My potted Lemon Verbena - June 2022

 

This lush and lovely potted Lemon Verbena is enjoying its second year in my yard in Arkansas. It lived through the winter in a small pot, and I transplanted it early this Spring 2022. I have six of these potted Lemon Verbenas in full sun, surrounding a vine that deer enjoy eating. Deer DO NOT EAT my Lemon Verbena because it has a very strong lemon scent and the leaves are crisp, not soft. So, they deter the deer from the vine as well. My Lemon Verbena experiment is going very well in Arkansas!

Lemon Verbena buds - New Hope for 2022

 

What a beautiful sight today, discovering all six of my 2021 Lemon Verbena plants are alive and budding out after spending the winter in pots outside on the patio. Hot Springs, Arkansas is USDA Zone 7b, which means it's a bit risky for Lemon Verbena outdoors all winter. The native zones for Lemon Verbena are 8 - 11, which includes South America and the Middle East. So, you can see why I am excited here in Arkansas! We can all use new hope these days!

Arkansas Lemon Verbena Harvest 9/12/2021

 

Today is the day! My first Lemon Verbena Harvest from six plants. The neighborhood deer in Arkansas rejected them during the growing season 2021. What a thrill! I had to find out if the deer would demolish the plants before setting about to plant a whole crop. Apparently they do not like the crisp, slightly fuzzy leaves or the strong lemony smell. YAY!!!

I cut the stems with scissors and washed them in the sink because they were growing near bird feeders on my patio. Bird feeders lead to bird droppings, so I always wash the herbs harvested out there.

And now they are spread over a plastic bin with plenty of air circulation. The A/C is on in my house, so these leaves will be crisp after drying all day and over night. Tomorrow morning they will be ready to use! Some people like to use fresh Lemon Verbena leaves, but the dried leaves produce a stronger taste and scent I prefer.

Arkansas Lemon Verbena in Mid-August 2021

 

What a thrill to go out every morning and see growth without damage from the deer families roaming my neighborhood on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I see them, the neighborhood deer. Three doe and three spotted fawns are picture-book adorable to watch. But my Lemon Verbena is not for them!

They have PLENTY of juicy, green plants to chomp on and I am THRILLED they are choosing to avoid my six experimental Lemon Verbena plants in GrowBoxes this year. THRILLED! 

Having grown Lemon Verbena in various sizes of pots and in the field, I have observed that the roots are frequently quite shallow. The GrowBoxes offer plenty of root space for my experiments. This applies to both sandy loam in the field and high-quality potting soil in containers.

And now that fall is approaching, I am considering yet another Lemon Verbena experiment this year - overwintering the plants to keep them alive for new growth in the spring of 2022. Yes! I am a Lemon Verbena experiment junkie! Stay tuned for my adventures...

Oh, I should explain that the GrowBoxes have been modified with drainage holes in the bottom. As manufactured, they drain only through one hole in the lower part of one long side, and there is a reservoir of water held in the bottom of the planter. 

As manufactured, the GrowBoxes did not work for me, so I changed them for my Lemon Verbena (and also lavender) purposes.

Two Years Later - Lemon Verbena in 2021

 

Life has a way of throwing curve balls we have to duck and dodge sometimes, right? A late-summer insect infestation, a pandemic and a new location later, here is my tiny Lemon Verbena crop in 2021. 

It is an experiment with six plants in grow boxes out on my back patio. I didn't need to experiment with growning the plants, since Hot Springs, Arkansas is the same USDA Zone 7b as my previous location in Whitesboro, Texas. I knew the plants would grow.

My experiment is this - will the deer eat the Lemon Verbena, especially in the heat of summer when many plants have dried up?  Will the strong lemony scent deter them, or will they chomp it down anyway?

So far, all six plants appear to be untouched by the deer who are definitely stopping by at night and munching on other plants, the sweet potato vines, for example. 

I found lists of deer-resistant plants on the web, such as this list of deer-resistant herbs, which includes Lemon Verbena:

• Rosemary
• Germander
• Thyme
• Sage
• Basil
• Lemon Balm
• Lemon Grass
• Lemon Verbena
• Chives and Garlic Chives
• Mexican Oregano
• Catnip and Catmint
• Wormwood
• Yarrow
• Oregano

But, I didn't really believe it. Rosemary is so prickly it seemed unlikely to be attractive to deer. But Lemon Verbena is so attractive to me I thought deer would love it, too!

