How to Grow Lemon Verbena? The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial
Lemon verbena, also known as lemon-scented verbena and perfume wood, is a deciduous small shrub of the genus Verbena in the family Verbenaceae, native to tropical South America. In the 17th century, Spanish explorers transplanted it to the warm regions of Europe. Although it belongs to the family Verbenaceae, most vervains are herbaceous plants, while lemon verbena is a perennial shrub. Let us take a look together at the cultivation techniques for lemon verbena!
Lemon Verbena Growth Habits
Lemon verbena is native to Central and South America and grows in the tropics. It prefers warm and humid tropical and subtropical climates, with an average annual temperature of about 20°C and annual rainfall of 1200-2000 mm. It requires deep, loose, fertile sandy soil. It is widely cultivated in subtropical to warm temperate regions as an aromatic and ornamental plant. A small amount has been introduced in southern Shaanxi, China.
Lemon Verbena Cultivation Value
The aroma of lemon verbena does not disappear after drying, making it very suitable for brewing tea. In France, Spain and other places, it is one of the most beloved herbal teas. Besides brewing tea, it is usually chopped and used as a stuffing, or mixed into sauces, beverages, and jelly-type desserts. Some herbal teas with rather distinctive flavors that may be temporarily unaccustomed to the palate also become more refreshing after being properly blended with lemon verbena. Even pharmacists mix it with certain herbs that are unbearably bitter. In addition, thanks to its rich essential oil, it was once a very popular perfume ingredient, and the extracted essential oil is also used in aromatherapy, with its main effects being to relax mental tension and restore vitality.
Lemon Verbena Cultivation Techniques
1. Site selection and land preparation: For lemon verbena cultivation, choose loam or sandy loam with a relatively thick soil layer as the planting site, and plow to a depth of 18-25 cm. Apply 2000-2500 kg of fully decomposed barnyard manure per mu as base fertilizer and spread it evenly. Make beds 50 cm wide at the top and 15 cm high, rake the bed surface flat, and leave a working path of 25-30 cm between two beds. Small field ridges can also be made.
2. Timely sowing: The sowing time for lemon verbena is from late April to early May, sown in furrows. First, rake the bed surface soil fine, open furrows along the bed 5 cm from the bed edge, with a row spacing of 25-30 cm and a furrow depth of 15-2 cm, tread the bottom flat, then apply a small amount of biological fertilizer as base fertilizer at 15-20 kg per mu. Cover the fertilizer with a little soil, evenly scatter the seeds, cover with soil 1-1.5 cm thick, and press lightly. The seeding rate is 0.5 kg per mu.
3. Thinning and transplanting: Under normal temperature and humidity, seedlings emerge 10-20 days after sowing. Thin them when the plant height is 5 cm. Since the whole aboveground plant is harvested, it is not necessary to deliberately keep single rows, but the spacing between plants in each row should be kept at about 10 cm to facilitate branching and the space needed for growth and development. The thinned seedlings can be transplanted elsewhere.
4. Weeding and loosening the soil: Loosen the soil in conjunction with weeding, and appropriately earth up around the roots. When the soil is too dry, water promptly to ensure the needs of normal plant growth. Weeding is a routine field management task, and preventing weed overgrowth is one of the effective measures to increase yield. Therefore, weeds should be removed as soon as they appear, keeping the field free of weeds. In the rainy season, pay attention to field drainage. After rain, loosen the soil promptly to prevent surface soil compaction from affecting plant growth. Loosening the soil both increases soil permeability and reduces the occurrence of diseases, achieving twice the result with half the effort and two benefits at once.
5. Harvesting and seed saving: Good seeds are the basic condition for obtaining high yield, so a separate seed field should be established. Plant spacing 15-20 cm, row spacing 20-25 cm. Strengthen field management, and appropriately apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer before flowering. In this way, the grains can be plump, so as to obtain more good seeds. When 75-80% of the seeds are mature, cut the plants down, place them in a well-ventilated shady place for 4-6 days, then thresh, remove impurities and shriveled grains, and dry them in the sun for 3-4 days.