I was hoping someone with experience with lemon verbena would chime in since I have none. What I would do is take cuttings of the top growth and start new plants with them. This plant just looks too scraggly and lanky to be saved as it is, in my opinion. Better to start anew.

Plus it really needs a lot more light than it's getting. Outdoors would be the best for it, if it's possible. But you'll have to gradually acclimate it to sunlight and outdoor conditions (it's called hardening off).

Rodney

thank you!!! I think i should give up on growing lemon verbena since I don't have the conditions to grow it indoors. No outdoor option and the grow light/sun I'm getting seems like it's not enough. I will keep that in mind if i ever move to a place where I have the option to grow it outside. Thank you.

You mention a grow light. Grow lights need to be fairly close to the plants for them to be sufficient. And you can put a piece of cardboard wrapped in foil behind the lemon verbena (opposite of the window) so that it reflects the sunlight back onto the plant. While it's still far from ideal it might help a bit.

Rodney

I've been growing lemon verbena in pots for years (here in zone 7 it won't make it outdoors all year). I've had times the leaves drop, and my normal course is to cut all the stems back to no more than a few inches. Once ready to grow it will send up lots of new shoots from that base. Usually, when I move it outside after last frost, my LV are little more than a base of 4 or 5 inches, but within a month I'm cutting whole stems, 6 to 8", for tea. I continue to cut these long stems back to the first leaf pair off the base, getting multiple stems next time. I've been getting at least five years out of my LV plants, but I'm usually considering starting new ones about that time.