A new year also means a fresh start!

This is also the case for the verbena plants we use to produce your artisanal LA VERTUEUSE verbena liqueur.

Since our fields are located at an altitude of 900 meters, we start each year with new verbena plants.

Verbena is an easy plant to grow and can be used in many ways, but it is sensitive to frost. For this reason, it is impossible for us to keep the plants outdoors in the fields during the winter.

As early as September, we carefully prepare our cuttings (around 5,000 plants) and move them into greenhouses.

How do you propagate verbena cuttings?

Choose a strong, healthy stem free of disease or pests. Using pruning shears, cleanly cut a stem measuring 10 to 15 cm in length. Remove any flowers if present. Remove the leaves at the base of the stem, keeping only those at the top. Prepare a pot filled with special soil for seedlings and cuttings. Make a hole and insert the cutting. Gently firm the soil around the stem and water it.

During winter, we water them two to three times and make sure the cuttings are well protected from frost. These cuttings will then be pruned and planted in the fields in May after the “Ice Saints”.

What happens to the field during winter? To protect and enrich our soil during the winter, we sow green manure which will be incorporated into the soil in spring to add organic matter. Every other year we also spread manure at a rate of 2 to 3 kg per m². Manure is an excellent soil amendment as it is very rich in organic matter, composed not only of animal waste but also straw and plant residues.

By May, our verbena cuttings have already grown well and it is time to transplant them into the fields.

A few months later, at the end of summer, we can carry out the first harvests. After several months of maceration, you will then be able to enjoy our artisanal LA VERTUEUSE verbena liqueur.