Lemon verbena grows best on well-drained, slightly poor alkaline soil but tolerates a range of average soils. It needs regular moisture to remain leafy. In warm climates, it needs a little shade and can become a large, lanky shrub. Prune it regularly to keep it in bounds and to prompt new growth and fresh crops of leaves. In temperate to cool climates, it grows best in full sun, dies back over winter and remains a small shrub. Where not hardy, it can be grown in a container and brought indoors for the winter. Where hardy, it can also be grown as a herbaceous perennial by pruning it to the ground in winter.

• Commonly referred to as Lemon Verbena in North America
• Commonly referred to as Herb Louisa in Europe