USDA Hardiness Zone. Centella is a herb grown in 7-10 (USDA). Easy to grow. Centella is easy to grow and maintain. With a little bit of patience and proper care, you can enjoy these wonderful herb in your garden for many years to come. Sow. Plant seeds in greenhouse conditions in very excellently drained soil, just pressed into the surface of the soil and water occasionally. The seeds will probably germinate in 30 to 90 days. Sun. Centella asiatica thrives in boglike conditions, making it an ideal choice for gardens with moist soil and a lack of strong, direct sunlight. Watering. Centella needs 0.8 cups of water every 9 days when it doesn't get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5.0" pot. Centella asiatica, commonly known as gotu kola, kodavan, Indian pennywort and Asiatic pennywort, is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Centella grows in temperate and tropical swampy areas in many regions of the world. The stems are slender, creeping stolons, green to reddish-green in color, connecting plants to each other. It has long-stalked, green, rounded apices which have smooth texture with palmately netted veins.The leaves are borne on pericladial petioles, around 2 cm (0.79 in). The rootstock consists of rhizomes, growing vertically down. They are creamish in color and covered with root hairs.