Skip

Stevia Stevia rebaudiana

How to sow stevia: Direct seed indoors, cuttings, or cloned seedlings

Sun requirement for stevia: Plant in Full Sun

Stevia has been planted 4 times by Growstuff members.

Stevia is tender, semi-tropical shrub in the Asteraceae (Sunflower) family that is native to Brazil and Paraguay. It is grown for it's sweet leaves, which can be used fresh or dried and ground into a powder also known as Stevia. Dried leaves are sweeter than fresh, and the powder is used as a sugar substitute. Stevia contains compounds that are 200-300 times sweeter than sugar, but pass through the digestive system without being broken down and absorbed. The plant has weak, floppy stems, slender, oblong leaves, and tubular, white, hermaphrodite flowers. Stevia does best in humid, wet environments. It is a perennial in regions where the temperature range is 21 to 43° C, but can be grown as an annual or in containers in colder regions. Stevia cannot survive temperatures below 7° C. The entire plant can be harvested in the fall once flower buds have appeared but not opened (the plant has a bitter aftertaste after flowers have opened). Cooler temperatures and shorter days increase the sweetness of the leaves.

Image of stevia

Predictions

Annual

living and reproducing in a single year or less

Height

60cm

Spread

60cm

Row Spacing

25cm

Photos

Stevia crops

more photos »

Sunniness

Loading...

Planted from

Loading...

Crop Map

Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown on this map.

What people are saying about stevia

Nobody has posted about stevia yet.

Sign in or sign up to post your tips and experiences growing stevia.

How to grow stevia

Scientific names

Stevia rebaudiana

Alternate names

Stevia harvests

Nobody has harvested this crop yet.

Find stevia seeds

There are no seeds available to trade on Growstuff right now.