How often do you water lemongrass? Most gardeners should know the correct answer–after all, it’s an important question that can make or break your plant.
Lemongrass is a tropical plant so it is in its nature to need an abundant amount of water to thrive.
Think tropical downpour. Think warm, sunny and humid.
The more you can mimic the tropical aspect of the plant in your own garden, the better chances you have for a healthy growing lemongrass plant.
The type or variety of lemongrass that you’d want growing at home goes by the botanical name Cymbopogon citratus. Also known as the West Indian lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), this is the variety that is used in the kitchen since it has the best taste, scent, and texture.
This perennial grass is native to South and Southeast Asia and is widely known for its citrusy smell and taste—hence the name. This plant requires very minimal care to grow successfully and can deliver a hearty amount of quality harvest.
Plus, a single plant can last for years. With proper care and conditions, you might just have an endless supply of lemongrass ready to be cut for cooking.
Proper plant watering is one of the key aspects of a healthy growing lemongrass plant. Watering daily is recommended. Lemongrass thrives in moist soil, not soggy soil. If grown in containers, make sure that the pot you used has enough draining holes in them to prevent boggy soils.
Container-grown lemongrass plants need to be watered regularly in order to maintain soil moisture. Add some mulch over the soil to hold moisture. You can also place your pots on top of a saucer with pebbles. The stones will produce moisture for the soil.
How Do You Care For a Lemongrass Plant?
Providing your lemongrass the right general care and maintenance will ultimately result in a thriving plant, just like with any other plant in your garden.
This includes, of course, planting them in the right soil condition and giving them their required amount of water. And given that lemongrass is a tropical plant, you’d want to mimic its origin so it can successfully grow—meaning this herb requires regular rainfall and enough sunlight.
Lemongrass grows best in warm and sunny locations. Ideally in the tropics or subtropics with humid conditions. If grown in drier climates, this plant should be watered regularly.
During the growing season, see to it that they’re given enough amounts of nitrogen as they highly need it.
Giving them a balanced soluble fertilizer once a month is also greatly encouraged. I’ve been using this fertilizer (link to Amazon) for the majority of my tropical plants in my garden and it’s been such a great help. Pretty impressive for such a cheap price. So you might want to try that one.
If you’re growing your lemongrass in containers—which is the more popular way of growing them at home—keep in mind that they should be fed more frequently compared to lemongrass frown directly on the ground.
Another tip for thriving and thick lemongrass is carefully hand pulling weeds that might compete with your plant.
Check this lemongrass plant care cheat sheet I’ve made so you know the key things to worry about.
- Sun—Lemongrass is a tropical herb that needs full sun and should be placed in an area where it can receive a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.
- Water—Your lemongrass plant needs to be watered regularly in order to maintain soil moisture. Add some mulch over the soil to hold moisture. You can also place your pots on top of a saucer with pebbles. The stones will produce moisture for the soil.
Watering daily is recommended. Lemongrass thrives in moist soil, not soggy soil. Make sure the pot you used has enough draining holes in them to prevent boggy soils.
- Soil—Lemongrass thrives in a fertile free-draining moist soil and with a soil pH ranging from 5.0 to 8.0. Fast drainage is really important so sandy soil or loam will be perfect. Before planting, incorporate lots of quality mature compost. A good quality multipurpose compost will do the trick.
- Fertilizer—Once your lemongrass is growing actively, it’s a good idea to feed it once a month with a high nitrogen fertilizer. This kind of fertilizer helps in leaf growth and that’s the boost your lemongrass will need.
Is Lemongrass a Drought Tolerant Plant?
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a herbaceous perennial that is moderately drought tolerant. It’s one of the reasons why this plant is ridiculously easy to grow. It can thrive with minimal water or rainfall BUT it prefers regular watering.
Ideally, a lemongrass plant needs to be watered regularly in order to maintain soil moisture. After all, it grows best in rich, moist loams.
