Blue Vervain

From Hudson Valley Company. Purchase in 2023.

Description and growing instructions below from Hudson Valley Seeds.

Butterflies love these elegant blue-violet blooms.

This easy-to-grow native perennial produces an abundance of true blue-violet flowers that open from the bottom up. The spiky inflorescences are highly attractive to pollinators, and the Common Buckeye butterfly relies on Blue Vervain as a larval host. Provide moist soil and full-to-part sun conditions, and enjoy these blooms over a long season. The flowering tops have been used in traditional remedies for anxiety, indigestion, colds, and fevers.

GROWING INSTRUCTIONS.

Cold stratification required: direct sow in fall or early winter into a clean, prepared bed. Or, for spring sowing, sow shallowly about 10 weeks before last frost, in rich, damp soil. Cover and refrigerate for 3 weeks. Afterwards, move to a 70-degree, well-lit spot for germination, which can take up to 14 days. Harden off and transplant outdoors after last frost.