Stevia Rebaudiana - 0.5 kg Seeds

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana), the sweet-leaf or candy-leaf plant, is a small perennial herb of the daisy family rather than a tree, cultivated for the intensely sweet, calorie-free compounds (steviol glycosides) in its leaves. These natural sweeteners are many times sweeter than sugar and are widely used as a sugar substitute for diabetics and in health foods.

The plant forms a bushy clump of slender stems with narrow green leaves and is grown as a commercial cash crop in parts of India such as Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra and the hill regions. It prefers warm conditions, fertile, well-drained sandy-loam soil and regular moisture, and is harvested repeatedly by cutting the leafy shoots.

• Family: Asteraceae
• Native region: Paraguay and Brazil (South America)
• Mature height: 0.5–0.8 m
• Growth rate: fast

Sowing the seed: stevia seed is tiny and needs light to germinate, so surface-sow it on a moist, fine seed mix without covering and keep warm and humid. Germination rates are often low, with seedlings emerging in about 7–14 days. Prick out the delicate seedlings into pots and transplant after the danger of cold has passed; commercial growers commonly raise it from cuttings as well.