Cymbopogon citratus – Asian Lemon Grass seed x30

Lemon Grass is native to India and South East Asia and can be grown in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate climates. It is used in Asian cooking to impart a subtle lemon flavour in teas, soups and curries and other Asian dishes. Extensively used in Ayurvedic medicine as a tea to relieve coughs, colds and nasal congestion, its essential oils are also used as a pesticide, fungicide, preservative and in perfumes.

In Asia, Lemon Grass is mostly used freshly harvested with the outer leaf sheaths removed to expose the soft white basal portion of the plant (see photo). It can also be used in a dried and powdered form much the same as the freshly harvested form and is the most used of the Lemon Grass ‘species’.

Oddly, despite the essential oil being used as an insect repellent, it is commonly used as a ‘lure’ to attract honey bee swarms or to draw their attention to a crop that requires pollinating. The oil acts as an attractant pheromone similar to that produced by bees in their glands.

Lemon Grass may be grown in pots or in the vegetable or ornamental garden.  However,  it can grow up to 2 metres high in ideal conditions but its growth can be restricted by pot culture or continuous harvesting. It prefers a full sun position to partial shade, will tolerate some drought causing the plant to look ‘off’ but it will not accept frost in which case it should be grown in pots and moved to a sheltered position in winter.

All my seed is posted in bubble wrap protection.