How to Grow Lemongrass

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)
  2. Growth Stages
  3. Quick Facts
  4. At a Glance
  5. Harvest & Storage
  6. Diseases
  7. Pests
  8. Plan your Lemongrass planting
  9. Growing Lemongrass in another region
  10. Sources
  11. Frequently Asked Questions

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) — Clump-forming, tender perennial grass.

Unlike an annual crop, the work here is front-loaded into establishment: get the planting and the site right and the same plants crop for several seasons.

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)

A full, healthy lemongrass clump — “A Lemongrass plant!” by Hajar Sahal is licensed under CC0.

2 sources cited · Verified

Growth Stages

Lush green lemongrass blades — “Starr 080531-4968 Cymbopogon citratus” by Forest & Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
“Starr 080531-4968 Cymbopogon citratus” by Forest & Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Planting 0 Plant after the danger of frost has passed, or grow in containers indoors (USU). RHS: choose a container slightly wider and deeper than the current pot, using peat-free compost; in-ground spacing at least 30cm (1ft) apart. USU: 3ft apart in the ground, since plants reach 3-6ft tall and 3ft wide.
Establishment care 3 USU: water regularly and mist, hand-watering or flood irrigation (avoid overhead sprinklers); fertilize weekly at half strength June-September for containers, monthly for ground plants. Needs full sun and warm, humid conditions to thrive (RHS; USU).
Harvest 8 RHS: harvest May-September, selecting stems with swollen bases at the clump's edge, cut or pulled off low down; use only the lower 10cm (4in) of stem for the best flavour. USU: alternatively wait until stalks reach about 1/2in thick, or harvest at the end of the season just before the first fall frost; cut at ground level or twist and pull.
Overwintering and propagation 0 USU: save a 6in section of the bulbous shoot base with roots to overwinter indoors. Propagate by dividing established clumps in spring, each section with a good set of roots and several strong stems (RHS); USU notes it is rarely grown from seed.

Quick Facts

A full, healthy lemongrass clump — “A Lemongrass plant!” by Hajar Sahal is licensed under CC0.
“A Lemongrass plant!” by Hajar Sahal is licensed under CC0.
Factor Value
Drainage Fertile, free-draining soil (RHS); USU: well-drained, moist, rich loam with high organic content.
Lifecycle Clump-forming, tender perennial grass. USU agrees it is a tender perennial, grown as an annual in cooler areas unless overwintered indoors; USDA hardiness zones 10-11.
Edible parts stems

At a Glance

Harvested lemongrass stalks laid out with other ingredients — “Bumbu Rawon” by Herusutimbul is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Bumbu Rawon” by Herusutimbul is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Cymbopogon citratus Lemongrass Grassy shoot disease (l… Lemongrass rust Lemongrass leaf blight Glasshouse red spider m… Glasshouse whitefly DISEASES PESTS

Harvest & Storage

The swollen stem bases of a lemongrass clump — “Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)” by Mokkie is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)” by Mokkie is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: RHS: harvest May-September, selecting stems with swollen bases at the edge of the clump, cut or pulled off low down; USU adds an alternative trigger -- once stalks reach about 1/2in thick, or at the end of the growing season just before the first fall frost.

Storage

RHS: use only the lower 10cm (4in) of stem for the best flavour. USU: freezes for up to 6 months.

Diseases

Water droplets on a lemongrass leaf blade — “Cymbopogon citratus leaves” by Obsidian Soul is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Cymbopogon citratus leaves” by Obsidian Soul is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Grassy shoot disease (lemongrass)
low

Phytoplasma sp.

Named directly by USU as "little leaf/grassy shoot," causing stunted growth -- a phytoplasma disease, left at genus level since USU does not specify further.

Lemongrass rust
low

Named directly by RHS as occasionally damaging foliage; no pathogen species specified.

Lemongrass leaf blight
low

Named directly by USU: reddish-brown spots; no pathogen species specified.

Pests

Close view of a lemongrass clump — “Cymbopogon citratus lemongrass plant in garden” by Undeka 11 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Cymbopogon citratus lemongrass plant in garden” by Undeka 11 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Two-spotted red spider mite with silk threads, magnified — Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0
Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0
Glasshouse red spider mite (two-spotted spider mite)
low

Tetranychus urticae

Named directly by USU, mainly as an indoor problem, treated with insecticidal soap.

Glasshouse whitefly adult on a leaf — Sanja565658, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sanja565658, CC BY-SA 3.0
Glasshouse whitefly
low

Trialeurodes vaporariorum

Named directly by RHS on greenhouse-grown plants.

Plan your Lemongrass planting

Timing for Lemongrass follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Lemongrass in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Royal Horticultural Society, Utah State University Extension) is in the references of our UK guide to lemongrass; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What problems affect lemongrass?

Our data links 3 diseases and 2 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.

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SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against international horticultural research and extension sources. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides

Crops With the Same Problems

Last verified 2026-09-04

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