Lemongrass — The Florida Gardening Project

Lemongrass – L'Herb Citronelle

by Elwood Holzworth

Reporting from Mabanga, Gabon West Africa, 1989

Lemongrass is generally easy to grow in many parts of Florida.Photo by David J. Stang [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)] — *Lemongrass is generally easy to grow in many parts of Florida.*
Photo by David J. Stang [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

My first encounter with lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) was during a visit with a friend at her five acre farm in Fellsmere, Florida. She showed me a can with a tall blade of grass. She broke off the top and I sniffed it. It smelled just like a lemon!

She had received it at an Edible Plant Society meeting in Sebastian, Florida. She gave me a plant for my garden and also a cup of tea sweetened with a little honey. I was hooked!

Soon after, a Vero Beach woman gave me several clumps which I divided at the roots and planted, a row of lemongrass in my garden.

They grew rapidly. When they multiplied to about ten stems each, I divided them again. Before long I had a garden so full of lemongrass I distributed the clumps to others, including friends for whom I was doing some edible landscaping.

Not only does lemongrass make fine tea, it is pleasing to the eye. And, it survived two very cold Florida winters.

I found a friend with five acres willing to try a large plot. We divided ten clumps into two hundred plants and then divided them again when they multiplied ten-fold.

Horses were grazing in my planting area but they did not eat my lemongrass!

Now I find myself in Gabon with the Peace Corps. Friends sent me starts of lemongrass. I thought it would be good to introduce here. But viola! It is already here. Folks use it for tea and also add it to coffee for a delightful combination.

Sheep and goats allowed to run free do not eat lemongrass. It grows in poor soil but responds well to organically improved soil. When the blades turn brown, it is dormant.

Harvest by cutting off tops and drying them on trays in the sun, or by using a home dehydrator. You can also speed the process by putting trays of lemongrass in a hot car.

In Florida, new green shoots come out in spring. In Gabon, it goes dormant during the summer dry season and comes alive again when the winter rains begin, typically around November.

Lemongrass is the easiest plant I've ever grown!