Growing Stevia in Your Herb Garden for Natural Sweetness

Growing stevia is a way to produce some of your own natural sweetener (it’s calorie free!). Plus, the stevia plant is easy to grow and makes a pretty addition to your herb or edible front yard garden.

fresh stevia in a pink and purple woven market basket; text: growing stevia, natural sweetener


 

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Introduction to stevia

You might know stevia as a natural sweetener, an alternative to those nasty little pink packets of sweetener you’d get at a restaurant. If you opt for natural sugar replacements rather than the pink packets, you might be using a sweetener derived from stevia.

Stevia is an herb that is cultivated for its sweet leaves. The leaves of a stevia plant are small and serrated, and it’s one of those nice looking herbs that you can easily tuck into an edible garden. It grows about 18″ tall and as wide.

Why not try growing a stevia plant yourself?

stevia plant with white flowers, left. freshly harvested stevia in pink woven basket, right

Why consider planting stevia in the home garden

  • The novelty factor, especially for kids. It’s quite a surprise to chew on a leaf and get such a pop of sweetness!
  • This pretty herb does well in patio containers.
  • It makes a fun and surprising gift, either by itself or mixed into a custom tea blend.
  • It has zero calories and is not metabolized by the body.
green leaves up close

Requirements for growing stevia plants

You can often find stevia plants at a nursery, but you can also grow stevia from seed. You’ll need to start the seeds indoors, about 8-10 weeks before your last frost. If you opt to start with seeds, here are some guidelines for getting started.

The stevia plant is a short-lived perennial, but they’re frost tender. In zones 8 and 9, stevia roots will overwinter and the plant will sprout new leaves in the spring.

Soil and maintenance

Once stevia seedlings have reached about three-to-four inches in height, plant them out in your garden after all danger of frost has passed. Choose a spot where it will get plenty of warm sunshine. Mix a little compost into the planting hole to get it started on the right foot! When planting stevia, remember that it needs well-drained soil; it doesn’t like soggy roots. Loose, loamy soil is best and will make your stevia plant happy.

As the stevia plant grows, pinch off the stem tips on occasion to encourage the plant to branch out into a fuller shape.

Stevia plants are rarely bothered by pests, making it an easy addition to the herb garden.

Growing stevia in containers

Planting stevia in pots allows you to move them inside during the cold winter months for protection. Choose a container that’s 12″ in diameter and has a drainage hole. Place it in full sun and water as needed to maintain moist but not wet growing conditions.

Harvesting stevia

The best time to harvest stevia is just before the plant enters its blooming stage. When you see flower buds starting to form, it’s time. To harvest stevia growing in your garden, use scissors or snips to cut the stems several inches from the base of the plant. (Depending on your climate, the stevia may very well put out another round of fresh growth before winter sets in.)

leaves in a glass bowl

Drying the stevia you’ve grown

I stripped the leaves from the stems, cleaned them in a bowl of water, and took them for a spin in the salad spinner. And this is where I got a little crazy. Instead of drying the leaves in my dehydrator (hardly worth the energy for just a few trays) or my oven (again, with the wasted energy),

I spread it out on two cookie sheets and put them in my car. I am so serious. It gets warm in there! Even with our overcast and cloudy weather, the leaves dried overnight.

If you’d prefer more traditional methods of drying the leaves from your stevia plant, set the dehydrator to 135ºF and dry for 2-to-4 hours, or until crispy. Store dried stevia in an airtight container for up to a year.

drying stevia leaves on a silver cookie sheet

Using stevia

For starters, growing stevia means you can pluck a leaf or two when you’re out in the garden. Just chewing on a fresh leaf gives a burst of sweetness that’s welcome when you’re trying to cut back on processed sugars. I’ve tried tossing a few fresh stevia leaves in with hot tea, but don’t notice much in the way of sweetening with this method.

Drying stevia leaves allows you to store the sweet leaves more easily, and it works well for sweetening hot drinks. If you brew loose leaf teas, the easiest way to use your dried stevia is to add some to your tea strainer along with your tea.