Once established, lemongrass can survive for relatively long periods without water. But see to it that under no circumstances is the soil to be dried out completely between plant waterings. Lemongrass is only moderately drought tolerant and still needs its “tropical downpour” to survive.
Why Do Lemongrass Leaves Turn Brown?
There are two reasons as to why your lemongrass leaves are turning brown—your plant might be facing a plant watering/feeding problem or a fungal disease.
Watering/Feeding Problem
The most common and obvious reason, of course, is that your lemongrass plant is lacking enough water and nutrients. Lemongrass is one of the easiest plants to grow and the one thing you should really monitor when growing them is the plant’s water intake.
So if you see the lemongrass leaves turn brown, your plant just needs more water in their system. Watering daily is recommended. Lemongrass is a culinary herb that thrives in moist soil, not soggy soil.
Another reason may be its lack of nutrients. Once your lemongrass is growing actively, it is highly encouraged to feed it once a month with a high nitrogen fertilizer. This kind of fertilizer helps in leaf growth and that’s the boost your lemongrass will need.
Fungal Disease
If you think the problem doesn’t lie on the lack of water or nutrients for your lemongrass plant, then it may be facing a fungal disease by the name of Rust (Puccinia nakanishikii). When you see light yellow spots on foliage that eventually turn to brown elongated streaks on leaves. It’s a definite sign of rust.
Other identifying signs are the following; dark brown pustules on the underside of leaves and eventual death of leaves and plants.
To prevent your plant from facing this disease, avoid overhead irrigation as much as possible. Water near the base of the plant.
Once you’ve diagnosed your plant and you’re sure that it’s suffering from rust, prune out the diseased parts of plants. Don’t worry, this will aid in the regrowth of the plant.
How Do I Prune Lemongrass?
Lemongrass is a quick-growing plant so pruning is always a good idea to keep them in a manageable size. (They can grow up to 6 feet!) It doesn’t hurt that regular pruning also encourages new plant growth.
To prune lemongrass throughout the summer, cut the stalks that are greater than 1/2 inch in diameter near their base using a sharp knife or garden scissors. You can also opt to grab, twist and pull them away from the main plant.
To prune lemongrass during early spring, lightly trim the herb if they remain a healthy green color OR if you see that only the tips of the leaves have yellowed. Cut the plant on your desired size and height or you can just remove the yellow tips.
To prune lemongrass during late winter, trim the entire plant back to 6 inches from the ground using shears IF most of the lemongrass foliage is suffering winter damage. Once the temperature starts to warm up, new stalks will regrow.
Is Lemongrass a Flowering Plant?
Yes, lemongrass is a flowering plant but the flower is really insignificant. There are two varieties of lemongrass; The East Indian lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) and the West Indian lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus).
The good lemongrass, the one you want and the variety that is used in the kitchen, very very rarely flowers and sets seed. The seed-setting variety, on the other hand, is basically inferior, in my opinion. Be it taste or texture, the seed-setting variety is plainly not up to par with the other one.
When grown in the tropics, lemongrass can produce “large compound flowers on spikes”. So don’t expect flowers growing in more Northern latitudes, ‘cause it rarely does.
So if you’re wondering why your lemongrass plant at home isn’t flowering, don’t worry, that’s perfectly normal. And you don’t need the flower anyways. The useful parts of the lemongrass plant are its leaves and stalks.
Plus, you don’t have to wait for your plant to flower and set seed to regrow again. You can easily grow another set of lemongrass by propagating.
Once you’ve found the perfect stems to propagate, trim them to about 10 to 15 cm long. Grab a small vase or any small container that can hold enough water at the bottom. Place the stem on the vase with water at the bottom.
The warmer you can keep the water (preferably 20 – 25°), the faster the roots will actually grow. Keep it somewhere sunny, a north-facing windowsill will do. In about 2 weeks you’ll have roots coming off the basal plate. Now it’s ready to be planted in a container!
