Mine germinated...but gosh they are very slow in the growth process.

I'm down to 1 plant now. The few other sprouts I got just never grew past their cotyledons. The organic seed starting mix I used this year is so much darker than the standard mix that it was difficult to tell what was too wet or too dry. I did transplant it from the 4-pack the other day. It's about 1 1/2" tall. Mom - are you going to enter your plants in your plant sale? Hmmm - I'm thinking they'd sell fast.

Cindy--sorry to hear about your other plants. Haven't tried the organic version of Gardener's Supply germinating mix--I'm using the regular variety and have for the past 3-4 years with good success. It seems I had better luck keeping my mix a little on the dry side while germinating the stevia.

I've probably got 10 viable plants for certain (2 still at the cotyledon stage). I will put probably 2 or 3 in our "tea garden" herb bed at the fairgrounds, keep a couple for me and donate the remainder to the plant sale.

The organic version seems to be heavier and water longer which I guess is okay if I had the knack of working with it. I'm so used to their regular germinating mix.

Well, I got brave and separated the stevia plants out of their cell packs. Everything looks good, and hopefully this will encourage some faster growth. Not sure if the two really baby plants will make it--they each only had 1 true set of leaves, but they were crowded underneath some larger plants. I tried to handle them as little as possible while transplanting, so we'll see. Keeping my fingers crossed.....

My one "baby" has taken off now. It's about 21/2 inches tall now. Either the sunnier weather has helped spur it on or it just had some prolonged infantile stage.

My one lone plant is now about 4 inches tall. I've been hesitant to do much with it but am wondering if I should pinch it back. It does have several sets of leaves now. I'm just not sure what the growth habit is in response to pinching. Anyone know?

Cindy--last year I pinched some back when they were bigger. I would probably have done it sooner (mine were probably at least a foot tall at the time). They finally did branch once I pinched them, but otherwise they just grew as tall skinny plants.

I managed to save all 12 of my seedlings. Two are still very small, but considering I had to transplant them when they had barely germinated, I'm happy they lived. The others are probably 3-4" tall now.

Good to know that they don't bush out so much. Otherwise I'd be pinching all of the time. I'll pinch it back today.

I bought a plant last year and didn't really do much with it except taste a leaf now and then. I found some seeds a couple weeks ago and started them. If I can get them to keep growing, how do I use this plant? Do I dry the leaves and use that as a sweetner?
Rose

Here ya go, Rose. I think in this thread I may have given a decoction recipe:
The thread "Stevia" in Vegetables and Fruit forum

Shoe

Rose ,
I have grown and used stevia for several years . If you are using it in loose tea just add a couple crushed leaves.
If you use it in other drinks It can be steeped in water like you would tea but longer 30 minuets or so then use it like a simple syrup adding to say; lemonade till you get the taste you want . To keep the liquid form I freeze them in ice cube trays then bag up for later use . I even use the ice cubes in tea when I'm impatient and do not want to wait for it to cool down.

Thanks for the info. I hope these seeds germinate.

This is a little off topic from seed starting, but I recently was shown that there are 2 types of stevia plants. One is perennial atleast in zone 8 and is supposed to be much sweeter. Anyone know what it is called and how to find seeds?

Anna, could you post where you were shown the "two types" of Stevia, please?

I've grown it for 14 years now and have only come across, and only researched , Stevia Rebaudiana.

Although for years it was touted hardy to zone 8 it has come back in one of my flower beds for 14 years so feel free to zone push. (But now I notice you are zone 8 so you should be fine.)

The photo you've posted doesn't look like S. rebaudiana; your leaves look too round while S. r. has longer leaves. The flowers of S. rebaudiana also appear at the tops/ends of the branches and in somewhat of a receme fashion. The flowers in your pic, if that is what the white things are, seem to be one flower on an individual petiole.

Lastly, S. rebaudiana is normally propagated best by cuttings as so many of its seeds are normally sterile.

Shoe

Yes...that is why I am confused. I can only find info on stevia R. I saw this on a garden tour of Mary McNeely's in Fort Worth. I will try to email her.

Maggie McNeely...I was wondering why I couldn't find her website!

I'm thinking the plant Anna is asking about is Lippia dulcis ~ Aztec sweet herb. It is commonly called frogfruit.

It is not used for sweetening any more but the leaves can be eaten like candy or tossed into fruit salads.

I grew it and didn't care for the unpleasant (almost bitter) aftertaste. Kristi

Thanks, pod! After seeing some Google pics I'd say you're spot on. Annie's pic looks exactly like Lippia. From the little I just read about it apparently it isn't regarded as sweet tasting as Stevia. One poster mentioned its camphor content as well, something Stevia doesn't contain.

Shoe

Somewhere in the deep dark recesses of my mind, I think I remember reading some issue with using too much of the Sweet Aztec herb. Like maybe it thinned the blood too much, or affected the liver, or... need to go look some more just to satisfy my curiousity. Kristi