How big does lemongrass grow
Growing & Planting Lemongrass | General Planting & Growing Tips – Bonnie Plants
Discover how to grow lemongrass. Growing lemongrass in your own garden means having a fresh, delicious ingredient for a variety of Asian dishes.
Lemongrass is a tropical herb packed with strong citrus flavor. The lemon taste is prized in Asian cooking, as well as in teas, sauces, and soups. In the garden, lemongrass forms a tall, grassy clump 3 to 5 feet tall. Its appearance rivals that of many ornamental grasses and can easily fulfill a similar role in the landscape. For an easy path to successful growing, look for vigorous young lemongrass plants from Bonnie Plants®, the company that has been helping home gardeners succeed for over a century.
Quick Guide to Growing Lemongrass
- Plant lemongrass in spring, once all chances of frost have passed. It's a perfect plant for growing in-ground, as you would with ornamental grasses, or in containers.
- Lemongrass likes it hot, so grow it in an area with full sun and fertile, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.
5 to 7.0. Space plants 24 inches apart.
- Kick off the growing season by mixing several inches aged compost or other rich organic matter into your native soil.
- Provide lemongrass with consistent moisture and water when the top inch becomes dry.
- Get the most out of your growing efforts by regularly feeding with a water-soluble plant food.
- Harvest lemongrass stalks once plants reach 12 inches tall and are a half-inch wide at the base.
Soil, Planting, and Care
Lemongrass thrives in full sun, even in hot Southern locations. Give this herb rich, well-drained soil. To improve fertility and enhance the soil's ability to hold water, improve the soil by mixing in composted manure or aged compost-enriched Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics™ All Purpose In-Ground Soil. If you're adding several lemongrass plants to planting beds, space plants 24 inches apart.
Plant lemongrass in a large pot that is at least 12 inches across, or use a 5-gallon bucket.
Be sure to use a premium quality potting soil, such as Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics™ All Purpose Container Mix, which contains aged compost and provides just the right organic nutrition to give lemongrass plants a strong start. Lemongrass grows tall, and pots can easily tip in windy weather, so place containers in a slightly protected location.
Provide a steady supply of moisture for best growth—don't let lemongrass roots dry out. In addition to starting with great soil, fertilize plants every couple of weeks during the growing season with a water-soluble plant food like Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Edibles Plant Nutrition. It improves the nutritional environment for your lemongrass plants by feeding the beneficial microbes in the soil as well as your plants, leading to strong, impressive growth.
In cold regions, overwinter lemongrass indoors by digging up a few stalks, trimming them down to just a few inches tall, and planting them in smaller pots. Place them in a bright, south-facing window.
Keep soil barely moist, as plants grow very slowly over winter. Another option is to store a pot of lemongrass, cut down, in a cool, dark place like a basement. Water just a few times over winter to keep roots alive. In spring, bring the pot into a bright spot, and resume normal watering. Shift outdoors when temperatures are above 40°F.
Due to its tropical nature, lemongrass usually only survives winters in zones 8 and warmer. In other areas, try growing lemongrass as an annual in planting beds or tucked into pots. This citrus-flavored grass overwinters well in a dormant state in a cool, dark spot indoors, or you can grow it as an indoor herb through winter in colder zones.
Troubleshooting
Few pests bother lemongrass. This herb is actually sometimes used in concoctions to repel insects. Occasionally, though, spider mites will attack plants overwintering indoors.
As lemongrass grows, it forms a tight clump that's difficult to dig into. Use a sharp spade or hatchet to remove roots in early spring.
Slice it like a pie, then pry slices of roots free. Keep an eye on plants in pots. With sufficient water, roots can quickly fill a too-small pot and burst it.
Harvest and Storage
Harvest lemongrass for its bulbous stem bases, rich with lemony flavor, or clip leaves for infusing tea and soup stock.