My experiment is successful so far because deer are not eating my Lemon Verbena plants. YAY!  They are avoiding the Rosemary and the Lemon Verbena.

Here's another list by the University of Arkansas, including Lemon Verbena as a perennial. Humm... it would not have survived the night we had two degrees below zero here in February 2021, that's for sure.

Lemon Verbena Field by Crepe Myrtle Tree

Nice photo of our main Lemon Verbena field today, with a lovely scarlet Crepe Myrtle tree in the background. The plants are about 24" tall right now, and it's nearly time to cut them back for the second of three yearly harvests.

Lemon Verbena in the Sun & Shade

Lemon Verbena in the Field in North Texas

What a difference a few hours of sun has made in our Lemon Verbena in the field, here in North Texas... The crop is well on it's way today, having survived harsh winds and monsoon rains for about six weeks since transplanting in early April.

By contrast, here's another photo. It shows 2000 Lemon Verbena starter plants in a tarp/shade house in Germany, waiting for heavy rains to pass. Gabriele Stoll already has 1000 plants in the field, and she's tripling her production this year.

Lemon Verbena Between North Texas Monsoons

Nice, healthy growth on our 2019 crop of Lemon Verbena in the field today... It's heartening to see because it's been a sad and muddy situation due to heavy rains, for what seems like weeks on end!  

With enough sunny days, we could be harvesting our first fresh, lemony leaves by mid-June. 

Lemon Balm/Lemon Verbena Cake

This is a lemon cake recipe from the late Cynthia Collins Pedregon's popular Texas cookbook, The Peach Tree Family Cookbook. Her restaurant and tea room in Fredericksburg are legendary.

Don't let this recipe fool you, it can be made entirely with Lemon Verbena instead of half-and-half with Lemon Balm. 

And it's written for the use of fresh leaves, but dried leaves could be substituted with a reduction in quanity. I would suggest using half a cup instead of one full cup of dried Lemon Verbena leaves.

Lemon Verbena Planting April 2019

It's THAT TIME OF YEAR again! The ground is prepared and the little Lemon Verbena plants are getting established in their new home for the summer. We've doubled our production this year so we'll be busy watching them growtheir lovely, long wands of fresh leaves for herb tea and for cooking.

Lemon Verbena Daily Brew

We've set our clocks forward and Spring officially begins soon, so it's time to use up all the 2018 Lemon Verbena leaves before the 2019 crop unfurls for the season. 

Here's a photo of my daily brew this morning. It's Lemon Verbena and Texas Tulsi, a delicious and nutritious Texas-grown mixture.

I use Lemon Verbena for its health benefits as well as its delightful fragrance and taste, so that means I use a LOT of leaves. We also grew two varieties of Texas Tulsi (Holy Basil) last year. Once I experimented with drying it for storage we bagged enough of it to last until the next crop is ready in early summer 2019.

Just a few more weeks and there will be plants in the field again!

Texas Tulsi in the field in North Texas.

Lemon Verbena, Nectarine and Peach Jam

We are planning for our 2019 Lemon Verbena crop now, which includes doubling the number of plants in the field. It's a big expansion, and will keep Tractor Man and me pretty busy from April to October.

Here's a delicious-sounding fruit and Lemon Verbena jam recipe to use fresh leaves, as soon as we can pick some!  Make sure to read the comments following the recipe because NYT Cooking readers left some comments with their own improvements on it. Some insisted it needs more Lemon Verbena leaves!

Photo courtesy of Melissa Clark, author of jam recipe post on NYT Cooking.

Lemon Verbena is Verveine in Dallas, TX

Bullion Restaurant, located at the 400 Record St. building in downtown Dallas, serves exquisite, gourmet French cuisine. Owner and world-class chef, Bruno Davaillon chose our 2018 crop Lemon Verbena to serve his discriminating guests as an authentic French tisane. Our exclusive distributor is The Cultured Cup in Dallas.

Lemon Verbena is called Verveine in France, where it is a very familiar and popular beverage. Soon it will be familiar and popular in Texas, too!  This photo shows the French name on a commercial product (not ours) marketed internationally.

