Goodding’s Verbena

Highlights

Between the rocks on a sun-baked slope, Goodding’s verbena rolls out a low mat of soft, lacy green leaves. In spring, rounded clusters of fragrant flowers in shades of purple and pink cover it. It looks like a desert tough guy, but it likes a drink now and then, and its bloom schedule follows the rain, not the calendar. The butterflies love it, and it looks great paired with many of the yellow flowers often found in southwestern gardens. Give it sun and fast-draining soil, and it does the rest.

Is Goodding’s verbena right for my yard?

Yes, if…

• You have a hot, sunny slope that nothing else wants to cover. This plant is a natural ground cover for that kind of spot.
• You’d rather have a soft, spreading mat than a tidy clump. This one wanders, and the wandering looks good.
• You want butterflies stopping by in spring.
• Your soil is rocky or sandy, the kind that drains before you finish watering.
• You garden in the desert Southwest, where this plant grows wild.

Skip it if…

• Your soil stays soggy or heavy.
• Your spot is deep shade. It wants at least a few hours of sun.
• You want a plant that lasts for decades. This one is short-lived (but replaces itself with seedlings!)
• You want flowers on a fixed schedule. Bloom time follows moisture.
• Your winters bring hard freezes. Its cold limit is somewhere between about 0°F and 24°F.

Goodding’s verbena grows wild mostly in the dry Southwest, in washes, on rocky slopes, and on grassy hillsides, generally below about 5,000 feet. It’s native to Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah, and to northwest Mexico.

If you garden higher up, a relative called prairie verbena (G. bipinnatifida) grows from Tucson elevations up to 7,000 feet. Its flowers look similar, but the leaves are more finely cut. Goodding’s verbena stays mostly below about 5,000 feet.

Why Goodding’s verbena matters

Many butterfly species visit these flowers during bloom season. Each rounded cluster packs a lot of small blooms into one stop, which makes an easy meal for anything looking for nectar. And because the plant can flower anywhere from February to October in parts of its range, depending on moisture, the welcome mat stays out for a long stretch.

It’s also a real piece of the desert landscape. It grows in washes, on dry slopes and mesas, and in pinyon forests, and it’s listed as useful for wildlife habitat, pollinators, and forage. When you plant it, you’re planting something that already knows the neighborhood.

Goodding’s verbena through the seasons

Spring

This is the main event. Flowers open from April to June, and in a good year they can start as early as February. If winter and spring rain comes up short, water regularly while it blooms. Early spring is also when seed goes in the ground.

Summer

Growth slows when the heat peaks, and the leaves can look a little ragged, especially in hot desert gardens like Phoenix. That’s normal for this plant. If it bothers you, cut it back hard after bloom. Otherwise, just snip off spent flower heads.

Fall

Where moisture allows, flowers can keep going as late as October. Let some seed drop, and next year’s seedlings are on their way. Some growers also sow seed in fall.

Winter

The low mat stays mostly green, with a cold limit between about 0°F and 24°F. In the mildest spots, you could see the flowers ramping back up as early as February!

Where Goodding’s verbena shines in your yard

• Sunny slopes. That sloped strip beside your driveway that bakes all afternoon is its kind of spot. The low mat spreads across it and covers the ground.
• Rock gardens. Tuck it in around boulders and gravel and it spills between the stones.
• Group plantings. Set plants about 2 feet apart and they knit into one lavender-and-pink patch.
• Spring color beds. Lavender next to yellow is hard to beat. Pair it with yellow-flowering natives like desert marigold, and add penstemons for a mix of colors.
• A butterfly corner. Plant a patch you can see from a chair, then wait for visitors. Many butterfly species stop by during bloom season.
• Cut flower bouquets. Snip a few flower clusters for a vase and bring a bit of the patch inside.

How to grow Goodding’s verbena

Give it the right spot and the rest is easy.

Where to plant

Pick a spot with full sun to moderate shade and well-drained soil. Sandy or rocky soil is ideal, and a rocky, fast-draining slope works well. Fast drainage is the thing to get right, and everything else is forgiving. In a hot desert garden, a little shade can keep it lusher.

