Lemon Grass Plants

West Indian Lemon Grass is an easily grown perennial culinary herb, the bulbous bottom portion of the stem is essential to Thai and Southeast Asian cuisine. The lemon-flavored leaf blades can also be used for herbal teas or chopped finely in sauces and desserts. It will grow to 2-3' tall and spreads by numerous shoots sprouting from the base of the clump, it almost never flowers and seed is rarely viable. West Indian Lemon grass loves heat and summer sun and can tolerate drought but can be killed by freezing temperatures. Since it does well in a pot, Northerners can grow it outside spring through fall and just cut the top growth back and bring the pot in for the winter. This is not East Indian Lemon grass, Cymbopogon flexuosus, which is often also sold as Lemon Grass. East Indian Lemon Grass is grown from seed and used primarily for tea and oils (such as citronella), and lacks the bright lemony taste of West Indian Lemongrass.