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Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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Posted by cougar_roberts z8/9 TX (My Page) on Mon, Feb 28, 05 at 22:00
| Is this plant/tree any good? The guy who owns a small nursery near me tried to push it on me. He says it blooms most of the year here in Houston and attracts butterflies too! He had a 15 foot tree size version in the front of his place and said that it was on it's 4th year of growth. I went to go sniff a flower and it smells like a cola drink to me. My question is, does it really waft during the warmer months? The fragrance and the butterflies almost sold me, but I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has experience with it. It also seems kind of leggy to me and I'm also wondering if it responds well to pinching and pruning.
Any help appreciated.... |
Here is a link that might be useful: Sweet Almond Verbena
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| I have been looking for one of these for a few months now, I love the smell and the look of the flower is very wispy almost like those butterfly plants, I met a lady that worked at a nursery and told her I was into fragrant smelling plants, she told me about her sweet almond verbena tree, said she didn't know the name of it, said it blooms and wafts almost all year she just loved it, she was nice enough to bring me a branch of it the next week to let me smell it and also brought me a starter in a pot but it never rooted. It really smelled like almond to me... she said the butterflies love it. I would get it if I were you.... I don't even know where to buy one, I would like a small one to waft on my patio..... go for it! |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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I got one last August and I love it! Always blooming, great fragrance.
Its growth reminds me of a Buddlia (sp?)-not compact. Mine is a small shrub but if grow as fast as some say, I will probably train it to be a small tree. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| Ok I bought one. Y'all convinced me. And yes, the flowers smell like Buddleia mixed with grape soda (maybe too weird a smell for some). I could smell it from 10 feet away and it only has 3 flowers on it so I can imagine it during hot humid weather with lots of blooms. Looks like I'm going to have to train it as a tree. Very leggy little thing right now....another challenge:) Hope the butterflies love it too....we'll see. Thanks for y'alls input, I appreciate it. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Sweet Almond Verbena (Tree size one)
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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- Posted by Mare2 5bSt.Louis (My Page) on
Tue, Mar 15, 05 at 9:22
| Glad to hear you got it. I was hoping a woman named Patsy from Texas would answer this one, because a couple of years ago she raved about it so much that I suffered mightily in finding out it's not hardy here. Hope you enjoy yours as much. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| I am sure I will be all alone on this one, but last year I grew Aloysia virgata after hearing such rave reviews of its fragrance here on this forum and I turned out to be quite disappointed with the plant overall. Its growth habit didn't really bother me too much, although if truth be known it is a bit too much like a lanky Buddleia for my tastes, or rather like a cross between a Buddleia and a false ragweed. The fragrance was strong up close but did not tend to waft (at least for me) and I found it very coarse. A nice, smooth almond base with prominent top notes of something rank and sickly sweet. I will definitely not be growing it again this year (I let it be killed by frost after planting it out in my neighbor's flower bed) and will dedicate the sizable amount of space it required to something much more worthy, like a Brunfelsia or a tropical Hymenocallis. Just my two cents. |
Finally found it! Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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I went away for the weekend and my frien took me to a nursery in Goleta, CA, I was walking through a nursery and had to follow this pretty smell, low and behold it was this Aloysia plant, I was so excited! I have been looking for this plant for 6 months, on the way home in my SUV it smelled so pretty. I love it....