You can also grind the fresh leaves of the stevia plant in a simple mortar and pestle, though be aware that unlike the powdered stevia you can buy, the ground leaves don’t actually dissolve. Using them in this manner might require a bit of experimentation!

woven basket with fresh herbs

Originally published August, 2012; this post has been updated.

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About the author: Kris Bordessa is an award-winning National Geographic author and a certified Master Food Preserver. Read more about Kris and how she got started with this site here. If you want to send Kris a quick message, you can get in touch here.

22 comments… add one
  • Karen Williams Jul 25, 2022 @ 11:44

    Can you powder the dry leaves and use in baking? Ie chocolate cake?

    • AttainableSustainable Jul 29, 2022 @ 13:41

      Yes, although as I mentioned in the post the powder won’t fully dissolve. Keep in mind that stevia is sweeter than sugar so in many instances you will want to use less. Good luck!

  • Andrew Coughlin Mar 9, 2020 @ 4:03

    How do I get it in the liquid form when growing it myself? I like to use the liquid form in making baked goods and homade
    Chocolate.

    • Kris Bordessa Mar 10, 2020 @ 17:36

      You’d need to make an extract. I guess I need to write about that!

      • Wendy Mar 11, 2023 @ 16:45

        Hi Kris, I’ve read somewhere that if you steep the leaves in water overnight you can extract the sweetness that way. Never actually tried it though but I really want to grow stevia so I will try it myself. Maybe Andrew can try it and let us know if it works 🙂

        • AttainableSustainable Mar 16, 2023 @ 3:32

          It’s worth a try!

  • Laurel Jun 10, 2019 @ 14:44

    Wish I could like stevia but it still has an off aftertaste to me.

  • Patricia Yar Mamu May 30, 2017 @ 0:37

    Interesting. I would love to plant it in my garden. Any idea of how I can get the seeds in Nigeria?

    • Kris Bordessa Jun 13, 2017 @ 11:45

      I believe rareseeds.org has it.

  • TameraTalbott May 7, 2017 @ 5:27

    Can I harvest stevia during the growing season or is it best to wait until right before they flower and cut it back several inches from the base each time it gets ready to flower?

    • Kris Bordessa May 9, 2017 @ 7:19

      I’ve done both!

  • Lyn Jan 3, 2017 @ 21:33

    I live near Fairbanks, Alaska. Can Stevie be grown in a pot, and brought in for winter?

    • Kris Bordessa Jan 4, 2017 @ 15:55

      I don’t see why not!

  • Visha May 9, 2016 @ 16:38

    THanks for posting this about Stevia. I just bought the plant and will be planting it soon !! I had no idea about this plant until IMhappen to see in a nursery

  • Umm Safiya Oct 22, 2013 @ 5:14

    I usually use our fresh stevia in smoothies. Makes them sweet enough, and there’s no aftertaste. 🙂

    • Kathy Apr 17, 2017 @ 3:58

      Great idea! Thanks!

  • Martha Sep 4, 2012 @ 11:29

    Love that you used your car to dry the leaves.

  • Lois Aug 10, 2012 @ 13:25

    Using your car was a brilliant idea, wish I had thought of that when I dehydrated my pineapples, they took for ever.

  • FrugalKiwi Aug 9, 2012 @ 17:11

    I’ve got a stevia plant we got at the end of growing season last year. Will be interesting to see how it goes now the weather is warming up.

    • Attainable Sustainable Aug 9, 2012 @ 17:16

       @FrugalKiwi Mine has been very solid in spite of the dreary weather (summer? ha!) we’ve been having. We don’t have the cold winters like you do, though. Curious to hear how your plant managed the cold. 

      • FrugalKiwi Aug 9, 2012 @ 17:18

         @Attainable Sustainable It has been fine, but it is only “cold” here compared to you. I think we had three frosts all winter.

    • Robin Aug 21, 2017 @ 3:50

      My stevia plant came back strong this year although I thought hubby had ripped it out along w the annuals. I can’t believe it survived winter

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