6 Best Stevia Plants For Natural Sweeteners For First-Year Success
Discover the top 6 stevia varieties for beginners. Learn which plants offer the sweetest leaves and easiest growth for a successful first year.
You’ve decided to grow your own sweetener, moving one step closer to a self-sufficient pantry. But standing in front of a rack of plant starts, you realize not all stevia is created equal. Choosing the right variety from the start is the difference between a pot of bitter leaves and a jar of sweet, homegrown powder to last you through winter.
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Choosing Stevia for a Sweet First Harvest
Your first decision isn’t about which stevia is "best," but which is best for you. A sprawling garden patch has different needs than a collection of pots on a sunny balcony. Think about your end goal before you even buy a seed.
Are you hoping to pluck a fresh leaf to sweeten your morning tea, or are you planning to harvest and dry a large batch for year-round use? A variety that excels in leaf production might not have the most concentrated sweetness. Conversely, a super-sweet plant may be less vigorous or more compact.
Consider your climate. Stevia is a subtropical perennial, often grown as an annual in colder zones. Some modern cultivars have been bred for better vigor and resilience in less-than-ideal conditions. Your success hinges on matching the plant’s strengths to your specific environment and goals. Don’t just grab the first plant you see; a little forethought now pays sweet dividends later.
Stevia ‘Sweet Leaf’: The Reliable Garden Classic
When you see a generic "stevia" plant at the nursery, it’s probably Stevia rebaudiana, often sold as ‘Sweet Leaf’. This is the original, the one that started it all. It’s a reliable, no-fuss choice for a first-time grower.
‘Sweet Leaf’ is a known quantity. It grows to a respectable two to three feet tall in a season, providing a decent harvest without becoming unmanageable. Its sweetness is balanced, making it a great all-purpose option for fresh use in drinks or for drying into a simple green powder.
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Think of this as your baseline. It performs predictably in most garden settings with full sun and well-drained soil. While other varieties might offer more sweetness or a more compact habit, ‘Sweet Leaf’ is the dependable workhorse that will almost certainly give you a successful first harvest. It’s the perfect plant to learn with.
Stevia ‘Candy’: Compact and Container-Friendly
Not everyone has the luxury of dedicated garden beds. ‘Candy’ is a cultivar selected specifically for its compact, bushy growth habit. This makes it an outstanding choice for container gardening on a patio, balcony, or even a sunny windowsill.
Its smaller stature, typically staying under 18 inches, doesn’t mean it sacrifices flavor. The leaves are known for their clean, sweet taste with very little of the bitter aftertaste some people dislike. Because it stays dense and bushy, it’s easy to manage and harvest from, even in a tight space.
This variety is also a great option if you live in a colder climate and want to overwinter your stevia indoors. A manageable pot is much easier to bring inside than digging up a sprawling plant from the garden. For the grower with limited space, ‘Candy’ delivers a sweet harvest without demanding a lot of real estate.
Stevia ‘Sugar Love’: For Exceptionally Sweet Leaves
If your primary goal is maximum sweetness from minimum leaf matter, ‘Sugar Love’ is a variety to seek out. It has been specifically bred for a higher concentration of steviol glycosides, the compounds that give stevia its incredible sweetness. This means you need fewer leaves to achieve the same level of sweetness in your recipes.
This efficiency is a huge advantage for preservation. A smaller harvest can produce a more potent powder, saving you time and storage space. While its growth habit is similar to standard stevia, the real magic is inside the leaves.
The tradeoff? Sometimes highly specialized plants can be a bit fussier. Ensure it gets consistent moisture and excellent drainage to perform its best. For those serious about creating a potent, sugar-free sweetener, ‘Sugar Love’ offers an intensity that standard varieties can’t match.
Stevia ‘Sweetie Star’: High Yield for Drying
The goal for many is to grow enough stevia to process and store for the entire year. ‘Sweetie Star’ is a cultivar that shines in this department, selected for its vigorous growth and high leaf production. It’s a robust plant that focuses its energy on creating abundant biomass.
This variety tends to be taller and more branching than others, which translates directly into more leaves to harvest. While the sweetness per leaf might be on par with standard varieties, the sheer volume you can gather is its key feature. This is the plant you choose when you’re thinking in terms of full jars on the pantry shelf.
To get the most out of ‘Sweetie Star’, give it space to grow and consider pinching it back early in the season to encourage even more branching. If your plan involves a dehydrator and a spice grinder, this high-yielding variety will ensure you have more than enough to show for your efforts.
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Stevia ‘EverSweet’: A Modern, Robust Grower
‘EverSweet’ represents the next generation of stevia cultivars. It was developed to be a more vigorous and resilient plant, making it a fantastic choice for gardeners who face challenges like fluctuating weather or less-than-perfect soil. It’s a forgiving plant for a first-timer.
This variety often exhibits faster growth and a stronger root system, helping it establish quickly and power through minor stresses. Its sweetness profile is excellent, bred to be clean and potent. Think of it as taking the reliability of ‘Sweet Leaf’ and giving it a modern upgrade in toughness and performance.
If you’ve struggled with more delicate herbs in the past or just want a plant with a little more get-up-and-go, ‘EverSweet’ is a solid bet. It’s a low-worry option that combines the best traits of older varieties with modern horticultural improvements.
Stevia ‘Miyazaki’: A Prized Japanese Cultivar
For the grower who prioritizes flavor above all else, the ‘Miyazaki’ cultivar is the gold standard. Originating from Japan, where stevia has been refined for decades, this variety is renowned for having the cleanest, most sugar-like taste with virtually no bitter aftertaste.
‘Miyazaki’ is often described as the connoisseur’s stevia. The focus of its breeding was purely on taste quality, and it delivers. It may not be the highest-yielding or the most vigorous grower, but the superior flavor of the final product makes it worth the effort for many.
Finding this cultivar can be a challenge; you’ll likely need to source it from a specialty nursery or online supplier rather than a big-box store. For those who have been disappointed by the aftertaste of other stevia, ‘Miyazaki’ is the variety that can completely change your perception of this amazing plant.
Harvesting and Drying Your First Stevia Crop
Timing your harvest is everything. Stevia leaves are sweetest right before the plant begins to flower, typically in late summer or early fall when the days get shorter. Watch for the appearance of tiny white flower buds as your cue.
To harvest, you can either snip individual leaves as needed throughout the season or do a larger harvest all at once. For a big harvest, cut the entire stems down, leaving about four to six inches at the base. The plant may even regrow for a smaller second cutting before the first frost.
Drying is simple. Tie the stems in small bundles and hang them upside down in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight. Once the leaves are crisp and crumble easily—usually in about a week—strip them from the stems. You can store them whole or grind them into a fine powder using a coffee grinder or blender for easy use.
Your first successful stevia harvest is more than just a novelty; it’s a practical step toward a more sustainable kitchen. By choosing a variety that fits your space, climate, and goals, you set yourself up for a sweet reward. Now, go enjoy that homegrown sweetness, one leaf at a time.
