Aromatic plants are one of those additions that are never too many in a garden or by the window. With their pleasant aroma they refresh spaces and provide a much more natural environment, in addition to keeping some undesirable insects away. Luisa herb is one of these valuable friends that we can turn to to beautify a space and improve our quality of life.
Growing it is not difficult and this is why it is so popular, especially in South America, where it comes from. If you want to learn how to grow lemon verbena, join us in this EcologíaVerde article where you can discover all the lemon verbena care.
Lemon verbena characteristics
lemon verbena, lemon verbena, lemon verbena, citron or Indian verbena are its most common names, although in reality by them we refer to the entire genus Aloysia, of the Verbenaceae family, which has about 30 species of shrubs, the most popular for cultivation being the Aloysia citriodora and the Aloysia triphyllawith very similar needs. These are its main characteristics:
- They are very aromatic, deciduous shrubs that can reach heights of up to 5 meters outdoors and with the right conditions, although the most common is that they rarely exceed 2 metersbeing logically much smaller when cultivated in pots.
- In summer, lemon verbena produces very small white or light purple flowerswhich must be removed at the same time they wither so that the plant does not waste energy on them or expose itself to diseases.
- It is very popular both in Spain and in South America for its ornamental cultivation, although it is also highly appreciated for its various medicinal properties as an antioxidant, digestive and relaxing, as well as antispasmodic and carminative.
- In the kitchen it is also a widely used ingredient in all kinds of sauces, using its chopped and dried leaves, and it is even used in mate, the flagship drink of countries such as Argentina and Uruguay.
- As if all this were not enough, like many other aromatic plants, lemon verbena is an excellent way to keep mosquitoes awaybeing ideal to grow in the margins of the garden or near the doors and windows.
Location for lemon verbena
One of the main requirements of this plant is that it needs a full sun locationwhere it gets as much light as possible. As it is a shrub native to subtropical areas, lemon verbena requires a good number of hours of direct incidence per day, so when it is grown indoors, it must be done next to very bright windows.
Climate for lemon verbena
The lemon verbena needs high temperatures to develop properly, again because of the climate of its areas of origin. In fact, appreciate the climates that are hot throughout the year and does not tolerate frost.
If you live in a climate with cold winters, your two options are to grow it in a pot, to be able to shelter it indoors during the winter months, or place it in a protected area of the garden and place thermal wool on it, which will allow the plant to withstand temperatures of up to -15ºC.
Luisa herb irrigation
The plant can withstand occasional droughts without serious damage, but these will greatly stunt its growth and development. The ideal for it to grow healthy and strong is to maintain a rate of very regular wateringtrying that the soil does not dry out completely although leaving enough time between irrigations so that the excess water drains.
Usually, between two and three weekly irrigations in the warm months they will be sufficient, although outdoors you may need less depending on the characteristics of the soil. In a pot, it is important that it has drainage holes, and that we remove the excess water from the saucer, if it has one, about 10 minutes after watering.
We recommend you read this other post about When to water the plants.
Soil for lemon verbena
The only important aspect regarding the floor is that it offers a good drainage, since the roots of lemon verbena do not tolerate waterlogging. Otherwise, the plant is very undemanding in this regard.
If you are looking for the ideal soil, focus on one that is drained and with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. In addition, enriching the soil from the beginning with organic fertilizer, such as compost or worm castings, will also help the plant a lot.
Luisa herb fertilizer
As for the fertilizer, it will suffice to add a little more organic or liquid fertilizer to the soil every 15 days during the warm monthsso the plant will grow big and strong.
In these other guides you can learn How to make homemade organic fertilizer for plants, How to make homemade compost and How to make earthworm humus.
Pruning and multiplication of lemon verbena
Regarding the pruning of lemon verbena, the most important thing is to remove the flowers as soon as they wither, in addition to removing the branches and leaves in poor condition.
If we talk about their multiplication, we must bear in mind that these bushes have seeds with a low germination capacity, so their cultivation from seeds is not normally recommended, since many fail. Instead, it is much faster and more convenient to take cuttings from an adult and healthy plantwhich root very easily without even the need for rooting hormone.
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