Lemon Verbena

[Liberty7]

This is the first time I picked up a plant of Lemon Verbena at the nursery the other day; and, W O W, it really does smell EXACTLY like lemon!!

I'll be using the leaves when I make sun tea this summer.

This plant is a perennial in hot climates, and I'm in Zone 4b; so, it's used as an annual here.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi there!

I live in the UK, I am unfamiliar with the term 'sun tea', could you tell me how it's made please.

I make a version of 'Limoncello' with Lemon Verbena but that is very alcoholic.....!!

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[robbobbin]

I make sun tea with several of my herbs. I tie fresh herbs in cheese cloth-to act as tea bag. But I also use regular teabags from the store.
I use a container with a lid or pitcher with plastic wrap over top to keep debris/bugs out.
Add tea/herb to container filler with water. Secure lid/cover. Then sit in full sunny area until desired color/strength of tea. YUMMY! and it only takes a short time to make, actually.

 

[digitS']

Lemon Verbena can make it thru your zone 4, Liberty, MAYBE . I get it thru a zone 5 winter, along with my rosemary, on the floor of my unheated greenhouse. Anytime the temps drop below 15F, I cover them with a heavy quilt. Unfortunately, they may spend a week under the quilt sometimes but many, many nights anyway. The verbena comes out of there in the spring looking like HE - double hockey sticks. But, it stages a comeback better than the rosemary and looks just fine now. There are a half-dozen out in their pots in my backyard right now .

The rosemary fares worse but I've kept the rosemary on the basement floor where the light from a window sweeps across them every day (every day that we have winter sun, anyway). I didn't have the verbena back in those days and after losing half of the rosemary one winter :/ decided to use the greenhouse instead.

Lemon Verbena is the best "stand alone" herbal tea I have. But, it is just super in a mix and always adds something to any "blend" that I've tried!

You can make sun tea in the fridge - oh, yeah ! It takes about 3 times longer but doesn't get cloudy in there. Tastes real good.

By the way, this is how I became convinced that my fridge light comes back on after I close the door. How else would this work to make "sun" tea?? To absolutely confirm this - - I'd try climbing in the fridge myself and having DW close the door but, you know . . . .

Steve's digits

 

[Sylvie]

I consider lemon verbena the gold standard for herbal tea.
I like it better than actual lemons because it has a floral nuance to it.

I'm in zone 5 and have never had luck over wintering it. Maybe I'll try Steve's idea and cover it inside. I lost a lot of stuff this winter that survived outside for the 10 years, so maybe we got tweaked to a zone 3 or 4 for a bit.

 

[big brown horse]

I love lemon verbena! (When the kitties lay on it they smell like lemons too!) I agree it makes fantastic herbal tea.

 

[digitS']

I have to say that I don't squeeze a lemon juice into much of anything, including my tea. Sometimes on fish . . .

My appreciation of lemon verbena may have as much to do with Sylvie's described nuance as the flavor/fragrance of lemons.

The neighbors' cats must smell like my catnip . . .

Steve

 

[Greenthumb18]

Yep, Lemon Verbena is a nice herb :bee , i actually bought it last year by mistake, i thought it was another herb but i'm glad i got it. I thought it wasn't a hardy herb, i have it in a pot and bring it indoors for the winter in zone 6.
Just wish it would grow more leaves quickly i use it too often.

 

[HiDelight]

Just harvested the seeds from the lemon verbena plant ..it is was so beautiful this year nice thick base now

I can not smell it right now because the house is overwhelmed with the Epazote

I used the stems as skewers for shrimp like you do with rosemary ..wow very good flavor!!!!

anyway a bump for lemon verbena

..I make a nice strong sweet tea and then add some gelatine and coconut milk and make a really nice dessert out of it

 

[digitS']

HiDelight, this Lemon Verbena and Jasmine pearls tea that I will be able to enjoy as soon as it has finished steeping - what would I do with it to make it a dessert?

Would I mix with coconut milk, bring it to a boil and then stir in gelatin?

That would do it? . . . maybe a spoonful of sugar . . .

Steve