Last updated on September 26th, 2022 at 09:31 am
Many different herbs can be grown indoors or in your garden, ranging from shrubs to more woody ones and even grasses.
However, very few gardeners know that many kinds of grass add great garden essence and provide them with other benefits for having them around. One of them is Lemongrass.
Thus, if you are looking forward to growing Lemongrass because of its diverse uses and obtaining a swift yield, it’s only fair to ponder how fast it will grow.
So how fast does Lemongrass grow? Lemongrass can be cultivated from a fresh stalk from other successful gardens or a supermarket or grown from seeds. If you’re raising from seeds, do make sure to do that in a favorable climate, and your Lemongrass should be all grown and fully mature within a 75 to 100 days span.
While growing from stalks, it will be ready in 4 to 6 months if you strictly follow all the correct precautions.
How Long Do It Take To Grow Lemongrass?
Knowing that Lemongrass can be grown from both stalk and seed, it is pretty wise to decide which is more adaptable and easy for you to undertake.
However, growing from the seed is quite tasking as the seeds have a high dormancy rate and may decay in the soil if not appropriately treated.
Lemongrass, also known as Cymbopogon, is a grass family plant with hairy spikelets and barbs on either side of its leaves. It obtains its name from its characteristic nature of smelling a lot like lemon, the citrus fruit. Its unique smell I what makes it an excellent garden plant.
Having a great aroma is just one of the many features this plant has.
In addition, its chemical content allows it to carry out many medicinal functions in the human body, like relieving body pains, improving blood sugar levels, curing fever, being an excellent remedy for menstrual disorders, and being a good antioxidant.
Moving on, the first thing you’d want to know about cultivating Lemongrass from seeds is to obtain a cell pack or flat. These are very convenient for grooming Lemongrass from seeds.
Sow the seeds into the cells, press them down into the soil, and cover the seeds with compost but not too tightly as light supports the seed’s germination.
Make sure to keep the soil’s temperature under check; being too hot or too cold may affect the growth. You should keep the optimum temperature at 70° F, and germination should start between 10 and 20 days.
Once proper roots have developed within this time, they should be transplanted to a garden 12 inches apart. The plant should grow to a mature size in 3 to 5 months.
Cultivating it from a stalk would require a little more work than seeds, but once the roots are properly established, your Lemongrass will be a bulky herb in 4 to 6 months.
How Long Do Lemongrass Take To Grow From Stalk?
Developing the roots on the stalks typically takes about 3 to 4 weeks, and after this, you will get a fully grown Lemongrass in about three months from that point.
Lemongrass can grow to cover very vast areas around your home, so choking them up while they grow is a terrible idea.
Though it can sustain itself in swampy soil, it thrives best in fairly wet but fertile soil. In addition, it isn’t a drought intolerant plant as dry soil can cause the roots to dry up very quickly.
So if you’re a careless plant owner, not consistently providing moist soil for your Lemongrass is the best way to kill your plant.
Growing Lemongrass from a stalk will require more elbow grease than doing it with a seed. To ensure you have healthy Lemongrass, it is appropriate to follow these essential steps:
1. Selection
Make sure you pick up a good, strong, and most importantly, fresh green stalk with the entire stem intact. Knowing the suitable stalks to pick is undoubtedly the most crucial step to a successful garden.
These stalks don’t necessarily need sprung roots already, but the stem base should be intact. They should be nice and green too because green shows its health status.
2. Pruning
Always trim off any old or dead foliage you notice on your stalks. Cutting off the older leaves is very important because these leaves eventually fall and wilt with time.
And try not to peel the woody outer layer of the stems because new leaves will come up from these layers.
“Checkout the latest price and availability of Pruning Shear on Amazon“.
3. Storing in Water
Place the stalks in water. You should place the stalks of the Lemongrass may be in a jar or vase with the water level reaching a quarter length of the stalk.
Make sure to keep the container carrying the stalks in a place to receive sunlight like a window. Wait for the roots to emerge in subsequent days, but always change the water a few times a week; 3 to 4 times is good, for the nodes where the roots are to pop up from are well oxidized.
Continue changing the water until the roots are of significant length and the stalks have started dividing through an offshoot stalk. Once this has been noted, your Lemongrass is ready to go in the ground.
4. Soil Preparation
Ensure to have prepared a nutrient-rich bed of soil to grow your rooted Lemongrass stalks. Like most herbaceous perennials, Lemongrass requires rich and well-drained soil with a good amount of sunlight.
How Do You Make Lemongrass Grow Faster?
Lemongrass is a sub-tropical plant with so many uses. Although it can withstand cold weather extremes, its growth is retarded by the significant temperature drop. It has been known to grow within a stipulated time frame, but nothing says it can’t grow faster lesser time.
Growing explosively, the Lemongrass will propagate itself when it is fully mature. When the plant achieves a certain level of development, new stalks will start growing from the sides of already existing stalks.
But there are other ways to make your Lemongrass grow a little bit faster than usual. First of all, you might want to pay more attention to the amount of sunlight received by your plant. Sunlight helps plants develop very well as it powers all green plants on earth with Lemongrass inclusive.
Therefore, lemongrass should be raised in full sun, receiving a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight every day. And if your plants are headed for winter, then I suggest you pot them up and move them indoors, but be sure to place them where they can still get a good amount of sunlight.
Having a good soil and potting mix is also an excellent step to growing Lemongrass faster. Lemongrass does well in soil with lots of moisture, but not a soggy one, though.
Fix up a soil not too clayey with a significant amount of compost to increase the soil’s ability to drain. You could also add some peat moss or coir to improve its texture for the roots to thrive.
And lastly, make sure to space out your Lemongrass plants in your garden. Lemongrass could grow to great lengths of up to 6 feet in height and spread 3 feet wide. So with that, it is best to space them a little bit more than 3 feet apart to avoid them getting choked up.
Conclusion
Lemongrass is a pretty helpful herb that grows quite quickly. It takes about four months for the plant to, completely mature after developing roots.
With the good maintenance practices mentioned in this article, you can rest assured that your Lemongrass will provide good quality, quick yield.
References: