Growing Lemon Grass

Lemon grass grows fast in the heat of the summer. These plants are around 5 foot tall at the end of July in Georgia.

The base of the Lemon grass stems are thick and contain most of the oils and flavor you want in cooking and making teas but you can use the entire leaf and stem.

Lemon Grass is a great hot weather plant to grow in your garden. It is a tropical plant and will not survive freezing weather but it grows well during the summer months and is easy and quick to get started. I have found it is best to start with plants and not seed. I have found lemon grass at Asian Markets where it is sold to be used in Asian cooking recipes, especial Thai foods. The lemon grass will be in bundles and the  thick stems don’t even have to have any roots attached. I will take these stems and stick them in pots of well drained potting soil and keep them damp for a few weeks until they are rooted. If you have a greenhouse you can overwinter a few pots and divide some stems from the main plant with a sharp knife. Don’t plant them outside until temperatures are well into the 80’s.  Lemon grass requires little care and I have never experienced any insects or disease problems. I do plant it in good rich soil that has been amended with compost. You will need full sun for best growth. It does well in containers or planted directly in the ground. To see recipes for making lemon grass tea see my wife Judy’s blog post at  https://countrygardensfarm.com/theteachingfarmers/about-lemon-grass/

If you want to make more plants you should try to cut below the soil line to divide a stem with a little root

Lemon grass stems can be pulled or cut from the main plant.