Herb · Verbenaceae
Lemon Verbena
Aloysia citriodora
Brush past it and the whole spot smells like lemon. Give it full sun and warmth, and this tender herb keeps handing you fragrant leaves.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
USDA 8–11
2–6 ft · 0.6–1.8 m
Overview
Ever crush a lemon verbena leaf? You get a clean, sweet lemon scent that's honestly stronger than most real citrus, and that's exactly why the leaves end up in tea, syrups, and all kinds of cooking. It grows as a loose, woody shrub, comes from South America, and people all over the world keep it around just for that smell.
It's a frost-tender perennial, which means it only stays outside happily in the mild zones 8 to 11. If your winters get rough, no big deal: pop it in a pot and bring it in, or just grow it as an annual and start fresh each spring. It can shoot up to 6 feet (180 cm) of loose, leggy growth, so give it some elbow room and pinch it back now and then to keep it full.
This one rewards a bit of patience. It'll sulk and drop leaves when you move it or it gets cold, then perk right back up once it settles in, so don't panic. Hand it sun, warmth, and even moisture, and you'll be picking fragrant leaves from spring right through the season.
Care
The short version: full sun and warmth, soil kept evenly moist but never soggy, a monthly feed while it's growing, and a spot indoors or under cover before the first frost.
Light
Lemon verbena really wants full sun, ideally 6 or more hours a day, and that's what keeps the leaves fragrant and the growth nice and tight. A bit of afternoon shade is okay, but pile on too much shade and you'll end up with a thin, floppy plant that smells weaker.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist but well drained, and water more often when it's in a pot or the weather's hot. Let it bounce between bone-dry and waterlogged and it'll drop its leaves to complain, so steady is what you're after.
Soil
Plant it in well-drained loam with plenty of organic matter mixed in. It's happy across a fairly wide pH from 6.0 to 7.5, so don't sweat the exact number, because good drainage matters way more.
Temperature
It's comfy from about 23°F to 86°F (-5°C to 30°C), but it's frost-tender at the cold end and will shed leaves when it's chilly. Once it drops below 40°F (4°C) it struggles, so bring potted ones inside before the first real cold snap.
Humidity
Regular humidity around 40% to 60% is fine for it outdoors. Indoors in winter the air gets dry, which is what spider mites love, so a little extra moisture and some airflow keep the leaves happy.
Feeding
Feed it monthly through spring and summer while it's actively growing, using a balanced general-purpose fertilizer. Go easy with potted plants, though, since they can't shrug off too much food the way garden plants can.
Pruning
Prune in spring to shape it up and get rid of dead or weak wood, and pinch the growing tips through the season to keep it bushy and the leaves coming. After it overwinters, cut it back hard once you see fresh growth.
Repotting
Bump it up a pot size every 1 to 2 years in spring. Roots circling around, water rushing straight through, or quick wilting between waterings all mean it's ready for fresh soil and a bit more space.
Size & spacing
Figure on a loose, woody shrub that's 2 to 6 feet (60 to 180 cm) tall and spreads 3 to 4 feet (90 to 120 cm) wide. Give it that room so air moves around it and its open shape has space to fill in.
When to plant
Lemon verbena just waits for warmth, and it won't take a frost. So set plants out only after the cold's gone and the nights have warmed up in late spring, pick the fragrant leaves all season, and keep an eye out for little white to lilac flowers as summer starts winding down.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: After all danger of frost has passed and soil and nights are warm (late spring)
- Harvest: Tiny white to pale lilac flowers in open clusters in late summer; harvest fragrant leaves throughout the growing season, most aromatic just before flowering
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 8–11
Temperature: down to -12°C
Troubleshooting
The nice thing is lemon verbena doesn't hide it when something's off, usually by dropping leaves or going pale. Most of the time it comes down to cold, uneven watering, or dry indoor air. Find what matches below and sort out the cause before it gets worse.
Droopy plant with soft, dark roots
If the soil's still wet and a bit sour a while after watering, you're probably looking at root rot, and those roots will feel mushy and brown. Here's the fix: back off the water, pull the plant out, snip the dead roots, and repot into fresh, fast-draining mix. Grab a pot with real drainage holes and it won't happen again.
Fix:
- Reduce watering and improve drainage
- Repot into fresh, well-drained mix, trimming away rotted roots
- Use containers with drainage holes
All the leaves fell off at once
Did the plant go bare overnight? That's usually just transplant shock or a chill below 40°F (4°C), not a death sentence. A watering routine that flips between bone-dry and soggy can set it off too. Leave it put, keep the water even, and it'll grow a fresh set of leaves once it calms down.
Fix:
- Stabilize the plant's environment and avoid further moves
- Keep soil evenly moist and out of cold drafts
- Be patient; new leaves usually flush once conditions stabilize
Speckly leaves with little webs
See pale speckles and thin webbing under the leaves? That's usually spider mites, and they love the dry air of an indoor room. Whitefly and aphids can leave the same tired yellow look, so don't stress about telling them apart. Give the foliage a strong rinse, dab insecticidal soap on the undersides, and add some airflow and moisture indoors so the mites lose interest.
Fix:
- Rinse foliage with a strong spray of water
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, covering leaf undersides
- Increase air circulation and humidity for indoor plants
Toxicity
Good news if you've got a busy house: lemon verbena is safe all around. It's a kitchen herb grown for tea and cooking, and there's nothing in the leaves or stems that'll hurt pets, livestock, or kids. So grow it wherever you like.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Cats are totally fine around it, since there's nothing toxic in the leaves or stems. If one sneaks a nibble it might get a quick, mild tummy upset, but honestly that's true of nearly any plant.
Dogs None
Nothing here bothers dogs at all. And that strong lemon smell? It usually keeps them from chewing much anyway.
Horses Safe
Horses are in the clear too, because there's nothing in lemon verbena that would hurt one, even if it grazes on some.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can have it no problem, and the fragrant leaves make a nice little treat now and then next to their usual greens.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can munch the foliage without any harm, since it doesn't carry a toxin that affects them.
Birds Safe
Birds have nothing to fear from it either, whether they nibble leaves in the garden or just live near the plant indoors.
People Safe
The leaves are a real kitchen treat, steeped into a bright lemon tea or tossed into cooking, and they're perfectly safe to eat.
Leaves are edible and aromatic; no special handling precautions are needed beyond normal kitchen use.
Varieties
Lemon verbena almost always shows up as just the plain species, so there isn't a big menu to pick from. Here's what that actually means when you're out shopping.
Lemon verbena (species)
You'll pretty much always find it sold as the plain species instead of a named cultivar, and its leaves smell more strongly of lemon than any other everyday kitchen herb.
How to propagate
Cuttings are the way to go with lemon verbena, because the seed hardly ever cooperates. Copy a plant you already like, and you know exactly what you're getting.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Late spring through summer using softwood or semi-ripe growth · Roots typically form in about 3-4 weeks, with established plants in 1-2 months
The easy way is to snip non-flowering shoot tips from late spring through summer, pull off the lower leaves, and tuck them into a moist, well-drained mix that stays warm and humid. Give it about 3 to 4 weeks and you'll see roots, and over the next month or two those little cuttings fill out into real plants. Don't bother with seed, since it's rarely sold and hardly ever sprouts.
Myths
Lemon verbena is a hardy herb that survives winter outdoors anywhere.
Not really, since it's tender to frost and only reliably comes back in the mild zones, roughly 8 to 11. Anywhere colder than that, you'll want to bring it inside for winter or just grow it as an annual and start over come spring.