Start harvesting as soon as plants are 12 inches tall and stem bases are at least ½-inch thick. Cut stalks at ground level, or hand-pull entire stalks. You want to get the entire swollen base, which resembles a scallion or green onion. If a few roots come up with the stalk, don't worry: It won't harm the plant.
The edible portion of lemongrass is near the bottom of the stalk. Carefully cut off the grassy top part of the plant; use caution, as this can be razor-sharp at times. Leaves can be bundled and added to the liquid in a teapot or stock pot, then simmered to infuse lemon flavor into the brew.
Take the lemongrass base and peel the outer fibrous layer to expose the inner white, reedy part.
To store, freeze this part either whole or chopped. To make slicing easier, first crush the stem base with the flat blade of a knife. The heart of the stalk (the part you want) has the consistency of soft butter and will then slice easily.
Uses
Lemongrass is best known for its use in Asian cuisine, especially Thai and Vietnamese. In the kitchen, use tender inner stalk bases in stir fries, salads, and sauces. To freeze lemongrass, store thinly sliced pieces in single layers in zipper-seal bags. To use, break off as much as you need for individual dishes. Or, freeze lemongrass minced or as a purée.
Leaves make a great addition to marinades and can be steeped in hot water for tea. After use, add leaves to your compost pile or puree them and scatter them in the grass along the edges of a patio or deck to help deter insects. To dry leaves, bundle them and hang them upside down in a dark place until dry. Store in tightly sealed jars. Dried lemongrass retains its flavor up to one year.
Herbs LemonGrass
How Tall Does Lemongrass Grow?
On our previous blog post, we talked about How Often Do You Water Lemongrass? and today we are going to talk about how tall does Lemongrass can grow.
Lemongrass is one of the easiest herbs to grow yourself—it’s no wonder beginner gardeners often find themselves planting one at home. And if you’re here, chances are, you have one budding in your garden too!
So now that you’ve successfully planted them—hopefully somewhere sunny—it’s time to ask yourself, how tall does lemongrass grow?
Lemongrass is a tropical plant that can reach up to 6 feet tall (1.8 m).
The type or variety of lemongrass that you’d want growing at home goes by the botanical name Cymbopogon citratus.
The West Indian lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is the variety that is used in the kitchen since it has the best taste, scent, and texture.
This perennial grass is native to South and Southeast Asia and is widely known for its lemony scent and taste—citrusy, just like its name. It grows in tight clumps. And once your lemongrass continues to mature, you’ll see it develop stiff stems and slender leaves with sharp droopy tips.
When it comes to easy to grow culinary herbs, lemongrass certainly deserves being one of the gardener favorites. Its fragrant foliage together with its lemony taste makes for a versatile ingredient you’d want near your kitchen. It’s no surprise that it’s a mainstay in Asian cuisine.
If you want your dishes to have a pop of zesty, lemony flavor, adding some lemongrass certainly wouldn’t hurt. Be it soups, meat or curries, this is the herb you’d want to always be at hand.
To know more about growing lemongrass at home so you can have some fresh thick, grassy stalks in the end, here are some of the key things you should know.
If given the right soil, water and sun conditions, you can expect your fully grown lemongrass ready for harvest in just two to four months.
Starting a lemongrass plant from stem, expect 1 to 2 weeks for the roots to emerge while still on the container with water. During that first week, new leaves will also form at the top.
In just three weeks, its sizable roots signify that it’s ready for transferring. If you used one stalk in your pot, don’t be surprised by how fast lemongrass can create its own offshoots as the stalk will divide itself.
After this, you’ll just have to wait for two to four months before you can harvest a fresh batch of tasty lemongrass.
OR you can harvest them at any time once the plants have grown to the height of 12 inches with stem bases that are at least ½-inch thick. The process of harvesting the stalks is pretty straightforward, you can just cut them at ground level using a sharp knife or scissors.
Or you can opt to just bend and twist the stalks to snap them off.