From our field in rural North Texas to the lovely tables at Bullion Restaurant in Dallas, our Verveine is really growing in popularity this year!

Special Dried Lemon Verbena Blossoms

I don't know if Lemon Verbena blossoms have special, herbal properties, but they are definitely delicate and lovely. So, I kept a big bag of our 2018 dried Lemon Verbena crop with dried blossoms attached, just for our personal use. When we deliver product to our wholesale customers they are not expecting blossoms. So we have plenty on hand for the long winter months before our 2019 crop is ready to harvest!

Gourveine Lemon Verbena In Germany

This photo makes me cry... I am so envious! These giant Lemon Verbena plants cultivated by Gabriele Stoll in Germany are in their first year of growth. This photo is from a video Gabriele sent today, so it's plant growth achieved through the last week of October 2018. 

The size of the plants affects the size of the leaves, so it's easy to see why her commercial product called Gourveine is truly a gourmet Lemon Verbena product. It's elegant and excellent, as well as organically and biodynamically grown.

Lemon Verbena at The Cultured Cup in Dallas

Orignal photo courtesy DallasNews.com

Congratulations to Kyle Stewart and Phil Krampetz, owners of The Cultured Cup in Dallas, TX. They are selling our entire 2018 crop of Texas Grown Lemon Verbena, starting this week. It is truly a limited edition herbal product for making infusions (often called "herb tea") and for mixing with the world-class black and green tea offered by The Cultured Cup.
 Check out the glowing Yelp Reviews for The Cultured Cup!

This Lemon Verbena Did NOT Come From Kroger

Kroger does not sell our Lemon Verbena, but this grocery bag is the perfect way to show how much space a pound of dried Lemon Verbena occupies. Light and airy, it takes up 3/4 or more of a standard kraft paper grocery bag. Not only are these bags easily accessible and just the right size, but they also allow the dried product to breathe. Plastic bags are not the ideal storage container for high-quality dried herbs. We cover the top of ours for storage.

After the Final Lemon Verbena Harvest

I wasn't in the mood to get face-down in the dirt today, so I took this photo from up above. It's really hard to see the little Lemon Verbena plants because they are the same color as the soil here in North Texas. 

Why am I subjecting you to this difficult photo? Because it makes the point that pruning Lemon Verbena 'way back is a good thing to do. The plants are little bushes and they have well-developed root systems which are not deep but they are sturdy. These plants may look dead, but they are very much alive!

Rain is forecast over the next four days, so I wanted to get the photo immediately following our thrid and final Lemon Verbena harvest for the 2018 season. Beautiful green sprouts and leaves will be appearing soon, certainly after the rain. I'll get good photos, even if I have to get face-down in the mud!

Lemon Verbena in Black Tea

The secret in this cup of black tea is a few Lemon Verbena leaves. They are steeping in the brewed black tea, loose or bagged, giving it a lemony flavor without needing any citrus fruit.  

People ask me how many Lemon Verbena leaves to use per cup, and I say, "That depends on how much lemon flavor you like."

I suggest starting with three whole leaves of Lemon Verbena in an 8 - 12 oz cup of tea. Yes, that's a big teacup. But anyone who buys tea at coffee shops or convenience stores is used to even larger cups! 

Claire's Two Lemon Verbena Bushes

Claire lives near me and follows this blog. She saw two little Lemon Verbena plants at a store this spring, bought them and brought them home. She put both of them in this rectangular pot. And here they are, in the middle of September 2018.

She put them in her back yard, partially shaded by a crepe myrtle bush. In other words, they were not in the full Texas sun all summer. They were situated in partial shade. 

Claire saw me at the post office last week and asked what she should do with her plants now, before bringing them into her plant room for the winter. (Lucky Claire... She has an indoor plant room!)

I told her she should prune them back heavily, no matter how mean it may seem. I suggested she cut off the lovely branches, pull off the leaves and dry them overnight at normal air-conditioned room temperature.

Claire admitted she hadn't tried her Lemon Verbena yet. She just likes to smell it. Oh boy, is she in for a treat when she makes some herb tea with her harvest, these leaves drying on a tea towel below.

