Lemon Verbena Cuttings

Lemon Verbena has been with us for many years.  It is perhaps the most aromatic plant grown in gardens.  Becky uses finely chopped fresh leaves in fruit salads instead of sugar.  Add the leaves and allow time for the flavors to meld.  The taste of these salads is delicious beyond description.  Sharing with gardening friends made the plant impossible to find in local nurseries as a result of its new found fame.  We now rely on cuttings to keep this tender perennial in our garden.

Grown in climate zone 8 or higher, this plant will reach a height of six feet and display beautiful flowers.  Here in zone four each plant is limited to two seasons of growth before reaching its ultimate destination of the compost pile.  As amazing as it may sound, the scent of this plant will announce its presence when several year old compost containing it is screened in preparation for adding it to the garden.  These four plants spent the winter on a basement window sill and will be allowed to enjoy the rest of their time time in the sunny garden.  With this year's heat we may have a chance of flowers.

These two cuttings were taken much later than usual.  Falling behind is what we now do.  Heel cuttings are taken when new growth appears early in the growing year.  That bit of bark cut from the branch anchors the cutting in place and is the location of new root growth.  When roots appear in numbers and put on some growth, these new plants will be singly placed in one gallon pots and set out in the garden.  When cooler weather approaches the pots will be pulled from the ground and moved into the basement.  The important thing these new plants do is provide fresh cuttings in the spring.  During their second year they will also provide leaves for fruit salads.

This is our system for rooting cuttings.  Old plastic juice bottles with their bottoms cut off provide a moist environment for the leaves.  After some time has passed, the cap will be removed to allow limited air circulation.  Then the bottle will be removed.  If the timing is right, the cutting will continue holding its leaves upright.  If they droop a spray bath will be followed by a return of the bottle.

Lemon verbena is the most sensitive plant with regard to disturbance of its roots that we have ever encountered.  Early on we tried to dig up plants to take inside for the winter.  Total leaf droop followed.  It persisted for days and on occasion proved fatal.  If the plant did recover it held only a few leaves and sometimes did not last until spring.  Keeping the plants potted solved that problem.  These plants are widely available using mail order.  They are well worth the effort of keeping them in the garden this far out of their native climate.

Indiana Jones And The Garden Treasure

No!  Harrison Ford has not been has not been hanging around in my garden. He might enjoy flying over it in a small plane. Others seem to find that fun.  My garden is much too wild to enter without the benefit of a native guide.  August has been steamy and tropical here.  Everything has disappeared in the rampant growth.  I guess I am as close to a native guide as can be found.  First I must make sure I have the essentials to survive my trip into the underbrush.  Many dangers lurk there.  I dress in my white Solumbra clothes, carefully tuck my pants into my socks and apply insect repellent to my socks and hat.  I make sure I have water for the trip into the bush.  Protected from the heat of the sun and whatever insects I might encounter, I bravely begin going after the weeds that are going to seed first.

 After I have worked for some time I begin to see things I recognize.  Sometime in the not so distant past I may have seen a map of this area that tells me where some of the hidden treasure has been  planted  buried,  I can see signs of a stone path that  must lead somewhere.  I do not have a machete in my garden cart.  Besides the idea here is to find the buried treasure and restore the ancient stonework to its original condition. I am armed with my Cobrahead weeder.  I work carefully with my hook uprooting the tall grass. The sweet aroma of lemons let me know that  the lemon verbena was just to my right.  Mmmm...treasure!  Just a little farther on I found onions.  Whoever planted this treasure left stone markers with names like Red Cippolini, Copra, Red Wing and Walla Walla.  Wow! Organic onions at today's prices are really an treasure!!! I had to tie back a gigantic catnip plant to my left.  It is covered with seeds for the irresistible catnip that has always grown wild here.  I've made quite a few bucks stuffing catnip mice with that garden treasure.  I left a Nicotiana plant that was growing in the onion bed.  I'm curious to see exactly what kind it is, although they are all pretty much classed as poisonous.  I know Ed recognizes it so it's not that dangerous!  Organic dill seed is the last exotic treasure I will find on this expedition.  If you see the price per pound for this in the store, you will know it is  like finding the mother lode!

