Lemongrass

Cymbopogon citratus

Grow a touch of the tropics by tucking a clump of lemongrass into a pot or garden bed. This herb brings the textural beauty and movement of an ornamental grass to the garden, along with one additional feature: lemony leaves with a hint of ginger. Lemongrass leaps out of the ground when warm nights arrive. Watch for fresh stalks to emerge — combine lemongrass with cilantro, chile peppers, and garlic for the makings of Thai and Asian cuisine. In cold regions, dig a side stalk in late summer and plunk it into a pot to grow indoors through winter.

Light: Part sun, Sun

Type: Herb, Perennial

Height: From 1 to 8 feet

Width: 5-8 feet wide

Special features: Fragrance. Good for containers, Low maintenance

Zones: 9-11

How to grow Lemongrass

When you go to the grocery store, find the freshest lemongrass plants you can buy. When you get home, trim a couple of inches off the top of the lemongrass plants and peel away anything that looks somewhat dead. Take the stalks and put them into a glass of shallow water and place it near a sunny window.

After a few weeks, you should start seeing tiny roots at the bottom of the lemongrass herb stalk. It’s not much different than starting any other plant in a glass of water. Wait for the roots to mature a little more and then you can transfer the lemongrass herb to a pot of soil.

If you live in a warm climate, you can plant your lemongrass plants out in the backyard in a bog or pond. Of course, growing the plant indoors is nice for having easy access to the fresh plant whenever you need it. Growing lemongrass is as simple as taking your started plant out of the water and putting the rooted stalks into a pot containing all-purpose soil, with the crown just below the surface. You want to put this pot of lemongrass plants in a warm, sunny spot on a window ledge or out on your patio. Water it regularly.

Propagating Lemongrass

Propagating lemongrass is just as easy as starting new plants from store-bought lemongrass herb. Again, take a couple of inches off the top of the grown plant and place them in water in a glass on a window sill. Wait a few weeks and you will once again have a lemongrass herb ready for planting.