Easy Peasy Gardening Growing Lemongrass (Lemon Grass)

From grocery store to tea pot

• Lemongrass is an easy to grow herb used for cooking, medicinal arts, aroma therapy and flavoring

• Lemongrass can be found in many grocery stores including Asian, Organic and vegetable markets.

• Just a few stalks will yield enough plants for you to use and many to give to friends.

• Lemongrass is native to the tropics, but will grow as an annual in a container or can be planted in ground in any location or amount of sun.

This is Lemongrass in a grocery store in the vegetable case. Can usually be found along with other Asian vegetables. 4-6 stalks will be a good to start.

Some stores will sell only wrapped bunches and one or two bunches or 4 – 6 stalks will be enough for your garden.

If possible, choose stalks that have old leaf rings at the bottom of the stem.

Leaf ring from old leaf

Leaf ring from old leaf

If the stalk has been cut at the end of the stalk, peel the leafs off starting at the edge. Peel around the stalk to expose the root underneath.

The pink surface will smell very lemon like and can be used for tea. Recipe to follow.

Put the cut stalks into a container – vase, jar or glass in several inches of water and place in sunny location on window sill (winter) or garden (summer). Change the water in the container every three days or so.

Roots will emerge in the spaces between the leaf rings. This may take just a few days or a week or two depending on the time of the year and the temperature.

Carefully and gently lift the roots out of the water when changing it. Note the small growth peeking out of the root area. This will be a new plant when it grow bigger.

This stalk has a long new plant starting and lots of roots. It is ready to be planted in soil. Be careful not to bump the new plant because it is very delicate at this point of growth.

These were removed from the container of water and are all ready to be planted in soil. You can unwind them very easily with a soft stream of water.

Easy Peasy Gardening Growing Lemongrass (Lemon Grass)

How to plant rooted stalks • When the stalks have rooted in water, it is time to move

them up to individual pots with soil. • Any container can be used for planting rooted stalks into

soil. Containers must have drainage holes in the bottom of the container.

• New or reused plastic pots can be used. Yogurt, food containers, bottoms of plastic soda bottles as well as milk cartons also work, don’t forget the drainage holes.

• Bagged potting soil can be purchased for the new plants, any good quality is fine. Garden soil, if free of pests can also be used.

Fill container half way with moistened potting soil, pat down gently to settle soil.

Gently place the plant on the soil and arrange roots around the main stem. Be very careful not to damage roots.

This stalk has fewer roots, but a tiny new plant has grown out of the bottom of the stalk. Be careful not to damage this as you add more soil. It will be covered when you add more soil to the pot.

Gently add more slightly moisten soil until the roots are covered and the bottom 3/4 inch or so of the stalk is under the soil surface.

Water-in to and pat gently to stabilize the new plant. If it wiggles when moved, pat the soil very gently to firm up the soil around the stalk. Do not push down on the soil – you can damage the fragile roots.

This stalk has many new roots and a new plant growing out of the root base. Special care must be taken to plant in soil without damaging new plant.

Gloves should be worn while handling all new plants. Gently hold new plantlet to the side while carefully adding moistened soil.

Firmly but gently tap the soil to settle and water- in the new lemongrass plants.

Newly potted-up (planted) lemongrass. These will be taken indoors for winter, and placed outside in a sunny location when all chance of frost in over. Some will be placed in large containers, some in the garden and others sent to a local food bank.

Enjoy your New Lemongrass Plants