Growing Stevia

Growing your own stevia is a great way to add this wonderful sweetener to your diet. Here are some tips for stevia harvesting and stevia cultivation.

This perennial is quite tender in warm climates, but is an annual in colder climates. Stevia typically grows into a bush that can be as high as 80 centimeters and typically can be almost as wide as that. The leaves are several to 8 or 9 centimeters long, and the leaves have sharp and ragged looking, serrated style edges. Stevia produces white flowers that are small and could be compared to heather flowers.

You can propagate stevia utilising seeds or by using cuttings from the tips, the cuttings need to be taken in summer. Roots can be divided in the springtime. Seeds are often not fertile and can also be very slow to germinate.

Flowering of the stevia plant generally takes place 50-105 days after transplantation. The plant is most suited climatically to temperate or sub-tropical areas wherever temperatures range between 21 and 43°C. It will also grow in the tropical zone, wherever it favors shade and will likewise spring up in cool climes with wintertime protective covering. Plants that are off to a good start in the ground can take some light frost however, though it is fairly temperamental. It also tends to be slow to grow initially. However, even when given the best possible conditions to grow in, stevia can often lose its leaves or die without warning. Though so long as the roots are still alive, the stevia plant may  still regrow from the dead plant. Well drained soil is strongly suggested. Mulching is also recommended, so that the roots don't dry out.

To grow stevia in colder climates, it is advised that it be planted in larger pots. When planting it in larger pots, it's easy to move the plant around for better temperature control. If you have a greenhouse, veranda or other protected area in the wintertime, then it is recommended you move the plant to those areas. In these colder climates, the plant may go dormant. It's best to plant several stevia plants together for better support.

The stevia plant does require consistent watering, however it does not like waterlogged soil or salty soil. Where stevia naturally grows in South America, it grows wild in acidic soils that are typically around 4 or 5 pH. However, it can also do well in soil all the way up to 9 pH. The plant does well with fertilizer such as a seaweed tea, applied to the leaves every few weeks. When the plant flowers, the production of leaves slows. So, you can get more leaves by nipping the flower buds. When the plant flowers, the leaves that are on the tips of the plant may be more bitter. If you enjoy using stevia leaves for tea and other flavoring uses, then be sure to avoid using the tip leaves, as they are the reason for any bitter after taste you may find with stevia. If the plant goes to flower, it will eventually die, so it is vital to keep cutting it back to avoid this.