How I Love My Lemon Verbena
Lemon Verbena is easy to grow in containers and keep through winter in the house.
I remember when I was a kid, my mom used to give me a Tisane to help me sleep. Probably lemon verbena. Seif Allah Bouchrara
Lemon Verbena has one of the most enchanting lemon fragrances of any plant. Perhaps what’s more significant is that the smell holds when the plant is dried. This makes it one of the potpourri maker's favorite plants.
This generous plant is easy to grow in the garden to USDA zone 8. I live in zone 4, so I grow mine in a container and bring it into the house for the winter.
In the garden, I put the container in full sun after all danger of frost is past. I add a cup of worm castings to the top few inches of soil and drench it with an organic water-soluble fertilizer.
You’ll read not to let lemon verbena dry out, but my experience is that she likes a periodic short dry spell. After which she begins a period of profuse growing. Thus, I don’t worry too much about water. When it’s dried out I give it a deep watering.
In Autumn, I give her a bath with lemon grass essential oil and water. Then I bring her Into the house and put her in a sunny window. I keep the leaves trimmed.
