I just got a good looking stevia from the nursery and i really hope it does well. Anyone else growing stevia? Whats working for you? Whats not working??

Stevia is one of those 'indicator' plants in the garden - the first to wilt, and to send a message that the garden needs watering.

You can put it into a 'self-watering' pot, or you can fill a large soft-drink bottle with water, poke a hole or two in the lid, put on the lid and 'plant' it upside down into the soil of the pot. It will drip-irrigate enough for several days to keep the plant alive while you're away.

Daisy you post the best info, thanks! Any tips on overwinter stevia outside? Im in zone 7 in the mountains, any experience there? What do you do come winter time?

Had stevia inside a sunny windowsill though it wasn't too happy in winter. I bought it as a 4" pot at the end of summer & transplanted into a larger pot. It grew woody at the base and resprouted from the sides. When flowers appeared I cut it back. After 2 years it died.

A plant I'd suggest is Sweet Cicely, Myrrhis odorata grows outside with minimal care and reseeded last year, so now we have 2 seedlings along with our 2 & 1 yr old plants.

We like it in rhubarb and other dishes reducing the sugar. I've tinkered with recipes a bit & seem to prefer 2 tablespoons minced herb to replace 1/2 cup of sugar.

Sometimes I've used too much of the herb and we didn't like it as well. With 8 cups rhubarb we added 1 cup sweet cicely for a crisp. Edible, but rather green and stems were a bit woody.

Now we just use the ferny leaves.

Corrine, is that pronounced like Sicily in Italy? Sounds like its not as finicky as stevia. How did you come across it? Can you make an extract with it to sweeten drinks?

I recently got a stevia plant - it's in intensive care - all leaves are gone but the stem seems viable, with a leaf junction - hoping it will come through for me.....sigh!

any advice on this would be much appreciated!

My Stevia is doing really well in full sun but t bird maybe yours should be in morning light, afternoon shade until it recovers. Also, just keep it watered and check for excellant drainage bc Stevia dont like wet feet and yours would be especially mad right now if the soil stayed too wet. Lay off the fertilizer, it sounds like your plant is too stressed out for that, unless you have it in a potting soil that has no added nutrients, then a little here and there probably be okay. Hopefully your Stevia will recover! I hope I could help you and sorry if i told you stuff you already know :)

thanks Mari! It's just a little guy, so i'll lay of the water - he is well drained, I have him inside, but maybe I should put him in the kitchen window. East facing.

Kitchen window sounds like a good place T, keep us updated! I broke a small leaf off my stevia last night and chewed it to see how sweet it really was and wow! I was actually surprised by how good it was. I think putting the effort into your plant will be well worth it. Goodluck!

Hi, I am very new to the whole gardening life but now that I have started, I AM ADDICTED! I love it and it is so stress relieving. The worms scare me, but I am working on that. I have herbs, tomatoes (cherry and grape), and another kind of tomato that is rather small. I think some of the markers were mixed up at the store. I also have zucchini, and habanero peppers.

I do have a question about Stevia. HOW ON EARTH DO I USE IT? Do I dry it and crush the leaves or just steep it in tea and coffee? Is it possible to boil it and use the water as a sweetner? All of my herbs are beautiful and I am really knowledgeable about how to use the Basil, oregano and the other basic culinary herbs. The rest, I am at a loss. I have been reading, but any ideas?
Sorry about writing a book. I am just so glad to find a garden friendly site. :)