Are you planning on growing Lemongrass in your garden and want to know if it is a perennial plant or not? Here is the post for you.
Before growing any plant in your garden, it’s an excellent idea to know how to care for the plant, including the plant’s climate requirements.
In this post, we will explain the temperature tolerance of Lemongrass, and whether it should be treated as an annual or perennial plant. Read on.
A Quick Introduction To Lemongrass
Lemongrass is a tropical plant and semi-tropical. There are two species of lemongrass: the West Indian lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and the citronella grass (Cymbopogon nardus).
Cymbopogon citratus is edible and is widely cultivated as a commercial food crop for its distinct citrusy aroma. At the same time, Cymbopogon nardus is inedible and is cultivated for its essential oils (citronella oil), which is used in insect repelling products.
Cymbopogon citratus is well-known for its citrus flavor, which makes the punchy plant a popular addition to teas, curries, dishes, and soups. However, if cooking is not your thing, you can grow the plant for its soft lemon scent experience. More so, Lemongrass not only adds an appealing scent to your garden but also acts as a deterrent to some pests.
Based on their experience with Lemongrass, some people consider it a perennial plant, while some have seen it die off just after a growing season. This varied experience triggered the question, “Is Lemongrass an annual or perennial plant?
Is Lemongrass A Perennial Plant?
There is no general or straightforward answer to this question. Whether Lemon grass is a perennial plant or not depends on the full sun or temperature of the region where you live.
Being a tropical and semi-tropical plant, Lemongrass is well adapted to high levels of heat all year round and can hardly survive in the late winter because it is not frost-tolerant.
Based on this fact, we will advise that you treat Lemongrass as a perennial plant in warmer climates, in the tropical and semi-tropical regions, or in any other region that mimics its native habitat.
However, treat Lemongrass should be grown as an annual plant in cooler climates; otherwise, you have to overwinter the plant indoors to survive the cold season.
Should I Treat Lemongrass As A Perennial Plant In My Region? Will It Grow Back After Winter?
If you are living in a region where winter temperatures usually drop below freezing, treat your Lemon grass plant like any other annual plant because it will only grow for a single season. Harvest it fully and remove it from your garden before cold temperatures set in, or else it will die when the first frost arrives.
But if you live in a region that mimics Lemongrass’ native habitat, treat the herb as a true perennial that can live for three years or more.
If you are in the US, based on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, treat Lemongrass as a perennial herb in USDA hardiness zones 10 and 11, where temperatures are relatively constant above 50°F. In this climate, the herb can stay alive year-round.
But if you live outside of these zones, especially in areas like USDA Zone 5, where temperatures can drop below freezing, treat Lemongrass as an annual herb because it will die and will not grow back after the winter.
However, if you don’t want to harvest lemongrass fully before the cold winter, there is a clever way to keep it from one year to the next – overwintering.
How To Overwinter Lemongrass
Overwintering involves protecting your Lemongrass to keep it alive through the winter period when normal survival may be difficult. There are three ways to overwinter your lemongrass, let’s talk about them:
Potting Up Your Plant
The best and easiest way to overwinter your Lemongrass is to clump it in a pot or container and keep it indoors.
All you have to do is dig up a few plants with the rootstalks and trim them down to a few inches tall. Next remove any lingering insects or bugs, and plant them in a pot or container that is large enough to allow them to grow well.
Make sure that the container is filled with potting soil or a nutrient-rich topsoil, and water the plant thoroughly.
Putting It On A Windowsill
Another way to keep your Lemongrass overwinter is to put a few rooted bare-root stalks in a glass of water. Now place them on an indoor windowsill all through the winter months.
Simply yank off an entire plant with the rootstalk intact from the mother plant. Rinse sands off the roots and drop it into a shallow glass of water up to the base of the stem.
Once a week, wash the glass and replace the water throughout the winter period. Always trim off any new leaf that grows too long and spindly.
Putting It In Greenhouse
Finally, if you have a heated greenhouse, you can also keep your Lemongrass there all through the winter period.
Conclusion
Did you find this post interesting? Now that you have gotten an answer to the question “Is Lemongrass a perennial plant?” You will know how to care for your Lemongrass plant, and don’t hesitate to experiment with different overwintering methods above.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This depends on your region. Suppose you live in an area with warmer climates, such as the tropical and semi-tropical region. Or any other region that mimics Lemongrass’ native habitat; you can treat it as a perennial plant. However, if you live in a region with cooler climates or areas where temperatures can drop below freezing, treat Lemongrass as an annual plant.
If your Lemongrass is planted outdoors and you are living in an area that experiences temperatures below freezing, the Lemongrass will not survive or grow back after winter. To protect your Lemongrass, try to overwinter it during the winter period.
While this looks like a good idea and may work for other perennial plants. It is not ideal to put your lemongrass into dormancy. Lemongrass cannot survive natural dormancy and will likely die if you try to do that.
