Looking for Lemon Grass!

I just read somewhere that someone grows lemon grass and uses it to make tea. Sounded great so I looked it up and it says it's a perennial and can be grown in my zone 3. SOOOOO....I want some!!!! Anybody have some they can trade with me? I don't know if this stuff grows by seed or if I have to get roots. Maybe someone can enlighten me??? Thanks! AuntyB

Hi Aunty B, Lemongrass 'Cymbopogon citratus' is only available by root (as far as I am aware, and only offered by root by the local herb company, not by seed).

Have you tried an Asian market? Out here in Beaitiful BC, we have a huge Asian population and Lemongrass is readily available everywhere. Sometimes it comes with the root still on, but have never tried to grow it as can buy it in the grocery store.

gardendragon....poppysue just told me that she's got some seeds for me for lemon grass. I'm waiting to find out for sure what the deal is. gone2seed said he (or she?) has lemon grass but it has never flowered. Since I'm getting so many different opinions, I'm going to keep searching on the net and see what I can find out that way too.

I have lemongrass. We propagate it by division. It is an excellent plant to grow for tea, cooking, and general "smelling"! If you see it at a market (perhaps Asian as gardendragon mentioned above) you can easily root it in a glass of water if it has a tiny bit of root, or rootlet. I'd be happy to send you a sprig if you like. You're gonna love the smell of it! (course now, lemon balm also offers the same-type smell, and is even better for tea and potpourri, and has been proven to elevate the mood and general well-being). Feel free to holler if you like.

Horseshoe: This is AuntyB HOLLERING!!! *lol* Would love some!!! Maybe you could also give me pointers on making tea with it? Do you mix it with something else to make tea or use it alone, etc? Also...Is it a house-plant or do you plant it in your garden outside? I really need to read up on this! :-) Thanks!

I have lemongrass. I don't have enough to share yet...don't know if I ever will. I weave grass braids from it and hang for potpourris. It is also good IN potpourris. Park Seed carries the plant. I don't know about starting it from seed. Mine don't flower (or haven't yet) or make seed. It is from Thailand I believe. They use it in cooking (very good with fish). It makes a lemony tea. I don't believe it will be hardy in your zone though. I'm wondering who gave you that information. I experimented with it in my zone 7b on the south side of my house for a winter. I lost it. I give mine a hair cut and winter them over in a cool greenhouse. They are a very decorative grass in the flower beds. Mine get to about 3' and 2-3' spread. They are fountainlike in their growth. I grow one by the back door so that when you brush against it you get than lemon scent. I grow them in large pots and bury the pots in the beds. They're easy to move this way. Mine do well in part-shade (morning sun). I don't know how they would do in your part...they could probably take more sun. Almost everything here prefers a little shade in the afternoon. They like good drainage and water.

What if I grow it in a pot in my house for the winter, just setting it out in the summer?

That would probably do just fine. I did that the first year I had them. I put them in a West window. Although they didn't flourish and got a bit leggy, they recovered quickly when put outside in the spring. Probably more light would have been better.