Grow fragrant, flavorful lemon verbena with easy planting, care, and harvesting tips.
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But if life gives you lemon verbena, you’ve got even more options! With the bright lemon scent and flavor—but without the sour puckering—lemon verbena is perfect for teas, cocktails, baked goods, savory dishes, and more. Curious about growing this zesty herb? Here’s a simple guide to planting and caring for lemon verbena, plus why it deserves a spot in your garden.
What is Lemon Verbena?
Native to Chile and Argentina, lemon verbena grows as a small, woody shrub in the wild and can stretch over 10 feet tall. However, these plants generally stay a lot smaller in herb beds and rarely reach over 2 feet high when kept in pots. But even small lemon verbena plants can make a big impact in gardens with their slender, glossy leaves, summer-blooming flowers, and citrus-like aroma that’s most noticeable when the plant’s leaves are crushed.
Compared to many culinary herbs, lemon verbena is not particularly cold hardy and only grows perennially in Zones 8 through 11. But these plants can be cultivated as annuals or grown in pots indoors if you live in a cooler climate. Just be sure to give lemon verbena lots of light and regular water, and keep these plants away from cats and dogs as they’re toxic to pets!
Whether you use it fresh or dried, lemon verbena can be cooked or infused into marinades, liqueurs, salad dressings, poultry, fish, pork, sweet treats, hot or cold beverages, and other tasty fare. It’s also commonly grown as a pest-repelling companion plant for veggies and herbs, and it can be harvested for potpourri-making, bouquets, and other home crafts. It is important to note, however, that lemon verbena should not be confused with the following plants:
- Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). Like lemon verbena, lemon balm is an edible herb that tastes and smells like citrus. But lemon balm has a more astringent flavor, grows more aggressively, and is more cold tolerant.
- Flowering verbena (Verbena spp.). Flowering verbena is also often confused with lemon verbena as these plants have similar names and both belong to the Verbenaceae family. But flowering verbena is usually grown as an ornamental and doesn’t emit much fragrance.
Growing
Lemon verbena is well-suited for indoor or outdoor growing, and it grows well with other sun-loving plants, like bee balm, cilantro, dill, and zinnias. But if you want your lemon verbena to thrive, here’s exactly what these plants need to grow!
Light
Like many other herbs, lemon verbena is a full-sun plant that needs at least 6 to 8 hours of daily sun. Low light can cause these plants to drop leaves and become leggy, so it’s important to place them in the sunniest window or under a grow light if you keep them indoors.
Water
Lemon verbena is sensitive to overwatering and can develop root rot if its roots stay wet too long. To avoid this, always feel the soil before watering and only water your plants when the top 2 inches of soil feels dry.
Fertilizer
Most culinary herbs are light feeders, but lemon verbena is a heavy-feeding plant that needs to be fertilized regularly for optimal growth. These plants do best if you amend the soil with compost or a slow-release granular fertilizer when you plant them and then apply a monthly dose of diluted liquid fertilizer or compost tea through the end of summer.
Humidity and Temperature
Lemon verbena is tolerant of dry and high humidity conditions, but it does not tolerate chilly weather. Temperatures below 40°F can cause these plants to drop their leaves and go dormant, while subfreezing temperatures will kill them!
Seasonal Care
Lemon verbena should be harvested or pruned from time to time to keep them from becoming woody, leggy, or developing spindly growth. To do this, simply pinch or cut stems off at a leaf node, save your prunings for eating or propagation, and don’t remove more than 1/4 of your plant’s stems in one go. Pruning these plants will make them bushier and more compact as well!
Winter care for lemon verbena varies depending on where you live and if you’re growing these plants as annuals or perennials.
- If you’re growing lemon verbena as an annual, harvest your plant before the first fall frost and compost any leftover stems and roots.
- If you’re growing lemon verbena as a perennial, cut your plant down to several inches above the soil line and keep the remaining stems covered with 4 to 5 inches of straw or another loose, lightweight mulch until spring if you live in an area where the plant is marginally hardy. If you live in a warmer location, leave your plants as-is in autumn, and then prune them back by 1/3 to ½ when they start to leaf out in spring.
- If you’re growing lemon verbena as a potted perennial in a cold climate, bring your plant indoors before temperatures drop below 45°F, and add a humidifier if your plant starts to dry out!
Propagation
Although these plants produce seeds, lemon verbena seeds are often nonviable. However, you can create new lemon verbena plants for free by propagating stem cuttings!
- Take non-flowering, 4- to 6-inch-long softwood cuttings from tender lemon verbena stems in spring or summer.
- Remove the lowest leaves and dip the cut stem end in rooting hormone if you’re using it.
- Plant the cuttings 1 inch deep in pots or trays filled with moist seed starting mix or potting soil.
- Cover the cuttings and containers with clear plastic to trap humidity and move the cuttings into bright, indirect light.
- Remove the plastic daily to check the soil and circulate air, and water enough to keep the soil evenly moist.
- You’ll know the cuttings have rooted when they can’t be lifted up with a gentle tug of your fingers.
- Once rooted, transplant the cuttings into larger pots or move them outdoors after the risk of frost has passed.
Harvesting
You can start harvesting lemon verbena when the plants are about 10 inches tall and have lots of healthy leaves. To harvest, clip whole stem sections off the plant with scissors or pruners and make your cuts at a leaf node to encourage branching. You’ll get the best flavor if you harvest lemon verbena just before flowering!
Storing Lemon Verbena
Lemon verbena can be stored fresh in the fridge or dried in your spice cabinet. These herbs dry quickly in food dehydrators, but you can also dry lemon verbena by loosely bundling stems with a rubber band and hanging them to dry in a dark, dry place until the leaves crumble easily between your fingers.
Lauren Landers
