Stevia rebaudiana
Stevia, sweet herb of Paraguay, sugar herb, ka'a he'ẽ: the Guarani people of Paraguay have used it for centuries to sweeten their mate infusions. One fresh leaf is enough to understand when chewed: its sweetening power is spectacular, with no sugar at all. A botanical curiosity as surprising to grow as it is to taste.
Characteristics:
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Naturally sweet leaves: sweetness out of all proportion to their size.
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Bushy growth: 40 to 80 cm, forming a lovely bush with soft green foliage.
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Easy to grow: in a pot, planter, or in the ground, indoors or outdoors.
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Equipped seed packet: each packet contains a wooden label for marking your sowings, along with growing instructions on the back.
Precautions:
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Frost-tender plant: native to the subtropical regions of South America, it cannot tolerate frost. In our climates, grow it in a pot so you can bring it indoors before the first frosts, or treat it as an annual. This is essential for keeping it from one year to the next.
Sowing advice:
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Position: sunny and warm — stevia appreciates light and dislikes the cold.
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Soil: light potting soil, rich in organic matter and well drained. It likes a growing medium that remains slightly moist without ever becoming waterlogged: standing water causes its roots to rot.
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Method: sow on the surface without covering — the seeds are tiny and need light to germinate. Sow indoors from March at 20–25 °C, or outdoors from May onward. Germination is erratic and the naturally low germination rate is typical of this species: sow generously. See how to sow your seeds.
Planting advice:
- Transplant into a pot at least 25 cm wide, or into the ground after the last frosts, spacing plants 40 cm apart. A pot remains the best option for overwintering.
Care advice:
- Keep the growing medium moist without waterlogging it, watering regularly and a little at a time.
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The key step: pinch out the stems regularly and remove flower buds as soon as they appear. The plant branches out, produces far more leaves, and they remain noticeably sweeter — flowering causes their sweetness level to drop.
- Overwinter indoors in a bright location above 10 °C, reducing watering.
Harvesting advice:
- Pick the leaves as needed once they are well developed. The main harvest takes place just before flowering, in late summer: this is when the leaves are sweetest.
- They can be used fresh or dried. Drying them in the shade with good air circulation preserves their sweetness very well, allowing you to enjoy them all year round.
Beneficial combinations:
- It shares the warmth requirements of basil and holy basil, in a potted herb garden that can be brought indoors for the winter.
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its small white flowers, if you let one plant flower at the end of the season, are visited by bees and small pollinators.
- Since it grows very well without any treatment, it has an important place in a pesticide-free vegetable garden.
Uses:
- Fresh or dried leaves to flavor infusions, teas, drinks, and desserts. One whole leaf steeped in an herbal tea is generally sufficient.
- Dried and ground into powder, they can be stored for months in an airtight jar.
Symbolism:
Known to the Guarani people long before the arrival of Europeans, stevia remained a local plant until its botanical description in the early twentieth century. It embodies the passing down of traditional plant knowledge.
Harvesting your own seeds:
Allow a few flower spikes to dry completely on the plant, then collect the seeds with their feathery pappus. Please note: stevia seeds naturally have a low germination rate, so sow them fresh and generously. See how to store your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, without any chemical treatment. Our conviction: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
Grow your own sugar plant, a botanical curiosity to taste.
