Verbena, Lemon

Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora)
Also known as: Lemon Beebrush, Vervain*

Lemon Verbena is a beloved aromatic herb known for its intensely bright, lemony fragrance and flavor. Native to South America, this tender perennial shrub thrives in warm, sunny gardens and makes an exceptional tea plant, offering calming and digestive-supportive effects. With delicate lance-shaped leaves and airy sprays of pale lavender-white flowers, Lemon Verbena adds elegance and functionality to herb gardens, permaculture beds, and containers. Its high essential oil content and sweet citrus aroma make it a favorite among herbalists, tea lovers, and pollinators alike.

Key Characteristics

• Digestive and Calming Herb – Leaves for Tea
  The lemon-scented leaves are used fresh or dried to make a gentle herbal tea that supports digestion, eases cramping, and calms the nervous system. Traditionally used in European and South American herbal medicine, Lemon Verbena is a mild sedative and antispasmodic, perfect for stress, indigestion, and bedtime tea blends.

• Fragrant Culinary and Wellness Uses
  Beyond tea, the leaves are used to flavor syrups, jams, desserts, vinegars, and even savory dishes. The essential oil is prized in perfumery and aromatherapy for its uplifting and cleansing effects, and the dried leaves can be added to potpourris and sachets.

• Pollinator-Friendly Summer Blooms
  Lemon Verbena produces clusters of tiny pale purple-white flowers from July through September, attracting bees, butterflies, and hoverflies. While its foliage is the primary harvest, the late-season blooms offer ecological value in pollinator habitats.

• Versatile Garden and Container Plant
  Lemon Verbena thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, growing as a woody shrub in warm zones and an annual or overwintered container plant in colder regions. It fits beautifully into herb spirals, sunny patios, and sensory gardens, and is a great choice for regenerative garden designs in zone 8 and up.

Product Details

• Native range: South America (Argentina, Chile, Peru)

• Plant life cycle: Tender perennial (grown as annual in cold zones)

• Sun requirements: Full sun

• Soil requirements: Medium, well-drained

• Mature height: 3–6 feet (can be pruned to size)

• Bloom time: July to September

• Bloom color: Pale lavender to white

• USDA Hardiness zones: 8–11 (grow in containers or as annual in zones 4–7)

Lemon Verbena is one of the finest herbs for tea, aroma, and garden delight. Its sweet citrusy leaves and late-season blooms bring fragrance, flavor, and calm to any garden space.