Herb · Verbenaceae
Lemon Verbena
Aloysia citriodora
Brush the leaves and the air bursts with lemon. Give it full sun and warmth, and this tender herb keeps the fragrant harvest rolling.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
USDA 8–11
2–6 ft · 0.6–1.8 m
Overview
Pinch one leaf of lemon verbena and a clean, sweet lemon scent leaps out, brighter than most real citrus, which is exactly why the leaves race into tea, syrups, and the cooking pot. It grows into a loose, woody shrub, hails from South America, and has won gardeners the world over on that fragrance alone.
It is a frost-tender perennial that thrives outdoors only in the mild zones 8 to 11. Where winters bite, pot it up and haul it inside, or run it as an annual and start fresh each spring. It can rocket to 6 feet (180 cm) of open, leggy growth, so hand it plenty of room and pinch it often to keep it bushy and full.
Reward this plant with a little patience and it pays you back fast. It pouts and drops leaves after a move or a chill, then springs right back once it settles in. Serve up sun, warmth, and even moisture, and you will be pulling fragrant leaves from spring clear through the season.
Care
The short version: give it full sun and warmth, keep the soil evenly moist but never soggy, feed it monthly through the growing season, and shelter it or move it indoors before the first frost.
Light
Lemon verbena craves full sun, ideally 6 or more hours a day, which pumps up the fragrance and keeps the growth tight. It handles a little afternoon shade, but bury it in shade and you get a sparse, floppy plant with a weaker scent.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist but well drained, and step up the watering in pots or through a heat wave. Let it lurch between bone-dry and waterlogged and it dumps its leaves in protest, so hold it steady and it stays happy.
Soil
Plant it in well-drained loam loaded with organic matter. It rolls with a fairly wide pH from 6.0 to 7.5, so forget the exact number, because sharp drainage counts for far more.
Temperature
It powers along from about 23°F to 86°F (-5°C to 30°C), but it turns frost-tender at the low end and sheds leaves in the cold. Once it slips below 40°F (4°C) it struggles, so whisk container plants inside ahead of the first hard chill.
Humidity
Everyday humidity around 40% to 60% keeps it cruising outdoors. Indoors over winter the air dries out and spider mites move in, so bump up the moisture and airflow to keep the leaves in top shape.
Feeding
Feed it monthly through spring and summer while it is charging along in active growth, using a balanced general-purpose fertilizer. Go lighter on container plants, since they can't shrug off an overdose the way garden plants can.
Pruning
Prune in spring to shape it and clear out dead or weak wood, then pinch the growing tips all season to drive bushy growth and keep the leaves coming. After it overwinters, cut it back hard the moment fresh growth breaks.
Repotting
Bump it up every 1 to 2 years in spring into the next size pot. Roots circling the pot, water blasting straight through, or fast wilting between waterings all shout that it is ready for fresh soil and more room.
Size & spacing
Look for a loose, woody shrub of 2 to 6 feet (60 to 180 cm) tall spreading 3 to 4 feet (90 to 120 cm) wide. Give it that room so air rips through freely and its open habit has space to pack in.
When to plant
Lemon verbena chases warmth and flat-out refuses frost. Set plants out only once the cold clears and the nights warm up in late spring, pick the fragrant leaves all season long, and watch for a scatter of small white to lilac flowers as summer winds 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
Lemon verbena wears its heart on its leaves, flagging trouble by dropping them or fading pale. Nearly every hiccup traces back to cold, uneven watering, or dry indoor air. Match your symptom below and knock out the cause before the plant loses more ground.
Collapse over soft, dark roots
Soil that stays wet and turns sour long after watering spells root rot, and the roots go soft and brown to match. Jump on it: cut back the water, lift the plant, snip off the dead roots, and repot into fresh, fast-draining mix. Grab a pot with real drainage holes and this one won't circle back.
Fix:
- Reduce watering and improve drainage
- Repot into fresh, well-drained mix, trimming away rotted roots
- Use containers with drainage holes
The whole plant drops its leaves
A plant that goes bare in a hurry is almost always shrugging off transplant shock or a chill below 40°F (4°C), so keep the faith. A watering routine that lurches from bone-dry to soggy pushes it over the edge too. Park it in one spot, water it evenly, and it bounces back with a fresh flush of leaves once it feels at home.
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
Speckled leaves laced with fine webbing
Dry indoor air rolls out the welcome mat for spider mites, which speckle the leaves pale and sling fine webs across the undersides. Whitefly and aphids leave that same worn, yellow look, so don't sweat the exact culprit. Blast the foliage with water, hit the undersides with insecticidal soap, and pump up the airflow and moisture indoors to send the mites packing.
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
Great news for a lively household: lemon verbena is safe all around. It is a culinary herb grown for tea and cooking, and nothing in the leaves or stems will harm pets, livestock, or kids. Plant it anywhere and grow with confidence.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Cats can prowl right past it with zero worry, since the leaves and stems hold nothing toxic. A curious nibble might spark a quick, mild tummy upset, and that goes for nearly any plant a cat samples.
Dogs None
Dogs get a clean pass here, with no toxins to trouble them. That bold lemon scent usually steers them away from chewing much of it anyway.
Horses Safe
Horses can graze near it freely, because lemon verbena packs nothing that would harm one.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits do great with it, and the fragrant leaves make a fun occasional treat right alongside their everyday greens.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can browse the foliage without harm, since it carries no toxin that reaches them.
Birds Safe
Birds face no threat from it, whether they pick at leaves out in the garden or hang out near the plant indoors.
People Safe
The leaves shine in the kitchen, steeped into a bright lemon tea or stirred into food, and they are completely safe to eat.
Leaves are edible and aromatic; no special handling precautions are needed beyond normal kitchen use.
Varieties
Lemon verbena almost always lands on the bench as the plain species, so the shopping list stays short and sweet. Here is what that means when you go hunting for one.
Lemon verbena (species)
It almost always turns up as the straight species instead of a named cultivar, and it packs the punchiest lemon scent of any common kitchen herb.
How to propagate
Cuttings are the winning move for multiplying lemon verbena, since the seed rarely plays ball. Clone a plant you already love, and every new one comes out exactly the same.
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
Snip non-flowering shoot tips from late spring through summer, strip the lower leaves, and plunge them into a moist, well-drained mix kept warm and humid. Roots break in about 3 to 4 weeks, and over the next month or two those cuttings surge into full, established plants. Skip seed entirely, since it rarely sells and hardly ever sprouts.
Myths
Lemon verbena is a hardy herb that survives winter outdoors anywhere.
Not so, because it is frost-tender and only bounces back reliably in the mild zones, roughly 8 to 11. Anywhere colder, just move it indoors for winter or grow it as an annual and kick off fresh in spring.