Lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora)

Andy, I think I've lost mine. I got it from a herb nursery recommended by Sussex gardener last year. Nicholson's Herb Farm. I had two. They were beautiful, but I forgot to pop them in the shed for winter. I'm not sure when they are supposed to start sprouting but nothing yet :(

 

Hi Victoria. Mine has only just started to show buds so don't chuck your plants out just yet. I can give you cuttings, Loofah, but it will be much later in the season. At the moment I just have twigs!

 

VP and Clare. Even mine is leafless here at the moment but I too have new shoots. They are quite hardy and can withstand some frost as long as the roots don't freeze.

 

My Lemon Verbena has survived winter (I'm quite proud of that actually!) and is starting to sprout. Mine wasn't brought indoors, just wrapped up well and placed in a sheltered location, next to the house. So give it a chance

 

I forgot to protect mine. Just been and looked and it looks very dead, both have some of the outer bark peeling off.

If I pop them in the greenhouse might I find out one way or another?

 

Give 'em a while, VP. One way of telling is to get some secateurs and chop through a couple of bare twigs. If they're green inside, then the plant is still alive. It's not quite the end if all is brown and dead, however. If the roots have survived the winter, the plant can still shoot from the base.

 

That's exactly what I do Clare as I did with my Lemon Verbena a couple of weeks ago. It's always worth snipping and waiting a few weeks to see if they spring into life.

 

No prob Andy. Remind me in the summer - July is a pretty good time to take the cuttings, by which time my sorry bunch of sticks will, hopefully, be a large plant again! It's a long time since I've done any lemon verbena cuttings, but I seem to remember that it's pretty easy to get them to strike.

I overwintered my plant with no problems at all, despite the severe winter, just by shoving it in my Wilkinson's El Cheapo coldframe.