Lemon Verbena

[pippy]

OH was doing his slow commute from the south in the traffic last night and rang me to say he was at RHS Wisley and did I want anything?  :o :o  Well of course I did ... probably tons of things :P if I could have been there, but I said Lemon Verbena or some Feverfew seeds, and lo and behold, bless him he has brought both.  The Lemon Verbena smells gorgeous and is in a fascinating coir pot which you can plant directly, so very environmentally friendly!

The label says it is half hardy, so I am planning on putting it into a pot, but I was wondering if any of you up in the Midlands could recommend whether it will overwinter outside of if I will need to bring it into the conservatory?  Our garden is north facing and very waterlogged clay in winter so I think a pot will be best.

Will be sowing some feverfew later on this morning! :D  He also brought a horseradish root, but thats for him ;D ;D.

[pippy]

[Deb P]

I've lost count of the number of lemon verbena plants I've lost over the years....don't risk it outdoors! Take lots of cuttings from your parent plant and overwinter them in a frost free place. I love the smell of this plant, lemon sherberts, mmmmmm! ;D

[pippy]

Oh thanks for that Debs. :)  I will aim to bring it into the conservatory in the winter then. 

I think I will need to grow it on for a bit before I can take cuttings, but with luck I'll be able to do some in July?  I'm also looking forward to some herbal teas with it when it's established, but that may be next year. :P

[Deb P]

They can grow fast and end up quite leggy, so any prunings later on should root easily. ;D

[pippy]

Looking forward to  that then - I've  wanted one for ages! ;D ;D

[Deb P]

What a considerate OH you have....I think you were most restrained in your requests! ;D

[pippy]

If i'd known he was going I probaby wouldn't have been ;)!  He caught me just as I was juggling the kids tea so not much time to think .... and I've never been to Wisley so I had no idea what they would have in their shop. 

Apparently it is vast, with huge sections just for each variety of plant.  OH said it's the only place hes been where he could imagine going round with an exotic list, choosing grasses from a whole room of them, and so on.

Perhaps I'm just a bit provincialised, but the garden centres we have around here are very basic!

He didn't go in the garden  as he'd chiefly stopped of for a break and coffee, so I will put it on my list of places to go to when the kids are older and less likely to knock over a precious (and expensive) pot ;D ;D.

[pippy]

....  and yes, he is considerate - I am very lucky. :)

[saddad]

I managed to keep one for half a dozen years in the 90's but always put it into a greenhouse for the winter... haven't got one at the moment so if either of you are doing cutting at the end of the year...  :)

[Pesky Wabbit]

I managed to keep one for half a dozen years in the 90's but always put it into a greenhouse for the winter... haven't got one at the moment so if either of you are doing cutting at the end of the year...  :)

LV or OH ?

[shirlton]

Thats what I thought. ;D

[saddad]

LV OH has been the same since @1980...  :)

[pippy]

I shall have a go at doing cuttings next month ... so far my only forays into cuttings have been with thyme, rosemary and mint which all "take" quite easily, so it will be a new venture for me  ;) !