However, I can see the house in the distance and lunch is calling!  Perhaps tomorrow I will find my parsley or a beautiful tropical flower. I know I saw a beautiful white lily with red spots here somewhere.  Maybe I will go in search of the strawberry plants or the lemon grass or  ...

Zone 8 Perennial

Lemon verbena has maintained a hold on us for several years.  In zones 8 to 10 it grows into a large bush that is annually covered with incredibly sweet smelling flowers.  Here in zone 4 it must be wintered over inside of the house with only a single year's growth.  At first glance that does not sound like a big deal, but this plant resists removal from the ground like no other.  Almost with the first insertion of the spade, the leaves go into serious wilt.  No amount of shade and water can move the plant away from its pout.  At times all of the dried leaves fall away from the plant.  Some plants never recover and we wind up watering dead sticks for much of the winter.  Finally the obvious became visible.  Now we plant out the young plants in three gallon pots.  These potted plants are pulled from the ground at the end of the growing season and placed on a south facing windowsill with no problems.

Recently, one of these plants was given a severe pruning to encourage the appearance of new growth.  Soon the tiny beginnings of new branches began to appear.  We believe that tender new growth will assume new roles as crowns and roots.  A sharp thin blade was used to cut away a new growth and a section of the old woody branch.

A dip in rooting compound preceded careful insertion into potting soil.  The bottomless juice jar fits over the pot and into the plastic pot saucer.  High humidity is needed while the new cutting starts to send out roots.  We will water these new plants from the bottom for some time.  The jar cap can be removed to allow for some air movement and then the entire bottle will be removed.

Last year all of the cuttings rooted.  We now have four cuttings in pots.  The plant in the picture has turned toward the light.  We see that as a sign of life.  If we need to start over, there are three more year old plants to prune.  The wintered over plants get a nice place in the garden to grow large and lend their sweet scent to the garden for their last summer here. 

Accomplishing The Unlikely

Lemon verbena has been with us for many years.   Fresh finely chopped leaves sprinkled over fruit salad creates a flavor that defies description.  What it does to watermelon is truly wondrous.  Native to western South America, it grows into a eight foot tall bush that must be an impressive sight.  In climate zones numbered above 8 it is a perennial shrub.  Here in zone 4 it is marketed as an annual.  Difficult to find at local nurseries, we try to keep it alive year round.

The first obstacle that must be conquered is the speed with which its leaves droop and drop off when the plant is unearthed preparatory to potting it up.  No amount of water will coax the leaves away from their pout.  If the plant is placed in constant shade and watered liberally for days, some leaves may remain when the plant is moved indoors.

Once inside lemon verbena serves as a white fly magnet.  Sticky traps catch and hold them by the hundreds but survivors do serious damage to already struggling leaves.  We flood the potted plants twice each week.  Plastic dishpans contain the overflow.  A great deal of luck combined with generous amounts of water sometimes carry living plants through to spring.  This year all three plants survived.

These three plants have been basking in warm sunlight for weeks.  Perched on the stone wall near the basement door, the plants are carried indoors when nighttime cold threatens.  Few leaves remained when the plants were first moved outside.  Visible new shoots and bright green leaves are all new growth.  These plants have lived to enjoy another summer in the sun.  That will be the end of the road for them as they will grow to a large size that will make potting them up impossible.

Heel cuttings taken when the new branches first appeared seem to be well on their way.  Our cutting soil mix includes a generous amount of fine white builders sand as well as peat moss and some of our compost.  This is our first year using Richters rooting compound.  So far all of the cuttings have rooted.  Initial high moisture is maintained by dropping a bottomless juice jar down over the plants.  A pot saucer holds enough water to supply ample moisture from the bottom.  These plants appear ready for a move into a larger pot filled with regular garden soil.  A few weeks later they will be set out in the garden.  At summer's end, a move into large pots will ready them for a winter spent in a sunny basement window.  This entire process is repeated every year,  so far we find lemon verbena well worth the effort!

