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Lemon Verbena/Pineapple Sage

11 years ago

Here in Zone 8 we had an incredible, warm, sunny start to spring, but we had a rainy, somewhat cold snap for about a week, week and a half. I'm worried that my Lemon Verbena may have bolted, and can't for the life of me find anything online about what I should do, if it's just flowering like normal, and if I should or shouldn't snip the flowers. I planted it in the beginning of this Spring and want to make sure it grows as much as possible before winter.

Also, some of the leaves on my Pineapple Sage started turning purple and I'm worried it's from the cold. Should I prune the dark purple leaves?

Thanks in advance!
~~ Kay

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Comments (9)

margowicz
11 years ago
pineapple sage can't get wet it is either a greenhouse herb or a house plant in the uk I got mine indoors on a windowsill coming on well
fatamorgana2121
11 years ago
Pineapple sage - Don't trim the leaves. Let the plant recover on its own. Purple is a color of temperature being too cold.

Lemon verbena is a perennial. Flowering with perennials usually isn't a problem but I haven't had experience with this plant specifically. I usually stick with winter hardy plants for my location.

FataMorgana
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The last month has been amazing for both making fresh herbal teas and drying herbs for teas after all the fresh stuff dies back in the fall and winter. Lemongrass is just one of the things I put in my teapot when making tea, but it's real simple - I cut off a couple stalks a couple inches above the ground, rinse it, and either shove the whole thing in the pot or cut it in two-inch pieces. For drying, I cut it into about six-inch pieces, then once dry I cut it into smaller pieces for addition to my tea blend. Of course, I almost never would put only that in my teapot - I'd also include some mints, some stevia, lemon balm or lemon verbena, pineapple sage, catnip, nettles, bee balm, etc. Of course bee balm is now flowering, and it has a much more sage like flavor, but I have cut and dried some of the flowers to add to my blend (the red flowers add a nice pink color to the tea). It really just depends on what I want. The other day I made a tea with a lot of strawberry mint, some lemon verbena, stevia, and anise hyssop, and a little store-bought green tea (it's looking like it will be years before the tea camelia's I planted will get big enough to supply all the green tea we drink). It was great. I think it's a far better bet to find some fresh lemongrass stalks at an Asian market or some grocery stores, put in a glass with water to see if roots sprout (or straight into a pot keeping the soil moist), and then potting it up. I've kept mine going for years, splitting what was overwintered in a pot each spring, half in the garden, half back in the pot with some fresh potting soil, bringing the pot in before danger of frost. Seed for lemongrass seems like a process that will just take far too much time, particularly for something that really wants full sun and heat but dies if left out in the winter. I want big massive bunches of it fast once it gets hot, because just like lots of other grasses, in the scorching blaze and dryness of late summer lemongrass suffers just like any other grass. I split mine and put some in the garden (here in Virginia) just a little over a month ago, and both the potted and the garden plant are already huge cascading fronds ready for tea.
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CA Kate z9
11 years ago
Lemon Verbena is a small shrub in CA. It flowers several times a year and isn't 'bolting' . I would say that if its flowering its happy. When you make a pitcher of ice tea this summer cut off a piece of stem and put it in the tea.... best ever.

The Pineapple Sage will be fine too.
bohochick
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you all so much for the advice! It definitely helps ease my mind.
seysonn
10 years ago
Not all flowering is "bolting". Bolting happens to annuals like brassica, radish, lettuce and similar cold crops, when the weather gets much warmer. So herbs flowering is not considered "bolting".
bohochick
Original Author
10 years ago
That's good to know. I was just worried since it was a new plant, and we had unseasonably warm weather and then it just changed overnight to rainy, and cold. Now there are winds that are knocking down trees and we're making records for rainfall in my area. I've never grown Lemon Verbena before, and like I said, searching online was giving me nothing. I'm so glad I found this forum!
goodearth
10 years ago
I was under the impression Lemon Verbena did not grown from seeds but from cuttings . Mine never bloomed and it died a few years ago. I would like to get another since it smells and tastes heavenly. Any ideas?
bohochick
Original Author
10 years ago
I didn't grow mine from seed, I bought it as a small plant. This is my first year growing it, so I'm not sure I'm the best advice giver, but so far my plant is doing well. It is growing new leaves and is a bit bigger now than when I bought it. I'm still not comfortable enough to cut anything off of it though. The old leaves are browning and falling off and being replaced by new leaves, but it's still a pretty bare little plant. I know where a lot of people go wrong is not knowing that it's a deciduous shrub. In cold weather it drops its leaves and looks dead until spring, and if it's kept warm enough it'll come back. Maybe your weather wasn't warm enough for it.
balloonflower
10 years ago
You can treat your lemon verbena a little like basil--if you trim it back, it will regrow (in season). Pinching encourages more growth, and more stems. It's also a great one for permaculture--pick the tips off, then just stick them in the ground to root for more plants.

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