And I also explained that her little plants will re-grow from the stems, but primarily in a rosette of sprouts around the base of the main stem. The next photo is not Claire's plant. But it shows what I explained will most likely happen to her plants. 

The main point of my Lemon Verbena lecture at the post office was this - Lemon Verbena is a bush. Bushes like to be pruned back because it encourages new growth. Lemon Verbena responds well to pruning because it is a bush. Try it! Be brave like Claire and make herb tea with your Lemon Verbena leaf harvest, too!

Sample Packs of 2018 Lemon Verbena

Cute, little sample packs of our fresh, new 2018 Lemon Verbena harvest are going out to Texas tea rooms this week. Welcome to Texas tea folks! And thanks for your honest feedback on our caffeine-free herbal tea, grown in Whitesboro, Texas. We're Garden 44, and our mailing address is 1014 E. Hwy 82 #184, Gainesville, TX 76240. Message line for your feedback is 903-328-9670. Thanks!

What Dr. Axe says about Lemon Verbena

The popular online advisor, Dr. Axe, posted a good article about the use of Lemon Verbena. He's got medical research to back up his 5 Health Benefits of Lemon Verbena. That part is excellent!

But his infographic called Growing and Harvesting Lemon Verbena contains a mistake. Planting Lemon Verbena seeds is not going to bring you success in a reasonable period of time. You need to buy a live plant or learn to propagate cuttings from a live plants. That's the best way to get started. 

Don't buy seeds from anyone on the internet! When your live plant produces seeds, feel free to collect and dry them. Then you can experiment with starting Lemon Verbena from your own seeds, and my guess is you'll agree with me. Starting plants from seeds is not the best way to get more Lemon Verbena plants.

F*R*E*E Lemon Verbena For Growing Indoors

While they last, we're offering FREE Lemon Verbena Roots for growing your own plant indoors this winter. 

Whitesboro, TX pick up only.

Comment and we'll get in touch with you.

What a great crop of Texas Grown Lemon Verbena we have this year! It's our first significant harvest from the field (last year was an experiment) and we are learning throughout the whole process, from planting to harvest.

It's hard to see in this photo, but we experimented with the distance between plants in each row. Lemon Verbena roots are not large, so the plants can grow much closer than we originally planned, especially when taking multiple cuttings throughout the growing season, April - September here in Zone 7b.

One thing we learned last year with a few plants in the field is that pushing for a 4th cutting is not worth the trouble. That's why we're pulling up the plants now, in mid-September. 

Lemon Verbena plants cut back this time of year will not produce luxurious growth or normal-size leaves as they grow back. The growth is rather stunted and the leaves are like miniature versions of normal leaves. 

It may be the angle of the sun that causes less-than-profuse growth. That's my theory right now, and it's the reason we're pulling up the plants now instead of encouraging them to continue growing until frost.

Little Lemon Verbena Bushes 2018

This photo shows, better than most photos on the web, how Lemon Verbena grows as a bush when pruned closely. In it's natural environment, which is South America and the Middle East, when left to grow naturally, it becomes a large bush, or a small tree. That is impossible for most of us living in the temperate zones.

We are located in USDA Zone 7b, which is on the edge for Lemon Verbena's annual/perennial status. With protection, and depending on the winter temperatures, a Lemon Verbena plant may overwinter here. But it's iffy, completely unreliable. Temperatures lower than 10 degrees F will generally kill it, but sometimes, surprisingly, it survives.

We don't try to overwinter our Lemon Verbena plants in the field. It's not practical in USDA Zone 7b. We start over in the spring with new plants, for best new growth and reliable harvest of fresh leaves.

Roses Blooming Near Lemon Verbena Plants

Cinco de Mayo Rose blooming near our Lemon Verbena today. Several pounds of lemony herb leaves are harvested, dried and ready to package for sale.

Lemon Verbena Harvest - Yesterday and Today

Pictured is yesterday's harvest on the left, and today's fresh harvest on the right. Both trays are Texas Grown Lemon Verbena. Dried leaves are removed from their stems before bagging for sale.

This is the second cutting from our plants in the field. We'll get at least one more cutting this growing season, possibly two.

