Plant · P-621

Lemongrass

Cymbopogon citratus

Lemongrass is a tender clumping perennial grass grown for the lemon-scented oil in its leaf and swollen stem base - the tender heart of a young shoot is eaten as a vegetable, and the fibrous base flavors soups, sauces and curries. Its bruised or crushed leaves put off mosquitoes and other insects, and its dense root mass helps build soil and hold a bank. It is a hot-weather plant that wants full sun, heat and steady moisture, and it is killed by any real cold, so it needs to be grown as a container plant or a fast annual wherever winters dip much below freezing. It grows quickly, reaching harvest size in three to four months, and increases only by division, since it rarely sets seed and does not spread on its own.