When to plant

Sow seed in early spring. Some Arizona growers sow in fall instead, and either can work. Seed sprouts better with light, so cover it with only 1/8 to 1/4 inch of soil. No chilling or other seed prep is needed.

Spacing

Thin seedlings to 8 to 12 inches apart before they bloom. If you’re planting nursery plants, set them about 2 feet apart in a group and they’ll knit into one patch.

Watering

Goodding’s verbena is a green, leafy mat, and it drinks like one. Give it moderate water. When winter and spring rain come up short, water regularly while it blooms to keep the flowers coming. In summer and fall, back off to an occasional drink. Feed it twice a year.

What to plant with Goodding’s verbena

Goodding’s verbena likes sun and dry soil, so the best partners like the same thing. Yellow daisies look especially good next to its pink-purple clusters.

• Desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata): yellow daisies against pink-purple clusters
• Penstemon: spikes of tubular flowers that stand up above the mat
• Blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum): a low, white-flowered partner for the same dry spot

Where can I buy Goodding’s verbena?

Look for a native plant nursery and ask for Goodding’s verbena by its botanical name, Glandularia gooddingii. Check the tag, because the old name Verbena gooddingii is still around and plenty of other verbenas share the common name.

Potential challenges

Deer and other nibblers

Deer ratings for this species haven’t been confirmed. In desert gardens, other visitors often matter more, like javelina, rabbits, ground squirrels, and packrats. A javelina guide lists verbena as rarely damaged, though that entry covers the whole genus and not this plant specifically. Rabbit and ground squirrel ratings haven’t been confirmed either. If critters visit your yard, plant a small test patch first and watch what happens.

It doesn’t stay forever

Goodding’s verbena is a short-lived perennial, and it comes with a backup plan. Think of a houseguest who leaves early and sends a cousin to take the room. The original plants fade, seedlings come up nearby, and the patch keeps going. Let some seed drop each year and they fill in bare spots each spring.

It can look worn out in summer

When the heat peaks, growth slows and the leaves can look ragged, especially in hot desert gardens like Phoenix. A hard cutback after bloom clears the tired growth if it bothers you. Snipping off spent flower heads is all it needs.

It likes to wander

It spreads into a mat up to 3 feet wide and drops seed. Seedlings can turn up outside the bed, and one plant database notes a weedy streak. Pull the extras while they’re small, or move them to a new spot.

The bloom runs on the rain’s schedule

In a dry year the show can be small or late. In a wet one, it can start as early as February and keep going into October. If the rain skips you, water regularly while it’s blooming. No pests or diseases are listed for this species.

A note on cultivars and relatives

Goodding’s verbena has gone by a few names. It was once filed under Verbena, and some sellers still use that name. A tag reading Verbena gooddingii is the same plant. The name likely honors Leslie Goodding, an Arizona botanist who taught at what is now Northern Arizona University and collected thousands of plants across the Southwest.

Prairie verbena (G. bipinnatifida) is a close relative with similar flowers and more finely cut leaves. It grows from Tucson elevations up to 7,000 feet, higher than Goodding’s verbena, which stays mostly below about 5,000 feet. Check the botanical name on the tag, and you’ll know which one you’re buying.

Goodding’s verbena gives you a lush green mat that settles in between rocks, covers ground you were ready to give up on, and fills in bare spots each spring from its own seed. Lavender and pink flowers show up in spring, and many butterfly species follow. Give it moderate water and a spot in the sun to moderate shade, and snip a few clusters for a vase while you’re out there. Happy planting!

Similar plants

• Desert Sand Verbena
• Desert Globemallow
• Red Dome Blanketflower
• Desert Marigold
• Desert Willow
• Rocky Mountain Bee Plant
• Blanketflowers
• Firewheel
• Pink Evening Primrose

Updated November 8, 2026Find more: Pink · Purple · Flower · Spring · Summer · Full Sun · Part Sun · Drought-Tolerant

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