How to Grow Lemon Verbena
Aloysia citrodora
The most intensely lemon-scented herb you can grow — a staple for herbal teas, summer desserts, and cocktails.
By the Plants by Zone Editorial Team · Reviewed June 1, 2026
About lemon verbena
Lemon verbena delivers a pure, bright lemon fragrance and flavor that surpasses lemon zest, lemon balm, and lemongrass combined. A woody, deciduous perennial shrub in frost-free climates, it is widely grown as a container herb or warm-season annual across the rest of the US. The long, lance-shaped leaves dry beautifully and hold their intense citrus scent for a year or more, making them a treasure in herbal teas, baking, and sachets.
When to plant and harvest lemon verbena
Timing is relative to your frost dates. Find your USDA zone for exact dates, or browse the month-by-month calendars.
Start seeds indoors
8–10 weeks before last frost (seed is slow and erratic; purchasing nursery transplants is far more reliable)
Transplant outdoors
2 weeks after last frost, once soil is consistently above 60°F
Direct sow
Not recommended
Harvest
Midsummer through the first frost; leaves are most fragrant just before flowering begins
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How to grow lemon verbena step by step
- 1
Purchase a nursery transplant for reliable results, or root a 4-in softwood tip cutting in moist potting mix in late spring.
- 2
Plant in full sun in well-drained soil 2 weeks after the last frost; in zones 7 and colder, use a 5+ gallon container so the plant can move indoors before fall.
- 3
Water moderately — lemon verbena is drought-tolerant once established and suffers root rot in soggy, poorly drained soil.
- 4
Pinch stem tips through summer to keep growth compact and bushy; this also delays flowering and keeps leaf oils at their peak.
- 5
Harvest leaves and whole stem tips regularly; more frequent picking encourages dense, fragrant new growth.
- 6
In zones below 8, cut plants back by one-third to one-half in fall, bring them indoors to a cool (40–50°F), bright spot, and let them go dormant — they will look completely bare but resprout in spring.
Common problems growing lemon verbena
⚠ Complete leaf drop in fall or when brought indoors
Normal winter dormancy, not death — lemon verbena is deciduous. Keep roots just frost-free, water minimally, and new leaves will appear in spring.
⚠ Spider mites in hot, dry weather
Rinse foliage forcefully with a stream of water every few days; improve humidity around container plants.
⚠ Root rot or sudden wilting in wet soil
Ensure excellent drainage — amend with perlite or coarse grit, raise beds, or switch to a container with drainage holes.
⚠ Whitefly on overwintered plants indoors
Set yellow sticky traps, spray weekly with insecticidal soap, and remove lower leaves to improve air flow.
✗ Keep away from
🧺 Harvesting lemon verbena
Pick individual leaves or strip whole stem tips by cutting just above a leaf pair to encourage branching. The largest, most mature leaves carry the deepest lemon flavor. Dry bunches upside down in a warm, shaded, airy spot — dried lemon verbena holds its scent for a year or more and is superb in herbal teas, lemonade, panna cotta, ice cream, marinades, and homemade potpourri.
Lemon Verbena: frequently asked questions
When should you plant lemon verbena?＋
In most regions you start seeds indoors 8–10 weeks before last frost (seed is slow and erratic; purchasing nursery transplants is far more reliable), then transplant 2 weeks after last frost, once soil is consistently above 60°F. Timing is relative to your last frost, so find your USDA hardiness zone for the exact planting dates where you live.
Is lemon verbena the same as lemon balm?＋
No. Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a mint-family perennial with a mild, somewhat herbal lemon scent. Lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora) is a woody shrub with a far more intense, pure lemon fragrance and a distinctly sharper flavor. They are unrelated plants from different families.
Can I grow lemon verbena in a pot?＋
Yes, and in zones colder than 8 it's the most practical approach. Use a large (5+ gallon) pot, place it in full sun, water moderately, and bring it indoors before frost. It will drop its leaves and look dead through winter — water lightly every few weeks and it will resprout reliably once days lengthen in spring.
Sources & review
Written and maintained by the Plants by Zone Editorial Team. Planting times are based on USDA hardiness zones and NOAA frost-date normals, with care guidance drawn from Cooperative Extension sources. Last reviewed June 1, 2026.
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone MapNOAA U.S. climate normalsCooperative Extension
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