Lemon Verbena dries quickly, which is a blessing for staging the use of our drying porch equipped with an exhaust fan, to create a hot breeze over the fresh-picked branches. They will also dry in 24 hours in normal air-conditioned room temperatures, spread out on a clean sheet or even a towel. Lemon Verbena is truly a gardener's dream herb!

Lemon Verbena - Before and After Pruning

Lemon Verbena - Before & After Pruning for Growth

People ask me how and when to prune Lemon Verbena plants successfully.  I remind them that Lemon Verbena is a bush. Think about how it works whenever you trim bushes. It makes them grow more, right? That's how a healthy Lemon Verbena plant responds to pruning, too. This photo shows how I prune my plants, and when. Meaning, I prune them when the stems are 12" or more in length. And I prune them 'way back to the first or second set of leaves on the stem. That encourages more stems and more growth of lovely, lemony-scented leaves to harvest!

We're growing Holy Basil in the field this year, too. Here's a photo showing Holy Basil (Tulsi) before and after pruning.

Holy Basil, also known as Tulsi.

Last 2018 Lemon Verbena Transplants

Here it is, Memorial Day Weekend, and the last of the potted Lemon Verbena is ready to be transplanted into the field. From years of experience, we've learned that small pots of it won't usually survive the harsh Texas heat. 100 degree days are forecast this week, so that's why they must go in the ground. or into much larger pots. More leaves to harvest when they're in the ground!!!

Expanding Our Lemon Verbena Field for 2018

Tiny Cardinal Climber Greenhouse at Garden 44

It's Spring 2018 in North Texas! These little Cardinal Climbers will soon sink their roots in the ground and climb the fencing column built especially for them. Then, the hummingbirds and butterflies will dine on thousands of red blossoms, all summer and fall.

Call us to order Lemon Verbena herb tea

Dried, Texas-grown, whole-leaf Lemon Verbena in half-ounce packages, available locally and by US mail. 

Call to order, and leave a message. No texts.
Thanks!

903-328-9670

Lemon Verbena - Perfect Tea at Night!

Lemon Verbena herb tea is ideal for an after dinner drink, and also for a pleasant, hot beverage right before bedtime. Why? It's light, delicious and relaxing, and it contains no caffeine. 

Personally, I like to make my Lemon Verbena herb tea quite strong. I simply prefer the strong, lemony flavor, but that's not all. I also know it has more medicinal benefit, too.

Children can enjoy Lemon Verbena tea in their sippy cups or even their baby bottles. No sugar or honey is needed, which makes it popular with dentists and health-conscious parents!

UK healer and blogger, Suzanne Askham says, "All summer long my new Aloysia citrodora [Latin name for Lemon Verbena] has been sitting in my front yard, soaking up the sunshine in a large earthenware pot. It grows quickly, and has even flowered profusely with tiny, fragrant blooms. I cut a stalk at a time, put it in water indoors, and use it successively for three or four cups of tea. It is just beautiful. Before the weather gets too wintry, I will bring it into a cool garden room, to protect it from frost."

Potting Lemon Verbena Plants to Bring Indoors for Winter

My Lemon Verbena life primarily involves growning plants outdoors. But many gardeners grow Lemon Verbena in pots, and want to bring them indoors every fall. Here's a good video showing how to prepare your plants for the best indoor growth.

If you've grown Lemon Verbena in the garden, it's possible to pot it up to over-winter in a sunny window indoors. Another option is to pot it up and keep it in a garage, basement or storage area that stays above 20 degrees or so. 

Lemon Verbena can tolerate freezing, meaning 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but the roots will usually die off between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit. That's the risk I take each year when I leave potted plants outdoors, with leaves piled around them. Some live, some die. 

Every Spring I look forward to discovering the live plants when tiny leaves begin to appear at the base of the main stem. 

Health Benefits of Lemon Verbena Herb Tea

Once you experience the lemony loveliness of Lemon Verbena as herb tea, it's not hard to believe it also has health benefits. Three scientific studies are summarized in this article, and many scientific studies are available by searching the web. 

And this article is more thorough in discussing the health benefits of Lemon Verbena, based on scientific research.

Finally, you have to try drinking Lemon Verbena tea and experience the benefits for yourself!

Medicinal Benefits of Lemon Verbena

Thanks to OrganicFact.net for this infographic on the medicinal benefits of Lemon Verbena.