Growing stevia as a sweet herb

*Stevia rebaudiana* is a short-day perennial from the Amambay region of Paraguay and Brazil, grown in temperate North America as a warm-season annual. The leaves contain steviol glycosides -- primarily stevioside and rebaudioside A -- that are 200-300 times sweeter than sucrose by weight, per USDA.

Stevia rebaudiana is a short-day perennial from the Amambay region of Paraguay and Brazil, grown in temperate North America as a warm-season annual. The leaves contain steviol glycosides — primarily stevioside and rebaudioside A — that are 200-300 times sweeter than sucrose by weight, per USDA Agricultural Research Service. This makes it one of the most useful herbs a kitchen gardener can grow: a single plant produces enough dried leaf material to sweeten beverages for months.

I don't grow stevia at my Long Island plot. The growing season is barely long enough to make it worthwhile, and the flavor of freshly dried leaf is variable compared to commercially processed extract. This guide is sourced from Extension publications.

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About the plant

Per Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Stevia rebaudiana is a tender perennial in USDA zones 9-11, where it can survive winter outdoors. In zones 7-8, it dies back to the roots in mild winters and may re-sprout, but reliable outdoor perennialization is not assured. In zones 2-6, treat as an annual: start indoors, transplant after last frost, harvest before fall frost.

Plants grow 18-30 inches tall with small, slightly toothed green leaves on branching stems. Left to mature, the plant produces small white flowers in fall (triggered by shortening days) that signal the end of the harvest window.