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Post by chrysanthemum on May 5, 2024 14:19:54 GMT -6
I’ve for a number of years toyed with the idea of growing stevia in order to add leaves to smoothies for a natural sweetener. I’ve never taken the plunge before this year, though. I had read that stevia is hard to germinate, but this year I wanted to replace the rosemary that we left behind in Texas as part of our landscaping. I figured that if I was going to try rosemary from seed, I might as well try stevia, too. I got seeds from Baker Creek, and planted two plugs of each. I seeded generously but got sprouts in each. The picture below shows both stevia plants in back and one of the rosemary plants in the middle. I’ve been growing these on since late February or early March, and I’ve already topped one of the stevia plants. The leaves are very, very sweet, just likepowdered stevia. I taste bitterness in powdered stevia, and I taste it in the leaves, too, but I think it’s less strong since it’s not so concentrated. These haven’t grown large enough for me to try my smoothie experiment [and my good blender is still in storage while we await our new home], but I did tear up a few leaves yesterday to top some homemade yogurt and garden-grown strawberries. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked. ![](https://i.ibb.co/njZDtHT/IMG-3924.jpg) ![](https://i.ibb.co/3cT2xPL/IMG-3925.jpg) The stevia has been outdoors in the nursery bags for some time now, but after this photo was taken, I put it in a large pot near the garden. I hadn’t considered whether deer might eat it when I had it outside the fence, but it at least survived the night. I’m looking forward to seeing what it does this summer.
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Post by macmex on May 5, 2024 19:00:07 GMT -6
If I recall correctly there is some variation between seedlings. When one finds a superior one, then they can multiply it through cuttings. I am not positive of that, but that's what I recall.
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Post by chrysanthemum on May 6, 2024 17:26:35 GMT -6
I’ve read that one can start new plants by rooting cuttings, similar to basil but perhaps not quite as easy, so what you say makes sense. Since it’s not hardy in our zone, I think I’ll try to root some cuttings in the late summer to keep small plants inside through the winter.
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