Take note that lemongrass can grow up to 6 ft (1.8 m). And it will grow for several years. It’s generally known to have an economical lifespan of 4 years. So expect to have an almost endless supply of this herb once you’ve perfected the lemongrass-growing basics!
How Do You Grow Lemongrass Thicker?There’s really no secret way to grow lemongrass thicker. You just have to give this plant its required growing conditions.
Giving your lemongrass the right general care and maintenance will result in a thriving plant, just like with any other plant in your garden.
This includes, of course, planting them in the right soil condition and giving them their required amount of water. And given that lemongrass is a tropical plant, you’d want to mimic its origin so it can successfully grow—meaning this herb requires regular rainfall and enough sunlight.
Lemongrass grows best in warm and sunny locations.
Ideally in the tropics or subtropics with humid conditions. If grown in drier climates, this plant should be watered regularly.
During the growing season, see to it that they’re given enough amounts of nitrogen as they highly need it.
Giving them a balanced soluble fertilizer once a month is also greatly encouraged. I’ve been using this fertilizer for the majority of my tropical plants in my garden and it’s been such a great help. Pretty impressive for such a cheap price. So you might want to try that one.
If you’re growing your lemongrass in containers—which is the more popular way of growing them at home—keep in mind that they should be fed more frequently compared to lemongrass frown directly on the ground.
Another tip for thriving and thick lemongrass is carefully hand pulling weeds that might compete with your plant.
Can You Plant Lemongrass in The Ground?Yes. You can absolutely plant lemongrass in the ground. This herb is not finicky at all.
It can grow in a wide range of soils but it prefers well-draining, fertile loam soil with a pH between 5.0 and 8.4.
Lemongrass can grow in temperatures ranging from 10 to 33°C (50-91.4°F). But it will grow best at temperatures between 25 and 30°C (77–86°F).
So if you are in a growing zone that can provide your plants a warm, sunny and humid climate—one resembling that of the tropics and subtropics, you can easily plant your lemongrass in the ground.
But in the colder climates, it’s safer to grow them in containers. Lemongrass is a tropical herb and therefore not winter hardy in colder climates. Due to this, it is best grown in containers like round pots.
Find a large pot, make sure it’s big enough, at least 12 inches across. A 5-gallon bucket works well for growing lemongrass. Visit your local nursery to score some free durable pots or you can just order some online, for a faster and more convenient way.
Some pots in my garden are from Amazon and since I’ve been gardening for years now, it’s safe to say that these guys are indeed durable.
It’s a great buy and definitely, worth your investment, they’re not that cheap anyway.
Plant lemongrass in the ground or in containers, choose the one that will work best for you.
How Long Does Lemongrass Last?Your lemongrass plant will grow for several years. And it’s generally known to have an economical lifespan of 4 years. After 2 to 4 months of planting, you can start harvesting your own batch of lemongrass.
There are a number of ways you can store your harvested lemongrass. Though I find that they’re best used fresh. If you haven’t tried lemongrass tea, you are missing out. Pop a couple of ice and you got yourself one refreshing drink.
But if you harvest more lemongrass than you need, you can just store them in the refrigerator, freeze them or dry them.
If stored correctly, lemongrass can last up to 2 weeks in the fridge, 6 months frozen in the freezer and lasts up to a year when dried.
Tightly wrap your fresh-cut lemongrass with a plastic wrapper and store it in the refrigerator.
They will keep fresh for 2 weeks. The signature smell of lemongrass may fade a little but its wonderful flavor will remain and ready for your dish.
Yes, you can freeze lemongrass. It’s one of the ways to preserve the extra lemongrass you may harvest in the end.
You can choose by either freezing the lemongrass stem whole or chopped in smaller pieces. The part that you’d want is the heart of the stalk. It’s so soft, almost like butter and will slice easily.