The Heat Is On

An overnight low temperature of 39 degrees F remains in our weather forecast.  Frost warnings are absent from forecasts but our experience requires some caution.  Older hardiness zone maps show a finger of cold stretching from the high peaks of the Adirondacks to very near the southern border of New York.  Mountain cold spreads across the state bringing us temperatures that are frequently seven degrees colder that those forecast.  A little simple arithmetic tells us that frost here is possible tonight.

These two Lemon Verbena plants grew from cuttings taken earlier this year from plants overwintered in our basement.  Our experience with this plant has shown some frost hardiness but we are super cautious.  Four other plants will remain outside tonight.  Two plants are three years old now and are simply too large to pot up and bring inside.  The other two plants are in their second year and will spend the winter indoors.  A light frost tonight will do them no harm so their move into a pot is days away.

We have watched countless Lemon Verbenas die inside during winter.  Our success with them has improved greatly since we started cutting them back several days before the move to the pot.  The older plants will also require root pruning.  Notorious wilters, they pout for days after transplanting.  A close look at the above photo will reveal drooping stems already despite my flooding the pot and sprinkling water on the leaves.  Confined to a shady daytime location, it may take a week or more for them to recover.

We have found it impossible to buy these plants locally.  Richters is a reliable mail order source for Lemon Verbena but if we are successful starting new cuttings they may not get an order again next year.

Lemon grass is another plant that naturally grows in a much warmer climate.  Two of these plants will spend the next several months on a table where I build models.  They will be positioned between me and the large windows but all are content with that arrangement.  The other two will flank the mostly glass front door that we never use as a door.  Air currents swirling up the stairwell, heat from radiators on either side and a generous southern exposure combine to make this the best location that we have to overwinter plants inside.

We have discovered that a key to success with these plants in pots is generous amounts of water.  Each pot will be placed in a plastic dishpan intended to contain excess water.  The plants will draw from their individual reservoirs between waterings.

It is much too early for these plants to start their time indoors.  For the next several weeks they will spend warm days basking on the stone wall and cold nights indoors.  It seems that much of my time at either end of the gardening season is devoted to moving potted plants between the wall and the basement.  Hefting three gallon pots filled with soil keeps me fit.  I really look forward to the day next spring when this process starts again.  Then it will represent another beginning rather than the present ending.

Our wake up temperature was 49 degrees F the following morning.  The four butternut squash picked yesterday were almost completely ripe.  Cool nights set the sugars in butternut squash so those remaining in the field will be of better quality than the ones harvested yesterday.  The four pumpkins picked yesterday gave every appearance of being fully ripe.  As it turns out, we were overly cautious but when dealing with frost one error is fatal.  The plants in pots will be returned to the wall and another day in the garden will soon be underway.

My Fabulous Fragrant Hour Among The Plants

I just love the way the winter sun shines on my fuzzy peppermint geranium leaves.  What a pleasure to work on the scented geraniums.  It's a delightful experience to remove all of the damaged leaves leaving the plant looking good.  Any time you work around scented geraniums they reward you with their incredible scent.  I dropped  three kinds of rose, nutmeg, and peppermint geranium leaves in my trug.   I cut back a very dead looking Provence lavender and added it to the mix along with some lemon grass and a few weeds.  The nutmeg geranium was quite leggy so I moved it into the sun and moved the as good as dead lavender out of the light.  Once plants are dead their light requirements reduce dramatically!

It took quite awhile to remove all the damaged leaves from the four lemon verbena plants. The entire time I was surrounded with the fragrance of lemon lollypops.  I cleaned up the frass too and found the cocoon.  All that was added to my trug.  The downstairs plants look much better.  At least one intruder has been removed.

Heading back upstairs, I stopped on the landing to water the rosemary and the other plants there.  The rosemarys are still making buds.  I removed a few gone past flowers, but these plants will need my attention very soon.