Anyone else like this plant and where did you find it? |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| I bought one last October from the Antique Rose Emporium. In their display gardens the almond verbenas are tree sized. When I saw what was the source of the fragrance that stood out from all of the roses I just had to have one. Mine just started blooming again and has really started growing during this hot weather. The sort of open leggy form really looks great when contrasting some compact growing plants. They looked great with the roses at ARE. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| I just complained on another thread that I couldn't find any reference on Google to "Sweet Almond Verbena Bush", then I tried it without the word Bush and it brought me here. You have a whole thread on it, already! This forum is amazing! |
RE: Verbena
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| Oops, I thought I was on the Butterfly Gardening Forum. I'm glad to learn that your forum exists. This Verbena is attractive to beautiful butterflies and moths, according to the BG forum. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| We passed by an almond verbena tree yesterday and did not know where the smell was comming from, so we traced it back to a large leggy looking bush of a tree with white flowers and in the course of events, we discovered what it was and how difficult it is to get one. Someone out there please help us find one. Thanks, John & Janet DeLage Thanks again!!! |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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Here is a link that might be useful: Logee's
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| I bought a small twig, 3.5 inches tall, with two blooms on it two years ago at a local nursery. The nursery said it was an almond verbena. I was told it came from a cutting of a woman named Patsy (mentioned above)who lives near Moody, Texas. In just two years, it has become a huge bushy tree like plant. It is 10 foot tall, 6 foot wide and covered with a profusion of white blooms. It smeels wonderful and is covered with butterflies and bees. It's an incredible plant! Thanks, Pasty! I sat in the backyard tonight enjoying the smell as the sun was going down. I hardly recommend this plant. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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Don't check Gardenweb much any more. Yes, I am the Patsy from Moody that lets the nursery come each year for cuttings. My original bush is taller than my house and you can smell it all over the yard when the wind is calm. It is also a host plant for some large moth. I think it is the Sphinx as the droppings look like a larger tomato worm dropping. Really a neat plant.
Patsy |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| I have a certified backyard habitat that is going to have a lot of this beautiful aromatic plant in it before I'm thru. I've planted for BFs & HBs and have a 65ft stream & 4 ft waterfall that attracts everything from Blue birds to Barred Owls. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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After reading the comments, I really want this plant. Does anyone have any idea where I can get it in Melbourne, Australia?
Thanks. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| edj886--if you're in Melbourne, why not a call to the Burnley COllege of Horticulture in RIchmond/Yarra? Someone could recommend a good perennial or other nursery by name that you could then investigate. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| Does anyone know where I can buy one of these plants in Orange County, CA or in the Chino, CA area? |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| I love my almond verbena so much, I give it as a housewarming gift. Mine is trained to a small tree beside my driveway and people always comment on the fragrance. It reminds me of the old Juergens lotion. Beware that there are two Sweet almond Verbenas. One is shorter with glossy leaves. Mine is woody with mat regular little leaves and the flower is a white panicle and here in Houston blooms most of the year. RCW nursery carries it and also Buchanan's. It is truly a wonderful small tree. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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Here I am again....This past winter was really hard in this part of the country. My original SAV is planted too close to the house(so my hubby says). It is well taller than the roof so I decided to plant one out in the yard. The one in the yard froze back to the ground but is recovering. The one next to the house froze back to about 4.5 feet. My plan was to cut the closer one down when the one in the yard was established but could not bring myself to do it. It is the home for several bird nest each year and I really enjoy watching them. I think that the reason for the freeze back was from a mild fall and then a hard freeze without much of a cool down.
Patsy |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| I have to agree with Ispahan. The smell is sickly sweet and not worth it to me. |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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Does anyone know where to find bitter almond shrubs? I have one in the front yard and it is dying back pretty badly. It is almost 30 years old. The flowers are double pink. I have looked for several years, because I know the one I have won't last forever. There is very little fragrance, just a profusion of color.
Thank you for any help. Kathy |
RE: Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata)
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| I just got one of these. I cannot believe I had never heard of it before since I am always on the hunt for fragrant plants. Mine came in a 3 gallon pot for 15.00. I didn't pick it out and it's not the prettiest plant, scraggly and needs cut back and a fork removed BUT the fragrance is wonderful and it has tons of blooms all over it. I live Heliotrope and I can grow it in the winter here for a short time, then the summer heat does it on each year. This plant smells very much like Heliotrope to me. Vanilla, almond and cherry. Lovely! I did read on another site that the pollen and plant can cause severe dermatitis but only one person on a fairly long thread mentioned it. However, use caution, because it is known for that. |
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