I love the smell of lemongrass: fresh, clean and zesty. My favourite way to use it up is in this lemongrass drink that I learned from one of my favorite local restaurants. Back then, lemongrass was a hard-to-find ingredient and since I’d never tried it in a drink, it was difficult for me to figure what the chef had added to a mundane sweet soda. The waiter was kind enough to share the recipe, and now I can make it myself at home. Now I’m even more thrilled because I can have my favourite drink whenever I want because I finally grow my own lemongrass!
And you know the good news? Growing lemongrass is child’s play. All you need to do is plonk the stalks that you buy at the supermarket into a jar filled with about an inch or so of water and just watch it grow! Within just two days you will see the roots sprout and you know you’re on your way to a bountiful lemongrass garden. Just a pot or two will do the trick, so even for those of you who, like me, live in apartments, growing your own lemongrass is so easy.
Just keep changing the water every day or every second day at most. In about three to four weeks, the lemongrass would have grown about 2 inches of roots. Now is when you can transfer the lemongrass sapling to the soil. Keep it watered well, but make sure the soil isn’t soaked in water. It can withstand a good amount of sunlight as well.
Have a look at these weekly progress photos in case, just like me, you didn’t believe that growing lemongrass could be this easy:
Oh, and here’s an old post I had written back in 2007 about lemongrass. What’s special to me about that post is that it was the first ever post on PurpleFoodie.com!
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{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
>This is one of the most exciting blog posts I have ever seen. THANK YOU for sharing this information, I never would have thought of this!
>Hi Shaheen, sorry to sound completely clueless, but does one pluck the leaves and crush them? Does the plant give off a scent or only when we use it as an ingredient? I'd really like to try growing lemongrass since I love the scent too. Would you know any South Bombay supermarkets that stock it?
>Just yesterday, I was attending this Thai cuisine class and the chef gave us the leftover lemon grass stubs to grow at home. Too bad, I dont have a garden right now.
Can it grow in a mid-size pot that can be left out in the gallery/patio?
I am still getting over the shock that your awesome pictures are from a point and shoot
>thank you….seems simple
>It's almost bamboo like! Very nice, Thank you
>I never thought that it is this easy to grow lemongrass. My mom loves it so i might as well start having some on my backyard.
>Awesome!!! Not only are you a great cook but have other talents as well.
You do take the term "cooking from scratch" seriously don't you by growing your own veggies.
I would have never thought of growing lemon grass myself.. and that to how simple it is.
Loved it.
>Hey, I'm sorry I missed linking to the post where I'd earlier written about lemongrass. here it is: http://www.purplefoodie.com/2007/09/fragrance-of-lemongrass-never-ceases-to.html If you still have questions about it, then let me know! Nature's basket should definitely be stocking it..
>hehehe thank you fazela!
I don't have a garden either.. I just grow it in that small pot by my windowsill. I say, go for it! Btw, where did you attend the Thai cooking class?
>thank you so much, Vinita! It's a lot of fun to grow your own herbs. i wish I had more space to grow veggies!
>The Santa Clara community center offers classes for different cuisines. I am planning to take some of the weekend classes at Professional Culinary Institute next month.
Its wonderful to see the chefs cook and then try the stuff yourself and then – the best part – eat!!!
>Not only does lemongrass withstand sunlight, but the flavour gets more intense when it's sunny.
>that's so luxuriant, i grew my own too similarly…then it died cos i cut it too close to the roots….and now am onto my second set…. i didnt have such luxuriant roots in the water, but it seems to be doing fine in the soil… nice post…
>This is total 'WOW' !! I always had lemon grass growing in my mom's garden, didnt think it was this easy…thanks for sharing !
>Nice nice… Think I will grow it when I get a pad of my own! I love its flavour in tea and I didn't know that you weren't fond of thai food!! I want to know if there's a way of cutting the stalk so that I don't damage the rest of the plant? You see I am new at this : )
>Thanks for sharing! Loved your site.
>your blog is a pandora -box with variety of surprises.Please let me know how to grow other herbs in clay pots.
