Cymbopogon citratus – lemon grass – Indian Lemon Grass – herb

Description

annual

space 24″ inches apart

mature size: 36-60″ inches tall and 24-36″ inches wide

Cymbopogon –

There are about 50 species of sturdy, aromatic, densely tufted or clump forming, evergreen perennial grasses, in this genus.They occur in warm temperate, subtropical and tropical Africa, Asia and Australia often in savanna grassland. They are grown for their flattened linear to lance shaped, mid to bluish green leaves, and their loose or compact, many branched flowering panicles, borne at the ends of the branches. The panicles consist of spikelets borne in short paired, spike like racemes, which are enclosed in spathe like bracts. Use in a mixed or grass border.

C. citratus – Indian Lemon Grass – This densely tufted or clump forming, perennial grass from Southern India and Sri Lanka grows 2-6′ feet tall and 3′ feet wide. It produces hollow, cane like stems and erect to arching, linear, rough edged, has a strong lemon scent when crushed or bruised, pale green leaves, to 3′ feet long. It is rare to flowers but if it does its in late summer and early autumn, bearing loose branching flowering panicles, to 2″ long. Very frost sensitive, winter indoors.

Grow in fertile, moist but well drained soil in full sun.

Zones 7-9