I store mine in freezer bags or containers. Just a tip, portion out the stalks you’ll be storing in the freezer. Store them in amounts that you usually use in a regular dish for easier use in the kitchen and faster preparation in cooking!
Plus, do not forget to label your frozen lemongrass with the date and amount stored.
How Do You Dry Out the Lemongrass?Another way to preserve extra lemongrass at home is by drying them.
You can cut the lemongrass stalks into tiny pieces and dry them out.
I store mine in a tightly sealed jar and place it somewhere cool and dry. Traditionally, this is perfect for a hot tea or you can also grind until it’s powdered form before adding it on your favorite dish.
Keep in mind that when drying the stalks or leaves, it’s important to cut them while they are still fresh.
Ideally, you should do this immediately after you’ve harvested, cut and washed the lemongrass. Otherwise, they’d be difficult to cut—once they are dry, they tend to be crumbly.
To dry out the lemongrass, first, you need to separate the leaves from the stalks.
Get a paper towel or a screen and lay the leaves and stalk on them.
Find a dry place where you can lay the cut lemongrass out of direct sunlight. You can put them in a jar once they’ve dried out completely.
Place the jar in a cool, dark place to preserve the dried lemongrass.
There you have it, you’ve planted, grown, harvested, AND stored your very own lemongrass. Now you get to play with this citrusy herb in the kitchen.
Enjoy!
On our next post, we are going to talk about Can You Grow Lemongrass From Stalks? Keep Reading!
How to Grow Lemongrass at Home - Detailed Instructions
If you enjoy using lemongrass in soups and seafood dishes, chances are you've already discovered that this herb isn't always available in your local grocery stores. Then you should be interested in information on how to grow lemongrass at home. Find out how to do it with a detailed step-by-step guide and you will always have access to fresh fragrant stems when you need it.
9Olo Winter CarePot and Soil
Your lemongrass will need loose, well-drained soil to grow well. Use ready-made soil mixture for vegetable plants.
The pot needs to be deep and voluminous.
How to grow lemongrass at home
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) grows in the humid grasslands of Southeast Asia, where it is widely used as a condiment and for medicinal purposes.
In nature, it grows up to 1 meter in height. There are two ways to grow lemongrass at home: from seeds or from cuttings.
From seeds
Growing lemongrass from seeds at home is quite easy and requires very little effort.
- Fill a wide pot with moist soil mix. Level the surface and compact with your hands so that there is approximately 1 cm between the ground and the top of the tray.
- Sow lemongrass seeds 2-3 cm apart and cover with soil 0.5-0.6 cm thick. Compact again.
- Spray the soil with water from a spray bottle until it is moderately damp.
- Stretch plastic wrap over the planting container and secure the edges.
- Place the pot on a well-lit window sill.
- Remove film once a week to water lemongrass seeds.
- Seeds will germinate in about 10-30 days.
- Remove the plastic wrap completely when the seedlings are 2-3 cm tall.
Periodically spray lemongrass with water from a spray bottle while it develops to maintain optimum moisture.
From cuttings
Growing lemongrass from cuttings is even easier than from seeds. To do this, find the freshest stems in the store.
- Place purchased lemongrass stalks in a small glass of water. Change the water every day. After a few weeks, you should see tiny roots at the bottom. Wait another week for them to get stronger.
- When strong roots appear, cut each stem down to 7-8 cm from the top and plant them in a large pot with all-purpose soil mix.
- Place the lemongrass on a sunny windowsill. Water daily for the first week.
How to Care
To successfully grow this tropical herb at home on a windowsill, you need to create warm and humid conditions, especially in the first few weeks after germination.
Watering
Take care not to water newly planted lemongrass. Don't let the soil be waterlogged. As soon as the upper green leaves begin to actively grow, water well once a week.
Lighting
Lemongrass will thrive and thrive if it receives at least 8 hours of sunlight per day.
If you can arrange additional lighting with fluorescent lamps for this purpose, your plant will be quite happy and will thank you with lush foliage.
Fertilizer
Actively growing lemongrass will need nitrogen. Water it monthly with nitrogen fertilizer. If you're going to use lemongrass for food or tea, don't get carried away with top dressing.
Winter care
Lemongrass will remain evergreen, but growth will slow significantly in winter. Water it a little less.
Other names for lemongrass: cymbopogon, lemongrass, citronella, lemongrass, lemongrass, shuttle beard.
Cultivation and Care Video
Harvest
Lemograss can be harvested all year round once the stems are 20-30 cm high and 1-1.5 cm in diameter. Cut them with a sharp knife to avoid damaging neighboring plants .
Homemade lemongrass will taste more intense than store bought lemongrass. In addition, you also get leaves, and the grass itself looks great on a balcony or windowsill.
When you start growing Lemograss at home, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that this "exotic" plant is easier to grow than you might expect. You have learned how to grow lemongrass at home, and you can easily do it yourself.
How to grow lemongrass in an apartment and in a country house
What is this mysterious lemongrass and how can it be useful in the household? How to grow lemongrass from seeds and cuttings? How to care for a plant so that a tropical guest can take root in a Russian dacha? Look for answers to these questions in the article!
Lemongrass has many "names": lemongrass, citronella, shuttle beard, cymbopogon and even lemongrass. All these names are usually applied to the plant Cymbopogon citratus , which is not entirely true. The reason for the confusion lies in the fact that in addition to lemongrass, its close "relatives" are known in home crop production:
- Cymbopogon flexuosus (called East Indian lemongrass or Malabar grass),
- Cymbopogon nardus (this is a citronella, and it is distinguished by red petioles and pink veins on the stems).
All these plants of the genus Cymbopogon belong to cereals, but they are grown not for grains, but for stems and leaves that have a pleasant lemon-ginger taste and aroma. Today we are interested in Cymbopogon citratus which is lemongrass, lemongrass or West Indian lemongrass.
The plant is a shrub of long, smooth, sharp leaves growing in a tuft. This feature distinguishes it from other cereals that spread throughout the territory. The leaves are light green in color, with a slight citrus aroma.
Origin and beneficial properties of lemongrass
Lemongrass comes from Southeast Asia, is accustomed to living in warmth and is not adapted to open ground in the middle lane - it dies when it gets cold below 0°C. Therefore, we grow it quite rarely and, as a rule, only at home. But this valuable cereal is worth a closer look!
The benefits of lemongrass cannot be overestimated. It is actively used in cooking, especially in oriental cuisine, as a seasoning for sauces, soups and stews - the dishes are fragrant, with a slight "point".
Lemongrass tea has a sedative effect, it is advised to drink it for anxiety disorders, insomnia.
Lemongrass essential oil has proven itself in medicine and perfumery - it contains natural antiseptics and is used in the manufacture of soaps, shampoos, and cosmetics. The medicinal properties of lemongrass are diverse: it is used to cleanse the body of toxins, activate digestion and metabolism, cleanse the liver and intestines, and reduce fever. In addition, the oil is an effective tool in aromatherapy: it relieves fatigue and headache, improves mood.
For summer residents, the ability of lemongrass to repel insect pests will be especially relevant. In particular, it is used to protect garden plantings from whiteflies, and helps people get rid of annoying flies, mosquitoes and even ticks.
Other plants with natural repellent properties are listed here:
Growing Lemongrass at Home
Lemongrass is difficult to grow as a perennial in the garden, but that doesn't mean it can't be grown at home.
Let's look at the "rider" of this incredibly useful plant!
Born in the tropics, lemongrass loves a hot, humid climate, so the place in the apartment he needs to determine the warmest, well-lit, away from heating appliances. This is one of the few plants that can withstand direct sunlight, so a south-facing window sill or covered loggia is quite suitable for it. The optimum air temperature in summer is plus or minus 25°C, in winter - not lower than 16-18°C. Be sure to monitor the humidity of the air and spray - in a dry climate, lemongrass will feel uncomfortable.
