Lemongrass

Latest post from MARKSVEGPLOT – a blog about food and gardening in England”

Some readers might remember that last year I grew some Lemongrass plants from seed. They grew quite well, but didn’t reach a harvestable size before Autumn, so I decided to experiment with over-Wintering. I kept two pots in the unheated but frost-free garage, and two pots indoors on the windowsill in a spare bedroom.

I was fairly sure that the indoor ones would be OK, but I wasn’t sure whether the ones in the garage would survive. As it happens, they didn’t:

The leaves dried out completely.

You can’t really see it here, but the roots had also withered away. The plants were definitely dead.

The plants kept indoors are fine.

They have stayed green all through the Winter and have continued to produce new leaves. In fact they are looking quite luxuriant.

If they continue to grow like this I think I may soon be able to use some of those swollen leaf-stems.

During the Winter I watered the plants in the garage “sparingly” (perhaps about once a month), but the ones indoors needed a lot more water and I gave them a drink every 4 or 5 days. I think my experiment just sows that Lemongrass – being a plant of tropical origin – is not going to survive a UK Winter unless it is given artificial heat. Anyway, I know what to do for next Winter…

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