overwintering Lemon Verbena

20 years ago

I have a 3 year old Lemon Verbena. This spends summer outside in a pot. It has been pinched a lot so is like a well-branched little tree; about 18" high and at least that wide. I have been wintering this indoors every year, though it gets so scruffy it is unattractive most of the winter, gets pale, loses lots of leaves, etc. I have remodelled the rooms where I used to overwinter plants, so no longer feel like I can just let it "flop and drop" (DH would complain...). To make it look better I planted a short geranium in the same pot, which fills the bare area around the trunk.

I wanted to try cutting it back, but I did that this spring with another LV (that had survived the winter well enough) and it promptly died. So they doesn't seem to resprout lower down if the tips re cut.

Is there a better way of doing this? I should mention that I have not been successful at rooting tip cuttings. Can they be made to go dormant like some people do with geraniums?

This plant was given to me by a relative, when I mentioned that I can't buy it in my area. I use the leaves for my linens.

Featured Answer

HerbLady49

20 years ago

Lemon Verbena will never look good in the winter because it is deciduous. When the days get short the leaves will drop and the plant will go dormant. In the spring you will see new buds as the days get longer. The only way you can keep the leaves looking fresh all winter is to use a grow light. I put my plants in a cool well lit area and let them go dormant and only water if the soil is very dry. Watering all winter will kill it because it's not growing. In the spring lift your plant and see if it's root bound and root prune and repot. Root pruning is extreamly important if you want lush new growth. I generaly take cuttings in May. I start them in peat pots because it's easier to see young roots.

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Comments (11)

User
20 years ago
I used to have some problems overwintering lemon verbena in the house. It should overwinter indoors if you keep in coolish and don't forget completely about watering (something which I tended to do with them). Then I discovered that they would overwinter for me outside planted against the house (on the east side). It dies back over winter and comes back very vigorously in the spring. I used to try to overwinter Rosemary and never had luck with it either. Now it too overwinters in a protected microclimate next to the verbena, bay laurel, and lavender. I do mulch some and there is some snow cover during the coldest weather so that must help. I love herbs but have never had much luck with them indoors and got tired of buying verbena every year. Good luck!
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linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
20 years ago
It's deciduous?! All of a sudden its prior behavior makes sense! Of course the leaves dropped. I'm amazed it didn't occur to me before. Thanks! What zone is it native to? I had heard it was a Mediterranean herb, which would make any attempt at outdoor storage doomed in my zone 5.

I have a spot in a sunny, coolish basement window. herblady49, does this seem like a good spot?
HerbLady49
20 years ago
That would be a great spot. Only water to keep it from getting dry but don't keep it wet. Lemon Verbena is a strong grower and I'll bet if you lift it out of the pot you will see it root bound. In the spring root prune by taking a small saw or a serated knife and cut a couple of inches off the bottom and slice down the sides and plant in fresh soil and fertilize with a good organic fertilizer.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
20 years ago
Thanks! I've saved your tips and put them into a word doument to use next spring. (Now to make a folder "Open me in Spring!") I've never root pruned before.
trecmc34
9 years ago
Old thread but a godsend for me! I have a very lg pot with lemon grass, grapefruit mint and lemon verbena. Desperately trying to overwinter in zone 4. Last year inside did not go well. This year I will try a different spot in the house!
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
9 years ago
This is 11 years ago now, and I don't remember ever even growing it! Obviously I did not succeed with it for long.
Rhonda Uhrich
8 years ago
That looks like Lemon balm, not lemon verbena.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
Not Mediterranean - it is actually native to South America (Argentina and Chile) but not hardy below z8. Botanical name is Aloysia citrodora. The plant in the above photo is NOT lemon verbena - I'd agree it looks far more like lemon balm, Melissa officinalis, which is a herbaceous perennial (mint relative) hardy down to zone 3. Two very different plants that just share a similar fragrance.
defrost49
8 years ago
I think the sprawling, cascading plant is probably grapefruit mint that the poster listed, not lemon balm. I don't think lemon balm cascades like that, It is more of an upright small bush. After studying the photo, I think I can see lemon verbena in the back, look at the terra cotta pot on the stone curbing. I see a couple of branches of a long narrow leaf plant that is probably planted on the back side of the lower pot.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
8 years ago
I agree its a mint, as the poster says. You can see the flowers against the terracotta pot. And you can see the Lemon Verbena too although its a bit lost in the citrus foliage behind.