Lemon Verbena

Description

Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora), also known as Lemon Beebrush, offers a sweet lemon flavour that’s refreshing in tea or desserts and useful for seasoning meat dishes. The plant is a perennial shrub growing to 2–3 m high. The 8-cm-long, glossy, pointed leaves are slightly rough to the touch and emit a powerful scent reminiscent of lemon when bruised, making this herb a good choice for planting near outdoor living areas or paths, where you can enjoy its lemony scent. Sprays of tiny purple or white flowers appear in late spring or early summer. Due to its many culinary uses it is a popular choice for the home herb garden.

It is sensitive to cold, losing leaves at temperatures below 0 °C. Full sun yields best growth and the most flavourful leaves, if plants receive more shade than sun, stems will be spindly and sprawling and leaves will lack strong essential oil levels. Lemon verbena is a heavy feeder and, unlike many herbs, benefits from frequent fertilization.

Harvest leaves as needed throughout the growing season. Each time you snip a stem, new growth will emerge at the whorl of leaves beneath the cut. This growth pattern makes frequent cutting necessary to keep stems from becoming leggy. Dry leaves individually on screens or bundle stems together and hang upside down in a dark, dry place. Store dried leaves in sealed containers in a dark place. To release flavour, crumble leaves finely just before using.

Seeds/Packet: (min. 25 Seeds)