The sweetness levels can vary greatly in plants grown from seed, often those you see for sale are cutting grown from proven stock. But don't give up, just wait until the plants are more mature and see what develops for taste later - " Time harvest for as late in the year as possible without exposing to killing frost - Fall temperatures and shorter days tend to intensify the sweetness of the plants"

Hi sigrid123(9a), I have seed from last years plants. Hopefully they will be sweet. Can you please tell me how long it took to germinate your seeds? I like the paper towel method

My stevia seeds sprouted in seed starting mix took 12 days to sprout at 68 degrees (no under heat). I plant more seeds than I need and then give them a taste taste when they have more leaves. The amount of stevioside (the sweet stuff in stevia plants) can vary hugely from plant to plant. I usually plant about a dozen seeds and end up with a plant or two that are sweet enough for my tea. :)

Know too that the plants get sweeter as days get cooler and shorter so if you plan on harvesting and drying, do it in the fall. Whatever plants you pick, they will be less sweet than purchased stevia powder. That stuff is processed and concentrated.