PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Lemon Verbena
Aloysia citrodora
The most intensely lemon-scented herb, for tea, desserts and cordials. A tender shrub: grow it in a pot and bring it in for winter.
At a glance: harvest from late May.
When to plant and care for it
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Lemon Verbena: what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water until established; drought-tolerant after
- Soil
- Poor to moderate, very well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 45 cm
- Height
- 1 m
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- Liquid feed monthly in summer
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 8–11
Step by step
- Late April – mid June · 2 weeks after the last spring frost
Plant
Plant in a 30 cm pot of free-draining compost and stand it in the sunniest, most sheltered spot.
- 0–1 days after “Plant” · Late April
Water In
Water well, then keep just moist while it settles in.
- 30–51 days after “Water In” · Late May – mid June
First Light Harvest
Once it is growing strongly, snip a few sprigs — never more than a third of the plant at once.
Every year
- AprilPrune Hard
As new leaves appear, cut stems back to 30 cm to keep it bushy. It is late to leaf out — don't give up on it.
- JulyHarvest for Tea
Pick leaves any time; dry a batch for winter tea.
- OctoberBring Indoors
Before frosts, move the pot to a frost-free greenhouse or cool, bright room and water sparingly; it will drop its leaves.
