lemon verbena flowers

piegirl · May 16, 2009

Every year I grow at least one lemon verbena in my herb garden because it is just so wonderful smelling. I bought mine two weeks ago and noticed today it has flowers forming - still in the 3 x 3 pot! How unusual is this? The plant is maybe 6-8 inches tall. piegirl

veggie babe · May 17, 2009

mine are doing the same thing. This is my first year to grow it so I have no clue what to expect.

neva

Polar_Lace · May 17, 2009

lemon verbena

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Lemon verbena

Phytochemicals: Lemon Verbena, Aloysia tiphylla

~* Robin

habitat_gardener · May 18, 2009

My lemon verbena has not come back yet and looks dead. I had it in a large container for a year or two, then in the ground for a couple years, so it survived at least 3-4 winters. I've seen small lemon verbena trees in this area, but my garden site gets cold winds, and it was not mulched as deeply as in previous years. Sigh.

A couple years ago, I offered a sprig of lemon verbena to someone who was walking through the community garden. She said she had small children and had to get out of the house for a little while. When she smelled the lemon verbena, she said it revived her.

I'd planted it where I'd brush against it frequently. I already miss it, but I have a few other lemony plants: lemon balm, lemon thyme, and lemongrass, as well as a meyer lemon.

habitat_gardener · June 9, 2009

A few days after the last message, I weeded around the base of the "dead" lemon verbena, added mulch, and smelled lemon verbena! It had tiny new leaves emerging from the base, instead of from the branches, as in previous years. The new sprouts are still small, and I keep tripping over the dead branches (it was planted at the side of a path, which has now become the middle of a path). I'm happy it's back and amazed at its regenerative power.

Deborah · July 12, 2012

I pinch mine at the top to force the plant to grow bushy. I remove flowers because I try to keep it going as long as possible.
You can prune it for winter and it'll come back. Just leave stalks about 6 inches tall.
I LOVE lemon verbena !

biscgolf · July 13, 2012

you can also overwinter it inside if you are in a colder climate- key is to let it go dormant and lay off the watering in the winter time. i have a plant that is roughly 20 years old at this point.

BarbJ · August 2, 2012

I love Lemon Verbena too! I find the flowers have a vanilla like scent though, not lemon like the leaves. It's not a strong scent like the leaves and best to smell them early in the morning.

I used to have a large bush where I chose a strong center stalk and trimmed away the rest to make a small tree. It was so pretty that way! I also found after it was about 5 years old I didn't have to protect it in winter anymore. Seemed like the more winters it made it through the stronger it became. This of course only works in mild winter areas, lol!

May 16, 2009	#1
piegirl Tomatovillian™ Honoree Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 791	lemon verbena flowers Every year I grow at least one lemon verbena in my herb garden because it is just so wonderful smelling. I bought mine two weeks ago and noticed today it has flowers forming - still in the 3 x 3 pot! How unusual is this? The plant is maybe 6-8 inches tall. piegirl

May 17, 2009	#3
Polar_Lace Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Z8b, Texas Posts: 657	lemon verbena From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Lemon verbena Phytochemicals: Lemon Verbena, Aloysia tiphylla ~* Robin __________________ It's not how many seeds you sow. Nor how many plants you transplant. It's about how many of them can survive your treatment of them.

July 12, 2012	#6
Deborah Riding The Crazy Train Again Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Marcos, California Posts: 2,562	I pinch mine at the top to force the plant to grow bushy. I remove flowers because I try to keep it going as long as possible. You can prune it for winter and it'll come back. Just leave stalks about 6 inches tall. I LOVE lemon verbena ! Last edited by Deborah; July 12, 2012 at 03:15 AM. Reason: Typos bug me !

May 17, 2009	#2
veggie babe Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: east texas Posts: 686	mine are doing the same thing. This is my first year to grow it so I have no clue what to expect. neva

May 18, 2009	#4
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	My lemon verbena has not come back yet and looks dead. I had it in a large container for a year or two, then in the ground for a couple years, so it survived at least 3-4 winters. I've seen small lemon verbena trees in this area, but my garden site gets cold winds, and it was not mulched as deeply as in previous years. Sigh. A couple years ago, I offered a sprig of lemon verbena to someone who was walking through the community garden. She said she had small children and had to get out of the house for a little while. When she smelled the lemon verbena, she said it revived her. I'd planted it where I'd brush against it frequently. I already miss it, but I have a few other lemony plants: lemon balm, lemon thyme, and lemongrass, as well as a meyer lemon.

June 9, 2009	#5
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	A few days after the last message, I weeded around the base of the "dead" lemon verbena, added mulch, and smelled lemon verbena! It had tiny new leaves emerging from the base, instead of from the branches, as in previous years. The new sprouts are still small, and I keep tripping over the dead branches (it was planted at the side of a path, which has now become the middle of a path). I'm happy it's back and amazed at its regenerative power.

July 13, 2012	#7
biscgolf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Virginia Posts: 353	you can also overwinter it inside if you are in a colder climate- key is to let it go dormant and lay off the watering in the winter time. i have a plant that is roughly 20 years old at this point.

August 2, 2012	#8
BarbJ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: California, USA Posts: 154	I love Lemon Verbena too! I find the flowers have a vanilla like scent though, not lemon like the leaves. It's not a strong scent like the leaves and best to smell them early in the morning. I used to have a large bush where I chose a strong center stalk and trimmed away the rest to make a small tree. It was so pretty that way! I also found after it was about 5 years old I didn't have to protect it in winter anymore. Seemed like the more winters it made it through the stronger it became. This of course only works in mild winter areas, lol!