How to grow lemongrass from cuttings, stalks or scraps is super simple. In this article I will be explaining some simple steps you can take to have your lemongrass going quickly. Be warned that a single cutting of lemongrass will blossom into a good going shrub that you can enjoy for long time
Lemongrass is known scientifically as Cymbopogon citratus. The plant is native to Southern India and Sri Lanka. Depending on your region this same plant of the grass family may also go by other names such as fever grass, barbed wire grass or Malabar grass among other names. Lemongrass is a herb which has over 50 varieties.
Benefits of growing Lemongrass
There is a reason many people are interested in growing lemongrass as a herb at home. Lemongrass is thought to have a range of health benefits. Here are some of lemongrass plant uses…
- Managing fever
- Relieving pain
- Managing blood sugar
- Managing cholesterol
- Antioxidant properties
Other than medicinal benefits, lemongrass citrus smell is thought to put off snakes, mosquitoes and ticks. It is common to plant lemongrass in the garden and around the house in pots for these reasons.
Let’s now turn our attention to how to growing lemongrass using cuttings. Although I will refer mostly to cuttings, the method explained here is also applicable when growing lemongrass from stalks and scraps, it is by-and-large the same template to follow.
1. How to Grow Lemongrass from Cuttings: Getting the cuttings
You can propagate your lemongrass from cuttings off supermarket bought lemongrass. The source of your grass would not matter a big deal. As long as you get your cuttings from a healthy plant capable of restarting, you should be ready to go.
In this example, I got my lemongrass from a thriving plant already growing at my home. You will notice in the image that my lemongrass has some roots. The roots are optional as the plant is capable of regrowing roots from a clean rootless stalk.
2. Prepare the lemongrass cutting for growing
Next, strip off any leaves from your cutting aiming to leave only the stalk. You can strip it down as shown here. Again, the roots are optional as lemongrass is capable of regrowing roots.
3. Put your lemongrass cutting in soil or water to start growing roots
Depending on what type of cutting you have (with roots or without roots), it is time to plant the cutting one way or the other. If your cutting has some roots as shown here, it is ready to put in the soil directly.
If your cutting is a clean stalk, I recommend putting it in a glass with water for the next several days. You should notice some roots shooting from the stalk. Once the roots look grown and suitable to go in the ground, you should be ready to transfer the stalk into the real growing environment which is the ground.
To talk about the growing medium, in my experience lemongrass does not care much about the fertility of the soil. Remember this is grass and grass tends to care little about the type of soil as would vegetables such as cabbages or potatoes. Most soil types will see lemongrass through. So as a guide, grow your lemongrass in any garden soil.
However, for best results and lush foliage, you may want to grow the herb in well draining fertile soils with a pH of 6.0 to 7.8. If using fertilizer of any form, the nitrogen component should be higher to facilitate the foliage. Expose the plant to at least 6 hours of sunlight per day.
4. Keep watering & pruning plant
Lemongrass grows fairly fast. If growing in a container, ensure that you have a good size container. The plant will grow into a good sized shrub in no time. Keep watering the plant and trim off dead leaves. Watering every other day or twice a week should be sufficient. The plant is itself drought resistant.
Left to own devices, lemongrass can look quite unkempt. This is good in one way as it makes lemongrass a low maintenance plant. The best way to manage it, I find, is to constantly trim off overgrown and dead leaves. This helps in keeping it presentable. It is however practical when growing one or two plants not dozens of them.
5. How to Grow Lemongrass from Cuttings: Harvesting
Lemongrass is harvested to enjoy the stalk and foliage. Once your planted herb is showing signs of own life and has several leaves to its name, you should find it possible to nip some leaves for use in your recipes and so on.
The plant will keep growing new leaves and thriving. For the stalk, harvest may be delayed in order to allow the stalks to mature. At about 1/4 inch thick, the stalks can be harvested.
As shown here, how to grow lemongrass from cuttings is easy and straightforward. There is no reason to delay having your hands dirty. Happy gardening!
