How to Grow Stevia Plants
The stevia plant is a small plant that has sweet tasting leaves that can be used for sweetening or medicinal purposes. Stevia plants are easy to grow and require little maintenance. Stevia plants can be grown indoors planted in a pot or outdoors planted in a garden.
Items Needed
- Stevia Seeds
- Planting Pots
- Planting Soil
- Plant Fertilizer
- Plant the stevia seeds shallowly into a pot of regular planting soil. Stevia grows better when planted in pots, but you can also plant them into the ground. If planting the seeds in the ground, make sure to plant them in sandy soil at least 10 to 12 inches apart. When planting stevia plants outdoors, remember to plant them after the last frost of the season.
- Water the plants regularly to maintain a moist soil. Do not overwater the plants.
- Fertilize the plants with a regular plant fertilizer. Follow the directions on the bag to determine how much and how often to fertilize the plants. Do not use a fertilizer with a high nitrogen level as this will damage the plants.
- Make sure that the stevia plants receive plenty of sunshine. If the stevia plants are planted outdoors, spread a layer of mulch around the base of the plant to keep weeds from growing near the plants. Having to weed around stevia plants can cause damage to the plants because they are fragile.
- Harvest the plant in the fall or as soon as the first flower appears on the plant. To harvest the plant, cut the base of the plant with gardening shears or with a pair of scissors. Do not wait until there is more than one flower on the plant to harvest the stevia plant as waiting too long can result in bitter tasting leaves.
Potted stevia plants can be kept indoors during the winter months. The stevia plant will become dormant, but needs to be watered sparingly. Outdoor stevia plants will not survive the winter and will have to be replaced in the spring. Stevia plants grow better from the clippings of other stevia plants because the rate of germination of stevia seeds is very slow.