Lemongrass is an aromatic grass-family herb with a rich lemon style and fragrance. Leaves and the bulbous stem are used as a seasoning in Southeast Asian dishes and lightly in soups. The leaves may also be brewed to make a relaxing tea.
Lemongrass is a subtropical plant. The narrow and arching grass-like leaves can increase to five feet tall. It is best to hold lemongrass indoors in wintry weather in spaces cooler than Zone 9.
Where to Plant Lemongrass
- Highest location: Plant lemongrass in entire sun.
- Soil preparation: Increase lemongrass in compost-rich, well-drained soil; however, lemongrass will increase in most garden soils. Lemongrass prefers a soil pH of 6.5 to 7.3.
When to Plant Lemongrass
- Seed starting indoors: Get began seeds in spring a few weeks previous to the general frost. Sow seed in a 6-inch pot and switch into successively higher pots for the reason that clump grows. Use a potting mix containing one-third compost, one-third superb topsoil, and one-sixth vermiculite. New crops can be started from root divisions.
- Transplanting to the garden: Set new crops throughout the garden finally danger of frost has passed.
- Outdoor planting time: Sow seed or set out root divisions two weeks after the general frost in spring.
Recommendations on the right way to Plant Lemongrass
- Planting depth: Sow seed ¼ inch deep. Set root division 1 inch deep.
- Spacing: Area crops 2 to 4 feet apart.
- How so much to plant: Increase 2 clumps for culinary use.
- Higher part planting: Increase lemongrass with Lemon verbena and passionflower. Lemongrass has a sharp scent and will repel many insects in conjunction with mosquitoes.
Watering and Feeding Lemongrass
- Watering: Keep the soil lightly rainy; water ceaselessly in dry climates.
- Feeding: Feed lemongrass with compost tea of liquid fish emulsion every 2 weeks. Reduce on feeding as wintry weather approaches.
- Care: Fertilize lemongrass per month right through the emerging season with a water-soluble fertilizer.
Container Emerging Lemongrass
- Container emerging: Lemongrass is understated to increase in packing containers. Get began lemongrass in a pot 6 inches deep and huge. A mature clump can increase in a 5-gallon nursery pot. Feed container crops with liquid fish emulsion and seaweed at per month periods right through the summer time. Increase lemongrass in pots in spaces cooler than Zone 9; take crops out of doors in summer time and indoors in wintry weather.
- Wintry climate emerging: Put across crops indoors throughout the fall.
Lemongrass Pests and Diseases
- Pests and diseases: Lemongrass is usually pest and disease-free.
How to Harvest Lemongrass
- When to harvest: Harvest mid to late summer time; summer time heat will pay attention the oil and increase the intensity of style. Reduce leaves and stems any time after the plant is a foot tall.
- Recommendations on the right way to harvest: Gently pull off older out of doors bulbous stems and leaves first. More youthful leaves can be decrease and used for tea making.
Lemongrass throughout the Kitchen
- Style and aroma: Lemmon tang and scent
- Leaves and stems: Use the peeled, trimmed bulbous stems in Thai and Vietnamese dishes, stir-fries, vegetable soups, curries, rice, pasta, tofu, and vegetables. Trim away the green section; slice the delicate white section and add to stir-fries.
- Reduce and trimmed stems resemble asparagus.
- Teas: Use leaves in mixed herbal teas.
Keeping up and Storing Lemongrass
- Refrigeration: Lemongrass will keep throughout the refrigerator wrapped in paper towels for more or less every week.
- Drying: Air dry leaves in a gloomy, airy place in order that they hold their color. Leaves moreover may also be dried in a dehydrator.
- Freezing: Freeze leaves in delicate oil or ice cubes.
Recommendations on the right way to Propagate Lemongrass
- Division: Divide established clumps in spring and early summer time. Divide roots by means of digging the entire plant and dividing it into two or 3 pieces. Replant each and every division at the equivalent depth it was once as soon as emerging previous to. When dividing lemongrass, snip off all then again 3 to 4 inches of the leaves to cut back the volume of water out of place throughout the leaves. Mist the leaves often as plant re-establishes roots after division.
Get to Know Lemongrass
- Botanical establish and members of the family: Cymbopogon citratus (Poaceae—grass members of the family)
- Basis: Asia, Sri Lanka
- Type of plant: Lemongrass is a tender perennial then again is ceaselessly grown as an annual.
- Emerging season: Summer season
- Emerging zones: Grows very best in zones 8 to 11; increase lemongrass in packing containers in cooler zones.
- Hardiness: Does no longer tolerate cold local weather
- Plant form and size: Lemongrass grows in graceful, fountain-like clumps usually 2 to 3 feet tall and huge then again can increase to 6 feet tall in very popular spaces.
- Plants: Inconspicuous greenish crops form on the most efficient of stalks.
- Bloom time: Summer season
- Leaves: Medium-green, strap-like grassy leaves to 3 feet long and ½ inch huge. Leaves increase in clumps; the ground of each and every leaf is an enlarged whitish bulb that looks like a green onion.
Equivalent articles of hobby:
Lemongrass: Kitchen Basics
