Stevia, the sweet plant

The plant Stevia Rebaudiana is known as ¨the sweet plant¨ due to the sweet flavour of its leaves. Stevia is native to Paraguay, South America. However, nowadays it is used all over the world as a sweetener and medicinal plant.

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Cultivation of Stevia

Although Stevia can be cultivated in various areas of Spain, it is a tropical plant and for this reason has different growing tendencies at these latitudes. For example in Autumn, when the days become a lot shorter, the growth of the plant is stunted. On the Canary islands Stevia´s growth is similar to how it grows in tropical areas.

Despite the seasonal change, if it has sufficient light Stevia will provide and continue production from Spring to Autumn in Spain.
Due to halting production during the winter months, Stevia, which is a plurianual (it lives for many years) plant, will sprout new leaves each Spring. During winter it is important to protect the plant from frost and freezing by covering it with thermal blankets or plastic if it is planted in the garden or bringing the plant into the house if it is in pots. If you prefer to maintain your plant outdoors we recommend planting Stevia in a greenhouse in areas where temperatures drop drastically during the winter months. 

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