Lemongrass · Xiantao, Hubei, China
When to plant lemongrass in Xiantao
Main outdoor window
11 Apr - 9 May
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
27 February
In Xiantao, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Jun - 30 Nov
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Xiantao
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant divisions
11 Apr - 9 May
Held back until the soil is warm enough for this crop. The frost date on its own would say 13 Mar, which is too cold for it to start. This crop is never fully dormant, so it cannot be planted bare-root in winter.
Harvest
1 Jun - 30 Nov
Lemongrass through the year
Against the frost risk in Xiantao
Why these dates
Plant divisions or rooted stems two weeks after the last frost. Harvest whole stems from the outside of the clump from midsummer, cutting at ground level.
Damaged at about 2C and killed by any real frost. Below zone 9 it will not overwinter outdoors, but a pot cut back to 15cm keeps easily in a cool bright room.
Lemongrass are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. Nor is there a dormant season to plant into: this crop keeps its leaves and keeps growing through the winter, which is exactly why cold damages it. The window on this page therefore waits until the last frost in Xiantao has passed and the soil has begun to warm, giving the roots the longest possible run before the cold returns.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Xiantao is zone 9a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
Growing lemongrass in Xiantao
When should I plant lemongrass in Xiantao?
Aim for 11 Apr - 9 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 11 Apr - 9 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
Can I plant lemongrass earlier in Xiantao?
Frost is finished by about 13 Mar, but the soil is still too cold. Lemongrass will not start until it reaches 18°C (64.4°F), and here that is around 11 Apr. Going in earlier usually means seed that rots or transplants that sit and sulk, and a later sowing catches them up.
When will lemongrass be ready to harvest in Xiantao?
Expect to start picking around 1 Jun - 30 Nov, based on 100 to 150 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will lemongrass tolerate?
Damaged at about 2C and killed by any real frost. Below zone 9 it will not overwinter outdoors, but a pot cut back to 15cm keeps easily in a cool bright room.