
Cymbopogon flexuosus
Poaceae
Cymbopogon flexuosus, East Indian Lemongrass
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Cymbopogon
Typical grass like magenta flowers. Flowers only in the tropics or under protection. Lemon scented, linear, grey/green leaves up to 90cm in length. Culinary; both the culms (stems) and leaves are used in eastern food and for making tisanes.
• Hardiness: H2 (1 to 5C)
• Type: Evergreen Perennial
• Height: up to 1.5m
• Spread: 1m
East Indian Lemongrass can be seen at the herb farm in Jekka's Herbetum and is available to buy as herb plants.
• Soil type: Sand, Light Loam, Free Draining
• pH: Acid pH
• Habit: Upright
• Flowering colour: Magenta
• Flowering time: Summer
• Uses: Culinary & Medicinal (Read Jekka's Guide To Culinary Herbs and Jekka's Guide to Medicinal Herbs for more information)
• Attracts pollinators: No
• Container suitability: Yes
• UK native: No
• Caution: Do not take the essential oil internally without supervision.
• Propagation: Division
• Maintenance: (Read Jekka's Blogs on Early Spring, Late Spring and Autumn maintenance)
• Harvest: N/A
This sweetly-scented grass has been used traditionally in its native India and Sri Lanka to produce a relaxing tea used to calm and relieve the cramping and colic associated with digestive problems. In India it has also been used as a topical skin application to treat fungal infections such as ringworm.
In the Caribbean it is seen as a herb for lowering fevers or used in a warm poultice to ease painful joints in arthritis.

Caution: Professional supervision is recommended when using the essential oil produced from this plant, which is extremely toxic and should not be taken internally.
Please note: The information provided here is for educational interest only and is not intended to be used to diagnose or treat significant health problems. Any serious or long-term health concerns should always be discussed with a healthcare professional.
See our blog for more information about the National Institute of Medical Herbalists
At Jekka’s we sell herbs in 1 Ltr and 2 Ltr pots. These are established and hardy herb plants that are grown following organic principals and to survive the UK climate. Please read Jekka's blog that contains her top steps to growing on your herbs.
There is also ‘Jekka’s Seasonal Tips’ series that covers growing and maintaining herbs in early spring, late spring, summer and autumn & winter. Together they form Jekka’s guide on how to grow herbs.
Our herbs are designed to be grown in containers or planted in the garden. Although some herbs will be quite happy indoors, most prefer being outside. Please see our indoor growing blog for more information.
If you require pots or compost, we have developed Jekka's Herb Kits, which includes Jekka's "Grow On" Kit. These kits contain all you need to grow on your herbs.
If you think your herbs need a little more attention we always recommend an environmentally friendly solution, and these are Jekka's top three:
- Maxicrop liquid seaweed: 'Feed on Fridays' as Jekka always says for all round good plant health.
- SB Invigorator: a safe and effective insecticide and fungicide to help control a wide range of pest species
- Epsom salts: the horticultural equivalent of what you put in your bath to top up magnesium and stop orange leaves.
For more information on growing herbs plants please see Jekkapedia, Jekka's blog or our FAQs page.
Happy Herbs!
One of our three core roots is that we are Environmentally Conscious and for the past 30 years all the herbs grown at Jekka’s have been raised following sustainable, environmentally friendly and organic approaches resulting in a remarkable biodiversity at the herb farm.
Our herb seeds are also untreated and can be used to grow organic herb plants.
You can read more about our sustainability approach to growing herbs in one of Jekka's Blogs or in Jekka's Guide to Climate Change.