So here is my trug containing fragrant leaves and the scents of rose, peppermint, nutmeg lemon and rosemary.  If it didn't also contain frass and that insect cocoon it could pass for potpourri.  In this case it is just incredibly fragrant compost.  It certainly made for some enjoyable gardening time in spite of very cold day.

Winter's Last Days

This latest snow storm has been in the forecast for days.  A small amount of wet heavy snow creates scenes of unparalleled beauty with few of the negative consequences.  Wet snow catches on every nearly horizontal tree branch.  The contrast between the dark tree bark and the pure white of new snow is captivating to see.  We choose to live here in part because of winter.  Its cold kills pesky plant munchers and makes the warmth of spring special.  Still, it is close to the end of March and outdoor work calls strongly.

Tuesday is a day when we travel to an indoor pool for controlled exercise.  Ed was up early to clear the driveway so that we could get to the road.  As the time to leave for the pool drew near, the snow began to fall in earnest.  We have to cross over a high hill to get to the pool and that road is  frequently slippery.  We opted to remain at home.  Still, the snow on the pine trees is beautiful.  If we ever retire to the south we will miss scenes like this one.

A state wide ban on all outdoor burning is now in effect because of the seasonal risk of forest fire.  One has to wonder if this new snow cover would ease the enforcement of that ban.

This seemed like a good day to enjoy our indoor plants.  We seem to have stumbled on the requirements of lemon verbena that must be met for its winter survival.  Pruning both above and below ground matches the size of the plant to the size of the pot.  Any disturbance of the roots sends lemon verbena into a major pout.  Days in the shade and gallons of water are necessary to unshrivel the leaves.  This plant also has a high water need inside that must be satisfied. Twice this winter these pots have been carried outside on mild days.  Wind and a shower from the sprinkling can helped control the white flies.  Soon it will be time to take cuttings to start new small plants.

Scented geraniums are both easy and pleasant to keep over the winter.  Every time that they are watered they fill the air with pleasant scents.  Fresh cuttings will also be taken here to keep the size of these plants manageable.  Some may accomplish that task with pruning but we find it easier to start new plants.

Two rosemary plants silhouetted against the harsh last days of winter will close this post.  They look ready for some time in the sunshine.  We know that we are ready.

Matching Job To Day

We always have more tasks that need attention than we can possibly do in a day.  One technique used to manage that chaos is to always take advantage of the weather conditions so that our work is made easier and more productive.  Our lemon verbenas needed attention to help them cope with the rigors of indoor life.  Bright sunshine combined with south winds to raise the air temperature into the 40's F.  The verbenas needed a shower bath so they were carried outside.  Several applications from the watering can moistened both the tops and the bottoms of the leaves.  There was some concern about the wisdom of wetting foliage right next to deep snow but the bright sun was encouraging.  The plants were left outside in the light winds to dry somewhat before their return to the basement.  A  quick check this morning found the verbenas looking great sporting clear bright leaves.  Both the wind and the water had dislodged at least some of the white flies.  For now the plants are inside near their basement windows.  We will watch the outdoor conditions looking for another day when a cold shower is possible.  If necessary we will enlist the help of some purchased insecticidal soap.   I did a little reading and found the calcium and magnesium present in our water renders our homemade spray ineffective.  For today we were able to do some gardening outside.  Not bad for the middle of winter.

Winter Weeding

Normal winter weather held for the first week of the new year.  Frost coated everything this morning as a crescent moon rested on the horizon at wake up time.  White flies and weeds are taking hold on the plants being over wintered in the basement.  Today the weeds were pulled.  Tomorrow the pots will be carried upstairs for a shower and an insecticidal soap treatment.  Any gardening activity is a treat this time of year.

This pot of lemon verbena displays a good growth of both weeds and white flies.  Most years the white flies win and we are left with pots of dead sticks come spring.  Last winter we managed to successfully carry three pots of lemon verbena through till spring.  The pictured plants are from cuttings that were taken late last winter.  Our plan is to try this again.  Overwintered plants grow to giants during their second year.  Only first year plants are small enough to pot up for an indoor winter.

