay in the landscape. In warmer areas, they continue to flower throughout the year.”
Suntory just introduced ‘Tapien Blue-Violet Improved’ in 2015. The new selection improves the quality and manageability of the foliage, as well as continuous flower coverage. It is more controlled than the original.
Turn up the Flower Power!
Soon after Tapien was introduced came Suntory’s Temari series, which became the model for large-flowered verbenas in even more colors. As with Tapien, varieties are selected for resistance to powdery mildew and weather tolerance in hot and cool conditions.
Temari trailing varieties are perfect for hanging baskets and being a spiller component in combinations. Colors include Blue, Cherry Red, Red, Bright Pink, Violet and a new hot novelty, Candy Stripe!
Temari Patio varieties are more compact and upright and fill out patio pots nicely. Strong, centrally branched plants form mounds of color quickly. Varieties include Patio Rose, Patio Hot Pink, Patio Blue, Patio Red Improved and Patio White improved. Mix red, white and blue for an outstanding patriotic combo!
Patio varieties also are great combined with trailing varieties as the filler part of a combo. Both types are also suitable in beds but create a different look, with the trailers creating broad drifts and the patios remaining more in place.
Whether you like rich jewel tones or pastels, there is a Temari or Tapien verbena for you! For more information, visit www.suntorycollection.com.