The soil must be loose and breathable. You can buy ready-made soil mixture in the store - for example, universal soil for vegetable crops. Or make the mixture yourself by combining humus and river sand in equal parts, and add perlite or vermiculite for looseness.
If you plant lemongrass in prepared, nutrient-enriched soil, you won't need to fertilize in the first months after planting - just what is in the soil will suffice.
Next, lemongrass is fed about once a month. Since the plant is mainly busy growing leaves, top dressing is desirable with a high nitrogen content.
In nature, lemongrass grows up to 1.5-2 m, and in a container it can reach a height of 1 m, which is also quite a lot. Therefore, you should choose a deep pot, with a diameter of at least 25-30 cm.
Lemongrass loves water and is demanding on watering, but does not tolerate stagnant moisture. Therefore, in the container that you choose for planting, there must be holes for water to drain. For the same reason, be sure to pour a drainage layer of expanded clay or shards 1/3 of the pot high on the bottom.
Remember that ceramic containers absorb and evaporate moisture faster than plastic containers. This means that lemongrass planted in a clay pot will require more watering than one grown in a plastic container.
Lemongrass Propagation Methods
Lemongrass is fairly easy to propagate by vegetative means, seeds and root division.
Lemongrass seeds are easy to find in garden shops. It is usually sown for seedlings in March. To do this, the container is filled with fertile soil and moistened (it is better to spray from a spray bottle). Seeds are laid out on moist soil without deepening, and sprinkled on top with a layer of earth or sand 3-5 mm thick. Then they are sprayed again, covered with glass or film and put in a warm place on the sunny side. The sprouts will hatch in about a week, and when they grow to a height of 2-3 cm, the film cover can be removed. Optimum humidity should be maintained, not allowing the soil to dry out. It is recommended to spray the seedlings 2-3 times a week, and after a couple of weeks the grown seedlings can be settled in separate pots.
On the shelves of our grocery stores, lemongrass is not a very frequent visitor. In large hypermarkets, lemongrass leaves are sometimes sold, cut in the middle part, without bottoms. Such material for rooting is not suitable.
If you are lucky enough to find lemongrass stalks with a root part on sale, take them without hesitation, because they can not only be used in cooking, but also rooted!
For cuttings, the stems are cut, leaving a length of 5-7 cm, placed in a shallow container with water and sent to a sunny windowsill. After 10-20 days, small roots will appear on the cuttings, which will grow and grow stronger for another week or two. When the roots of the shoots gain strength, you can plant them in prepared containers.
For young plants, it is worth taking several small containers or one wide one if you want to grow lemongrass in one bush.
If you have had lemongrass for more than a year, it is easiest to propagate it by dividing the bush. The ideal time for this is spring or early summer. The plant is taken out of the pot, the roots are freed from the ground, so that the junctions of the beams become visible. Then the rhizome is separated with hands or a knife, the resulting bushes are seated in smaller containers and watered. Since lemongrass leaves have sharp edges, it is best to work with gloves.
Lemongrass in the dacha – is it possible or not?
You can also try to grow lemongrass in the country in the climate of the middle zone, if you do not plant it in open ground, but choose a container growing method. In this case, it will not be difficult to cover the plant with the onset of cold weather - just bring it into the house. In addition, even indoor specimens are often moved to a garden or a flower bed for the summer period - in hot weather they feel great in the air.
Sometimes lemongrass is used in landscape design as a decorative annual, and this is one of the options if you want to plant a plant, but the climate does not allow it.
If you decide to plant lemongrass in your dacha, keep in mind some of the features of this plant.
- Lemongrass does not like drafts - their exposure can lead to rotting of the root system. Therefore, it is advisable to plant it in places protected from gusts of wind.