Happy exploring.
abha
>Now I know what I'm going to do with the extra lemongrass stalks I bought the other day
>I am so going to do this soon. Thank you! I am a lemongrass addict!
>I am definitely going to do this. Thank you!
>hey! this is a great post, I grow lemon grass too,,like it in my chai
its really easy to maintain as well, even mint is quite easy to grow at home.
>Thanks! I'll look into this. By the by, you've been awarded. Over on my page.
>I am so trying this. Friends had told me before how easy this was. What a great thing to have fresh lemongrass at your beckon without having to race to the store.
>I often avoid adding lemongrass because it's so inconvenient to buy and sometimes hard to find. Love this, saw it on Foodgawker, and really enjoy your site. Thanks.
>Cool idea! Tropical plants are such vibrant growers. I'll never forget my first lesson in this when I was living in Hawaii. A friend showed me how to start jasmine starts by just cutting off the branches and sticking them in the ground! I, too, am growing a lemon grass in the house. We can not find any lemon grass down here, so I have to grow it. Thanks for the great post!
>This is SUPER cool!
I'm in love with the smell/flavor of lemongrass, but I have the worst green-thumb ever, so I can't wait to give this (apparently) easy-to-grow plant a try…
Thanks for the fantastic idea
>oooooh! I did NOT know this! I'm going to grow my own lemongrass too! Thanks for the tip!
>I love lemon grass. Can't wait to grow my own!
>I have to try that
Love lemongrass. Used to do some lemonade with it (and with ginger) 
>I can't wait to get a stalk of lemongrass this week. I just used one and threw out the little bit I had left yesterday. What a shame I got to your blog too late to save the little guy.
This is great information.
I love the look and feel of your blog. It's clean and fresh which makes it easy to read.
>Brilliant! Just Brilliant. Thanks!
>Hey there! I was so excited about doing this I immediately ran out and bought some lemongrass, and came home and plunked it in a jar of water. Its been almost 3 weeks and I have no signs of life … what happened?
Is it possible some lemongrass is irradiated to prevent us from growing our own? Or did I just get some duds? I did purchase it from my local healthy-foodie store (rather than Safeway) but I'm not sure if it was organic.
Been changing the water every 3 days. Its sitting in a window that gets direct sun for only about 1-2 hours a day but is otherwise light. What up? Thoughts? I really want this to work!
Thanks!
>Hey Lisa! Is the stalk of he lemongrass to thick? Because a friend of mine tried to grow one that was pretty thick and it just didn't sprout. I bought a second set of stalks and they took a little longer to spout, but sprout they did. Since lemongrass is a tropical herb, I suggest yo let it get a little more sun before tossing it. Here, my plant gets the sun for a good 12 hours.
>Thanks. I guess I will try again. When I bought them I got the greenest ones they had but they are rather large. Where do you live that you get 12 hours of sunlight? ;-p My kitchen window in Northern CA faces west so I get plenty but perhaps now that its warm I should put them outside. Will let you know!
Update: I’ve got roots! A few days after your reply I noticed one of the lemongrass stalks had sprouted a root, and a few days later the second one did. Still waiting on the 3rd but I’ve added a few new slender ones to increase my yield. Thanks! I’m psyched!
Now if I could only get a kaffir lime tree goin’ I’d be all set!
lisa you can get kaffir lime trees in northern ca – four winds growers nursery has them and i got one at a big cvs in oakland that has a nursery section.
PS: a man at the SE Asian grocery said his family does the same thing when they have leftover Thai Basil. hmmmnnnnn.
Lisa! I stay in Bombay and it’s 100F here! I’m so happy to hear that your lemongrass sprouted! Thai basil? who would have thought! It’s a pity it isn’t easily available here…
I bought a small Thai Basil plant at Home Depot last year and now have a full 10-inch pot of it. Look at Home Depot or Lowe’s for herbs. They don’t have lemon grass (had to order mine on Ebay), but they do have cilantro, different types of parsley and basil, rosemary, and a lot of the basics.
Oh lovely! I might need to smuggle some Thai basil when I come to the US next!
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