How to grow lemongrass in our home herb garden?

Lemongrass (cymbopogon citratus) – a perennial herb of the family of grass. The leaves of the plant contain a large amount of distinct lemon flavor and aroma, hence the name .

It is cultivated and grown on a commercial scale in the tropical and subtropical regions – in Central Africa, in South America, India, Indonesia and Australia.

There are about 55 varieties of lemon grass. Some of them are used only in cooking, others are used in the perfume industry.

In appearance, lemon grass resembles young bamboo. The plant has thin, long leaves of light green with a reddish tinge at the bottom which may grow up to two meters in height.

If you are a fan of fresh herbs, then lemongrass definitely has a place in your herb garden. It needs a bright and warm place as well as regular watering.

Outdoors the plant can be grown in containers and it will be both cool and useful decoration for your patio.

In colder climates flower pots are recommended as you could move them into the garage or a covered area during winter period.

It takes a long time to grow cymbopogon citratus form seeds. The easier way is to cut an inch or two off the end of the leaves and put them in a glass of water.

 

If you placed in a sunny location or a sunny window you should see roots coming from the base within 2 weeks.

When the roots reach an inch, the plant is ready to be placed in a pot or outside in the garden.

The daily use of lemongrass is mainly in cooking. There are thousands of recipes for Thai food, for example, using the aromatic grass as an ingredient.

It is largely used in desserts like ice cream, for example for the delicate lemon scent. Cymbopogon citratus could be brewed to tea as well as it is very useful for human health.