The Stevia Plant brings remarkable natural sweetness to the home garden, with flavoursome leaves for harvesting fresh or dried. Moreover, it is an easy addition to both beginner and experienced gardeners’ plots.
A Naturally Sweet Stevia Plant
The accepted botanical name is Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni. Common names include Stevia, Sweetleaf, Sweet Leaf, Sugarleaf, Sugar Leaf, Candyleaf, Candy Leaf, Honey Leaf, Sweet Herb, Sweet Herb of Paraguay, Paraguayan Sweet Herb, Paraguay Sweetleaf, Kaa He’e, Ka’a He’ê and Yerba Dulce.
It forms a leafy clump and can reach about 1 metre high and 60 centimetres wide. Additionally, it produces clusters of tiny white flowers in summer.
The leaves contain intensely sweet steviol glycosides. As a result, these compounds taste roughly 150 to 300 times sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a long way.
The Story Behind the Stevia Plant
Stevia rebaudiana comes from southern Brazil and Paraguay. In fact, Indigenous Guaraní communities have valued its sweet leaves for generations. They call the herb ka’a he’ê, meaning “sweet herb.” Traditionally, people added the leaves to herbal infusions, especially yerba mate.
Grow it beside our
Yerba Mate Plant to recreate this enduring South American pairing. Alternatively, customers who enjoy raising herbs from the beginning may also like our Stevia Seeds.
Harvesting and Using the Leaves
Fresh leaves can sweeten tea, coffee, smoothies and homemade herbal drinks. Meanwhile, dried, powdered leaves can flavour preserves, desserts and selected baked recipes. They provide sweetness without sugar’s bulk, browning, or texture so that recipes may need adjustment.
Pinch the growing tips regularly to encourage bushier growth and a generous leaf harvest. For the sweetest flavour, gather leaves before or as flowering begins. As a result, your harvest will be both plentiful and sweet.
Growing Your Stevia Plant
Choose a protected position with sun and some relief from harsh afternoon heat. Similarly, rich, moist and well-drained soil supports strong growth. Water consistently but never let the roots stay waterlogged.
The plant dislikes drought and frost. In cooler conditions, it may die back to ground level before reshooting when warmth returns. Therefore, containers make winter protection easier and keep this fascinating sweet herb close to the kitchen.
