Lemon Verbena

I have just ordered some lemon verbena from a herb nursery - just blindly buying to fill the gaps in the herb bed.

And I've just researched it to find it is a large shrub!!! Hee hee

Can anyone tell me what to expect, and where it needs to go, eg in a big space to grow or can it be kept small.

Any help greatly appreciated as always!

 

Hi VP

Lemon Verbena will grow into a large shrub if you're lucky enough to get it through several winters outside, but it won't survive a hard winter. I grow mine in a pot (I think there is another thread about this somewhere or other) and bring it inside for the winter. It's very easy to overwinter - it doesn't need to be in a heated space. The leaves all disappear at the first hint of frost anyway, so I hard prune mine down to a few bare twigs, stop watering it and just store it somewhere frost free until late April/early May. It shoots quite happily from the base and from old wood, so you can start watering it again in spring to bring it back to life.

Lemon verbena is also easy from cuttings. I remember reading somewhere or other that the best time to do this is when the plant is in flower, in July/August.

The leaves retain their lovely scent when dried, incidentally!

 

PS ... so it's pretty easy to keep small with hard pruning - it's more getting it through the winter that's the problem! In Kent, where I am, it will sometimes survive the cold months but more often than not it will cark it. I suppose you could try protecting your outdoor plant in situ and taking some cuttings as an insurance policy.

 

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/lemon-verbena-t25940.html?t=25940&highlight=lemon+verbena

Here's that other thread, VP.

 

I grow it here, but to be honest it can be difficult 1) with our heat it needs constant watering and 2) with our very light frost for a couple of days only and I have a very enclosed 'protected' garden in the south. I would treat it as a pot plant to be put in a conservatory. It's great for herbal teas which I love.

 

Thanks so much Clare! Fabulous advice. I will plant it in a pot and overwinter it. I wonder if a shed would do for over-wintering?

 

Mine gets plonked under a bench in what we rather optimistically describe as 'the conservatory'. I'm pretty sure a shed would do just as well.

 

I'd echo what the others have said - it will not survive winter even in South England. I had one a few years ago and even after a 'mild' winter it didn't make it.

I have another one now, just bought this year and it's already in a decorative pot, ready for over wintering indoors.

And yes, the smell is heavenly

 

Aaron, how big are u expecting yours to get this year? I just wondered what size pot I need.