Lemon Verbena Seeds
Lemon verbena, scientific name Aloysia citrodora, is a strongly scented, perennial, flowering plant, popularly grown in herb gardens. It smells like lemon after being cut or crushed, hence the name. Also known by varied names, like lemon beebrush, lemon scented verbena or lippia citriodora, it belongs to the family Verbenaceae of the order Lamiales. At maturity, lemon verbena plant grows to a height of about 10-15 feet, thus resembling shrubs and bushes. The leaves are bright green and lanceolate in shape. Small, inconspicuous, white or lavender blooms are born in clusters.

Nearly all the parts of a lemon verbena plant contain active ingredients, which are therapeutically important. It has been used for culinary and therapeutic purposes since a long time. Products based on this plant, like lemon verbena tea, extract, oil and supplement are sold in health food stores. For home propagation of this multipurpose plant, one of the major concerns is low viability of the lemon verbena seeds. Hence, most novice gardeners prefer opting for plantlets, rather than starting from seeds. Nevertheless, if you have a green thumb, you will succeed in growing them from seeds.

How to Grow Lemon Verbena from Seeds?

Native to several parts of South America, lemon verbena is a type of deciduous shrub. The leaves of lemon verbena are very sensitive to frost and extreme cold conditions, which is in contrast to the cold tolerant woody parts. Thus, it sheds its foliage during cold winter months. For growing and maintaining this flowering plant, make sure you select viable seeds of disease resistant cultivars. Other requirements include selecting sunlit areas and preparing

correct potting media. Discussed below are some gardening tips regarding growing lemon verbena seeds:

Sowing Preparation
Prepare your regular starting pots (preferably 2 inch size) for sowing lemon verbena seeds. Enrich the soil with nutrients (one part perlite and one part peat moss) and make it porous, so as to ensure quick germination. In a plastic seed tray, arrange the pots in a proper manner. Water the soil lightly to make it moist, but not wet.

Sowing Seeds
Assuming that you have selected healthy and viable seeds, place two seeds in each of the pots. Lightly cover the seeds with potting soil (about ¼ inch thick). Following this, wrap the pots with a plastic sheet and secure it to the pot. Once you are done with plastic wrapping the pots, place the seedling tray in an area that receives indirect sunlight for at least 6-8 hours daily.

Seedling Transplantation
As lemon verbena seeds sprout, remove the plastic wrap and relocate tray in a sunlit place. When the seedlings are 2-3 inch tall, remove the weaker one from each of the pots. Fill 8 inch size pots with all-purpose, well-drained potting mixture. To these pots, gently transplant the healthy lemon verbena seedling one by one.

Lemon Verbena Plant Care
Keep the newly transplanted lemon verbena plants in sunlit areas. Water them regularly, but make sure that the soil is not soggy. Monitor the soil pH (preferable range is 6.5 to 7) and maintain warm temperature throughout the growing season. In winter as the temperature falls below 40 degrees F, you can keep your lemon verbena plants indoors.

With the arrival of spring, prune lemon verbena plants. New leaves will develop soon after pruning. By this time, supplement potting soil with an appropriate dose of water-soluble fertilizer. Reduce fertilization during dormant season. You can harvest lemon verbena seeds and barks (occasionally), when the plants achieve maturity. You might be aware about lemon verbena benefits, some of which include treating fever, intestinal disorders, congestion, asthma, sleep problems and stress.

So, this is how you can sow lemon verbena seeds and maintain healthy plants out of the seedlings. Despite the growth habit, it is often relegated as lemon verbena herb in herbal medicine. According to herbalist, it holds strong therapeutic value in distressing, aiding digestion and strengthening nervous system. In short, growing this scented plant not only fills your garden with heady fragrance, but you will also get to enjoy a continuous supply of aromatic leaves for cooking and herbal remedies.