Planting guide

When to plant lemongrass

Tall, lemony stalks for Thai curries and teas; likes warmth and plenty of water. In Melbourne it goes in Oct–Jan.

Start as: Potted plant or Seedling
Ready in: 13–21 wks
Spacing: 60 cm
Depth: 0 cm
Sun: Full sun (6+ hours)
Water: Plenty
Effort: Easy
Frost-tender: Yes, plant after the last frost

When it goes in

● means lemongrass can go in that month, ○ means wait. Worked out from each town's climate zone and season, the way planting guides do it. Pick your town for the full list for that month.

Australian towns and cities
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sydney	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Melbourne	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Brisbane	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Perth	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Adelaide	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Gold Coast	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Newcastle	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Sunshine Coast	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Canberra	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Central Coast	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Geelong	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Wollongong	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Hobart	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Townsville	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Cairns	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Toowoomba	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Darwin	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Ballarat	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Mandurah	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Bendigo	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Launceston	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Mackay	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Rockhampton	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Coffs Harbour	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Blue Mountains	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Bunbury	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Bundaberg	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Alice Springs	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Mildura	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Port Macquarie	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●

Around the world
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Auckland	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Wellington	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Christchurch	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
London	○	○	○	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Manchester	○	○	○	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Edinburgh	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Dublin	○	○	○	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
New York City	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Los Angeles	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○
Chicago	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Seattle	○	○	○	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Austin	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○
Toronto	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Vancouver	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Cape Town	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Johannesburg	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Singapore	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Mumbai	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Paris	○	○	○	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Berlin	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○

How to plant lemongrass

Plant a potted clump or a rooted stalk in rich soil after the frosts.
Water well in the warm months.
Cut stalks at the base when as thick as a pencil.
Cut back dead leaves in late winter and shelter from frost.

Lemongrass varieties

Classic varieties are the reliable, widely grown ones. Adventurous ones are heirlooms, odd colours and rarities.

West Indian Lemongrass Classicheat-tolerant · heavy-cropper · 13–21 wksThe common culinary type with thick, juicy stalks
Common Lemongrass Classicpot-friendly · heat-tolerant · 13–21 wksGood for tea and cooking, happy in a big pot

Where to buy seedlings

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Lemongrass by month

Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec

More to plant

Basil · Thai Basil · Parsley · Coriander · Dill · Chives

Not sure lemongrass is right for your space? Answer a few taps and see everything that can go in this week.

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