How to Grow Lemon Verbena
Unlike many herbs which were brought to the New World by European colonists, lemon verbena was discovered in South America by Spanish explorers who took it back home to the old world. Today it is used all over the world as a culinary herb, delicious tea and container plant. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Acquire lemon verbena as a mature specimen from a garden center. The herb can also be started by propagating tip cuttings if you know someone who already has a lemon verbena.
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Plant lemon verbena in a pot. Lemon verbena does thrive in the ground, but for only one season unless you live in a climate where it does not frost. Lemon verbena does not survive frost, so it best to grow it in a container and bring it inside for the winter.
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Start lemon verbena in a small pot and re-pot as necessary. A small specimen purchased from a garden center can be started in a 6-inch pot and moved up to the next largest size as it becomes root bound. In containers the plant can become 5 feet tall, so you'll eventually need a 14-inch pot or larger to contain it.
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Water lemon verbena often to keep the soil moist. Lemon verbena requires a lot of moisture and humidity, so water often but keep the soil from becoming saturated with water at any point.
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Place lemon verbena on solid surfaces outdoors. Because it has aggressive roots, the herb sends roots out of the pot and into the ground if placed on soil. Not only does this make it hard to detach the plant come fall, but losing roots will shock the plant.
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Provide the plant with a high light environment both indoors and out. Lemon verbena tolerates and thrives in direct sun, so find the sunniest possible place for the herb inside and a place outside where it can receive at least partial sun.
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Cut lemon verbena back at the end of the growing season. Before bringing the herb back into the house for the winter, cut away the newer growth. This newer growth will become weak and straggly inside and takes energy away from the plant. Cutting it back allows it to conserve energy and grow at a steady, but slower, rate indoors.
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Comments
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My favourite plant - among many.
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RachelMMN
Aug 07, 2008
This is really great; I didn't know the advice about placing pots on a hard surface to keep roots from attaching to the ground. I do think you should mention that when you bring the plant in to overwinter, it will drop its leaves, but that doesn't mean it's dead (like a lot of people would think) but just that it's entering dormancy. Thanks! -
RachelMMN
Aug 07, 2008
This is really great; I didn't know the advice about placing pots on a hard surface to keep roots from attaching to the ground. I do think you should mention that when you bring the plant in to overwinter, it will drop its leaves, but that doesn't mean it's dead (like a lot of people would think) but just that it's entering dormancy. Thanks!
