“About a month ago I read that lemon grass is a great deterrent for mosquitoes. Well, I have checked every big box store, called all the local nurseries and have not been able to find any. I would like to know if this plant really works against mosquitoes since we’ve had such a problem the last two years with these little ankle-biters. The thought of fragrant lemon scent is so appealing to me. Is there any chance of finding lemon grass to your knowledge or is it not in season right now? I sure hope you can help me.”—Sandra Felicione, Long Beach
Lemon grass is a tropical evergreen grass that grows year-round in Southern California. The reason you don’t see lemon grass in nurseries is probably due to its lack of visual appeal. This holds true for many ornamental grasses, as well. The sight of a scraggly clump of grass does not attract the attention of those perusing aisles filled with visually attractive nursery fare.
However, I did locate a nursery in Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe that not only grows lemon grass, but will have it delivered to your door. You can find lemon grass at mountainvalleygrowers.com. There is a six-plant minimum for mail orders, but you can order six different plants and Mountain Valley Growers has several hundred herbs, many of them lemon-scented, from which to choose. When you reach the website, search “lemon” and an abundance of selections will appear.
Lemon grass is thought to be the “fragrant cane” (Exodus 30:23) mentioned as one of the spices used for manufacture of the holy oil used for anointing the vessels of the portable sanctuary utilized by the Children of Israel during their 40-year trek from Egypt to the Promised Land. It was the same oil used for anointing Aaron and the other kohanim (priests) who performed the ritual service.
You can order both lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) and citronella grass (Cymbopogon nardus) from Mountain Valley Growers. In truth, lemon grass is used primarily for cooking. According to the Sunset Western Garden Book, the procedure from harvest to table is as follows: “Cut off the thick, bulbous stems just above the crown (ground level). Only the bottom third of each stalk is used; the bigger the better. Peel off the outer sheath and finely slice or pound the inner stem for salads or cooking. The sharp-edged blades (the upper part of the stems) are too tough to eat.” However, instead of discarding the upper stems, you can soak them in hot water for tea.
Always wear long sleeves and gloves when planting or harvesting lemon grass since the sharp edges of its leaves will readily cut into your skin. By the same token, if you want to keep prowling nocturnal animals out of your garden, surround it with lemon grass which serves as a natural barrier to raccoons, skunks, and rodents.
Citronella grass is the species famous for the oil that serves as a mosquito repellent. Natural mosquito repellent products – whether lotions, sprays, or candles — invariably contain citronella oil. Be aware, however, that citronella grass is not used for cooking and is frost-sensitive. If it regularly freezes in your area (north of Granada Hills, for example), remove it from the ground in November, transplant it to a container, and overwinter it indoors next to a sunny window.
Both lemon grass and citronella grass may be crushed and rubbed against the skin to deter mosquitos. But whether applying either of these grasses or pure citronella oil or products that contain the oil to your skin, confine initial use to a small area. Wait two days to make sure you do not experience an allergic reaction before making more liberal applications.
If you like lemon-scented foliage, there are a large number of groundcovers from which to choose and thyme is at the top of the list. At Mountain Valley Growers, you can select from four lemon-scented thymes – Goldstream (green and gold variegated), classic lemon thyme used for cooking (Thymus citriodorus), Pink Lemonade (with profuse pink flowers), Doone Valley (also with pink flowers), and Lemon Frost. Thymes that hug the ground may be used as replacement plants for small lawns or as filler plants between pavers used in entryways or garden paths.
There are five lemon-scented geraniums, which include Rober’s Lemon Rose, Lemon Balm scented geranium (whose leaves reach the size of the palm of your hand), Crispum (with delicately toothed leaf margins), Prince Rupert (variegated Crispum), and Fingerbowl (tiny Crispum type leaves the size of dimes).
And then there is lemon balm. If you want to live for a century or more, it might be wise to grow this herb. According to “A Modern Herbal” (Dover Publications, 1971), Englishman John Hussey lived to the age of 116, making his breakfast tea from lemon balm mixed with honey. Hussey imbibed this beverage every morning for the last 50 years of his life.
Balm, incidentally, is an abbreviated form of balsam – any sweet resinous oil derived from a plant, be it a rock rose, a pine tree or an herb.
Melissa officinalis is the scientific name for lemon balm. Melissa is the Greek word for honeybee and refers to the fact that bees “are delighted with this herb above all others,” to quote John Gerard, a 16th-century herbalist. Officinalis means “of closets or shops,” referring both to monastery closets where herbs were stored and to apothecary shops where they were sold. When a plant name includes the word “officinalis,” a medicinal use is understood, as in Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) and Salvia officinalis (garden sage).
In Gerard’s day, there was no distinction between the disciplines of botany and medicine. In order to call yourself a doctor – or more precisely, a healer – you were required to be an expert in the curative properties of plants. By the same token, an herbalist was someone who made sick people well through prescribing the appropriate tincture, decoction, vermifuge or tea – all derived from plants. Gerard himself was both a surgeon and a garden superintendent.
Like many of its cousins in the mint family (Lamiaceae), lemon balm is not difficult to grow. In the San Fernando Valley, it prefers a partial sun exposure and, to look its best, regular watering. To keep it compact and lush, lemon balm should be cut to ground level at summer’s end. The plant may live up to six years and is easy to propagate from shoot tip cuttings. And, while you’re at it, don’t forget about Mrs. Burns’ lemon basil (Ocimum basilicum var. citriodora).
A lemon-scented gum (Eucalyptus citriodora) would be the logical choice to tower over your garden of lemony plants. True, eucalyptus trees are susceptible to breakage and even toppling over. Still, this is a tree whose alabaster trunk and lemon fragrance impart an unmatched ambience. A wonderful specimen can be seen on a low hill near the Little League baseball diamond at Van Nuys – Sherman Oaks Park.
Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla) is a tall shrub which, it is generally agreed, has the strongest lemon fragrance of any plant. Its habit of growth is willowy and its white flowers, though not spectacular, are worthy of a second look. Like lemon balm, this plant must be well-watered in the summer to look its best but will grow well enough with a single weekly soaking.
For the vegetable garden, grow French sorrel (Rumex scutatus). The leaves of this plant, when chewed, make a refreshing lemony pick-me-up. You can eat the young leaves or just chew on them, enjoying the juice. Just don’t overdo it since oxalate crystals in its leaves can cause kidney stones if too much foliage is consumed. Redvein or bloody dock (Rumex sanguineus), whose leaves have a similarly citrusy taste, is a bog or pond plant that is suitable for a water garden.
Tip of the Week: Copper Canyon daisy (Tagetes lemmonii) or shrub marigold is a wonderful woody perennial that blooms most of the time, showing off yellow-orange flowers. A member of the marigold genus, it is identifiable by its fragrance as much as by its heavy bloom habit and finely cut dark green foliage. I have always found its scent to be sweet and satisfying although some people find it offensive. That fragrance has been compared more to tangerines than to lemons, as the species name lemmonii honors John and Sara Lemmon, plant explorers in the early 20th century. Copper Canyon daisy blooms so long and so heavily that it appears to exhaust itself from the effort and, although growing over six feet tall, does not normally survive beyond its fourth or fifth birthday. Tagetes nelsonii is another powerfully citrus-scented marigold; it grows into a handsome three-foot shrub and is available at Mountain Valley Growers.
