How to Grow Lemongrass at Home

Lemongrass is an ornamental grass that's native to India. It is used widely as a culinary and medicinal herb throughout Asia. Growing lemongrass at home is not difficult, and you can even grow it in containers with the proper care. If you live in an area with harsh winters, you will need to move your lemongrass plants indoors or into a greenhouse to wait out the winter. Other than that, they are tolerant of many soil conditions and are not overly demanding plants in the garden.

Compost
Garden hoe
Gloves
Lemongrass shoots

Instructions

- 1
  Dig around 4 inches of compost into the topsoil of the garden bed where you want to plant the lemongrass, or into a container filled with potting soil. While lemongrass is tolerant of many soil types, it does best in humus-rich, well-draining soil. Allow the garden bed or container to "percolate" for a week or two before planting the lemongrass shoots.
- 2
  Make a small hole in the garden bed or container soil, just large enough to accommodate the roots and first 2 inches of the lemongrass shoots. Plant the lemongrass shoots in the hole and pat the soil down around the stem of the shoots to keep it standing upright. Use gloves when handling the lemongrass, as it has sharp edges on the leaves and cuts easily.
- 3
  Water the lemongrass slowly but deeply, so that the first 8 to 10 inches of soil is wet. Keep the soil moist while the young plants take root in the soil, around three weeks, then water weekly thereafter.
- 4
  Check the lemongrass in very hot summers as it may require extra watering. Browning leaves are a sign that the plant needs more water.

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