This rosemary is also a first year cutting.  The parent plant was well on its way to a certain demise when the cuttings were taken.  The new plant looks healthy although its companion chickweed remains small.  These plants are on the landing of the stairs from the basement.  The mostly glass door provides a generous amount of sunlight.  Two floor level radiators supply the heat while the open stairway generates air currents.  This combination of light, heat and moving air makes this area the best location we have to keep these outdoor plants alive during winter.

The first phase of the job is done.  Weeds are gone and I have soil under my fingernails.  The plants have been turned to force new growth on the sunny side of the plant.  This brush with the promise of spring has me wondering how soon seeds can be put to soil under indoor light.  The urge to garden seems to be stirring.

Early September North Wind

Pictures of the people here are rarely published.  We would prefer not to frighten people.  The unusual garb deserves an explanation.  Sun sensitivity is an undesirable side effect of some necessary medications.  A Solumbra helmet drape and a long sleeved shirt allow day long work outside.  With little skin exposed biting insects can find no meal here.  Passers by give me strange looks and tend to keep their distance.  I'm not sure that this is new behavior.

Today we noticed a shift in the wind.  It was coming at us from the north.  Frost is predicted in the cold shaded valleys.  Frost will likely not call here tonight but many of our plants detest cold nights.  Three pathetic lemon grass plants survived last winter indoors.  They were among the last of the plants to be planted out.  Their high water need was met during the drought and we have three beautiful plants to bring indoors.  For now they will spend only cold nights in the basement.  The rest of the time they will be outside on the stone wall.

We usually order three Lemon Verbena plants from Richters.  This year we took cuttings from our overwintering basement plants.  The cuttings rooted so for the first time ever we were able to plant out our own young plants.  Leaves on the freshly potted plants are droopy as expected.  Lemon Verbena really resents disturbance of its roots.  By morning their perk will have returned.

In 1993 Becky purchased a scented geranium at Caprilands from Adelma Grenier Simmons.  We have kept the monster alive and in bounds with severe pruning.  This year we discovered a section of stem that had layered.  This piece of plant has leaves, roots and a stem.  It should remain alive.  We could use a fresh start with this treasure.

Days in the summer sun brought the curry leaf plant back to health.  Becky vowed to herself that this plant would not see another winter indoors.  Time will tell the fate of this plant.  Tonight it is safely tucked in a spot on the basement floor.

First Day In The Garden

There was no question that today was to be a garden day.  The wind had shifted 180 degrees and now came from the south.  Temperatures were forecast to reach near 60 degrees F.  We took no time to check the thermometer there was too much to do.  Getting the pile of leaves off the tree peony was job one.  We prepared this plant for winter by filling the wire cage with fallen maple leaves.  Insulated protection was the goal.  The green dwarf iris leaves at the base told us that it was time to get rid of the leaves.  Bleached yellow iris shoots were totally covered by the leaves.  They should quickly green up now that they are in the light.

Our tree peony has never been happy here.  One or two flowers is the best display it has ever produced.  We picked a good year to try the protective leaf cover as we had no snow this winter.  These buds look promising.  When the frozen leaf mass on the north side of the plant thaws, it will be removed and we will get a look at the entire plant.

This patch of bulbs was well weeded last fall.  Snow never came and the weeds grew over the winter.  A slight tilt to the south warmed this bed early so weeding was a workable option today.

This is one of our most hated weeds.  We do not know its name.  Extensive deep roots spread wide under its insignificant above ground growth.  Removing this monster from the emerging snow drops was a challenge.  Usually the root mass of this weed holds enough soil to make way for a new layer of compost.  Soft freshly thawed soil released these roots today.  Only one snow drop was uprooted by weeding.

This is the other most hated weed.  Its tap root is impressive but was easily pulled today.  I am certain that this weed will regrow if even the smell of the tap root is left in the hole.  Today they pulled cleanly.

The bed is weeded now.  We will see if the bulbs finish flowering ahead of the return of the weeds.  Knowing the names of things allows one to more fully express their feelings.  We have been unable to find the names of either of these pests.  I would really like to be able to attach a proper name to the string of words that spew forth while removing these buggers.

