Stevia

Herb · warm season · also called sweetleaf

Bright green stevia leaves
Photo: Flyingbikie (Robert Lynch, Melbourne/Australia), Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

When to plant

  • Start seeds indoors about 8 weeks before planting out.
  • Plant outdoors about 2 weeks after your average last spring frost.
  • Ready to harvest about 90 days after planting out.

Leaves are sweetest just before flowering; harvest then.

Frost dates depend on where you live. Enter your ZIP code to get exact dates.

Growing basics

Sun
Full sun (6+ hours)
Spacing
18 in
Soil temperature
At least 60°F
Time to harvest
About 90 days
Containers
At least 2 gallons
Plant family
Lettuce and daisy family
Harvest per plant
About 0.2 lb
Seeds keep
About 2 years

Companions

Keep apart: Horseradish. Horseradish spreads aggressively. Give it its own spot.

Keep apart: Mint. Mint spreads aggressively into neighbors. Keep it in a pot.

Keep apart: Fennel (bulb). Fennel slows the growth of most garden plants. Grow it on its own.

Keep apart: Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke). Sunchokes spread aggressively and shade neighbors.

Grow it well

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