The lemon verbenas were given a brief moment in the sun today.  Some soft leggy new growth was broken off in the wind.  It found its way to the teapot and the plants should do fine.  These plants made the first of many round trips from the basement to the outside today.  June will have arrived before these plants can be safely placed in the garden.

Return of The Dreaded Spider Mites

Once again a wave of invaders threatens my house plants. I have so much hope for my lemon verbenas this year.  So often by this time they look like dead sticks waiting for the compost pile. Ed is getting some winter exercise carrying these plants up the stairs to the bathroom where they get a shower followed by a treatment spray of vodka  and soap. While I am doing that he is vacuuming the spot in front of the basement window to make it ready for their return.

Before the shower I try to remove as many bad leaves as possible. Once the spraying has been done, Ed carries the now much heavier pots back to the basement window sill.

The aroma of vodka has filled the house for several days. The sweet bays had sticky leaves again. Whether the clear liquid is scale barf or something worse makes little difference.  I just want the little suckers to die. This close up of my curry leaf plant looks really good. I think those are flower buds.

A step back reveals that the plant is still looking a pretty pathetic. It did look worse! I have a feeling that this curry leaf plant should be cut back, but when and how?  I'm open to suggestions. This plant has been through a lot already. We look forward to spring and the chance to put these plants outside where the spring breezes, and rain can join in the battle. Some scale and spider mite eating bugs would be nice too!

Lemon Grass, Lemon Verbena, and a Mummy

I dry herbs for tea so we can enjoy them in the winter, but I really miss herb tea made from fresh green plants. One of my favorite herbal blends is a triple lemon tea.  It consists of lemon balm, lemon grass, and lemon verbena.  I don't have lemon balm growing in the house, but today I picked some lemon verbena leaves and lemon grass leaves to make a nice pot of fresh herb tea.

When I picked the lemon verbena leaves, I also picked this leaf that clearly has a resident. My first thought was to toss it into the compost for immediate disposal. But I was curious to know just who lurked in this mummy like cocoon.

I can breathe through a tissue, so I chose that for the top of my jar. I wanted something fine in case whatever hatches out is tiny.

Now the mummy lurks on my kitchen windowsill. If something hatches I will be sure to see it there. Ed thinks it might be a spider. I don't know what it is, but I hope this mummy doesn't come with a curse.

 February 17: Whatever was in the jar escaped into my kitchen. A hole in the tissue was my first clue. Examination of the remains on the leaf showed that something hatched out of a thin shell. Darn I guess it came with a small curse.

December Weeding

This wet bleak December day may not look like a prime gardening day but it does present a rare opportunity to air out the lemon verbenas, Aloysia triphylla, that are over wintering in the basement.  Hardy to zone 8, a day in the light rain with temperatures in the mid 40s should be good for these plants.    A little wet breeze may end some white flies and improve the overall condition of the leaves.
We will have to keep a weather eye open since the temperature may not remain  above freezing for long.  The risk of cold damage is slight as zone 8 lows are in the 10 to 20 degree range.

The usual weeds, catnip, Johnny jump ups and chickweed, were cleared from the pots.  No serious informed gardener would bring unsterilized garden soil inside but we prefer a natural route.  Chemical fertilizer  and soil less mixtures are of no interest to us so we deal with bugs and weeds.

Our patchouli plant hit the compost pile today.  We thought that it had a good year here.  Planted in the shade garden, the plant grew.  It survived the move into the house but went downhill after that. We keep our house too cool for this plant.  Between the chill the spider mites and the scale, it was pretty much dead.  I was surprised to find very little new root growth.  As a mail order plant, it arrived in a small plastic pot that was filled with a soil less mixture.  Swishing the plant in a bucket of water before transplanting removed much of this chemical laden soil but some remained.  The plant roots never really ventured beyond the limits of the original pot.  Others must experience similar problems with nursery plants.  Has anyone found a method  of transplanting that results in vigorous root growth?  There must be a better way and we would like to know what it is.