Hello, I'm new here; just registered today. If somebody could please give me a straight answer with this, I would greatly appreciate it. Basically because of where I live it's too late for me to plant anything; anything I tried to plant would eventually die because it would get too hot for it to survive. Eventually I would like to do an herb garden. The herbs I'm interested are these: *Dill *chives *parsley *cilantro *basil *oregano *mint (just plain 'ol mint, spearmint or peppermint) *thyme *sage *lemongrass *rosemary I've acquired some info about herbs and what the preferences of some herbs are with climates/temperatures. The info I've managed to find is..... A note about these lists. This is just based off info I've found on the net and my own judgment based on what little I know about gardening. How accurate are these lists? *Dill, likes full sun and prefers cool weather *Parsley likes full sun and prefers cool weather *I'm guessing chives like cool weather. This is my theory because it's a member of the onion family and everything else in the onion family (shallots, scallions, onion, etc.) are considered cool weather veggies when it comes to growing them. I realize that chives isn't a veggie, but an herb; however it's still in the same family. I'm guessing these are warm weather herbs: *basil *oregano *rosemary (I've no clue, it's a Mediterranean herb and prefers dry climates, so that's why I'm classifying it as one that likes warm weather; if I'm dead wrong on this PLEASE TELL ME) *mint (again a guess.......I don't know what it prefers with climates; please give clarification regarding this) *lemongrass
Hello Feistywidget -- I like your name, btw. Welcome from Maryland. RE: your herb question -- I have a spot where I grow herbs in pots. It is hot, hot, hot with strong afternoon sun reflecting off of a white stucco wall. The herbs from your list that grow there very nicely are: basil, mints, rosemary, and parsley. Dill didn't do espcially well. I don't know that I've tried all the others. I keep the pots watered. I'd give it a shot this year -- what's the worst that could happen? Glad to meet you!
Seems you could still do a lot this spring and then try the cool loving plants in the fall. The thing you have to your benefit is that you get a nice regular amount of rain. Many of the herbs you listed will live throughout the year for you. You're so lucky! Chives and rosemary will both be evergreen for you and should be fine in the summer. Dill, cilantro, and parsley are the three you may have the most trouble with in the heat. They will bolt pretty fast for you. The others, you should get some plants rather than seed and play around. Maybe an afternoon shade would do the basil some good.
I can tell you that in Missouri we have wild chives growing pretty much year round. They'll be growing when its 100 and all the other grass is dead and they stay green in the winter too so I think you'll be okay there. The basil will love the heat, but loves water too so keep that in mind. Mint is a water and shade loving very aggressive plant. I'd put it in a container if you don't want it taking over. Rosemary is grown as a landscape plant in California where I used to live north of San Fran. I have also seen it all over in So Cal. Dill is frajile, but if you get it going it will grow well in most climates. Oregano is another thats hard ot get going, but once it is, its hard to kill and should be a perrenial in your climate. Also try thyme because its pretty tough anywhere. Hope this helps. I am a fresh herb junky and I have been hoarding my dried basil from last years garden so that I'll have enough till I can start harvesting again
I lived in Arizona for twenty years and grew almost all of those herbs. Rosemary doesn't like cool weather and I almost never watered mine. A neighbor grew dill and it reseeded itself every year. She didn't do anything special with it. It grew like a weed. Mint likes some shade and needs regular water. Basil will grow almost anywhere if it's watered but it doesn't like cold. Thyme grew in the sun and oregano likes the sun. I grew most of my stuff in pots except the rosemary. It had afternoon shade and morning sun. It almost took over the backyard. I never grew lemongrass. Lemon balm spreads and can be invasive if you grow that it needs a contained bed or pots. My chives did okay in a pot all summer long. It got quite warm and was really dry there so I had to water it most every day or two. dooley
Container gardening is your best bet. You can control how much sun your plants get each day. On top of that you can control invasive plants that like to spread and take over your garden. Good luck! Can't wait to see pics
I live in Arizona (Queen Creek) and my mint is out of control had really good luck with it up in the mountains in flagstaff to just have to keep it watered.
Hello, looks like everyone has covered every herb except Lemongrass. I happen to have two HUGE lemon grass. All they need is a lot of water -- they don't seem to be particular about the sun, unlike other herbs. So keep watering your lemongrass and once the plant well settled, it's pretty much maintenance free. Enjoy! By the way, lemon grass is excellent for porkchop and roast chicken. I also put them in fish soup (thai cuisine inspired)
It is very hot and dry here in Texas at this time. Some of my herbs are strugling. Dill,Onion chives,and cilantro plant in spring will do well till the heat is on. Basil will do well but will freeze out. Parsley, mint thyme, oregano, sage, lemon grass and rosemary will grow year round if it get cold cover it when in doubt. I like garlic chives will grow year round. I hope this will help some.Cilantro will sometimes seed out and come up in the fall also. good luck!
The ideal season to grow plants like herbs is during the summer season. But you can grow them even in cold season. You just need a little help from the experts on how to grow them.
In Florida you can grow just about any herb year round. I have heard that garlic needs needs a cool winter to develop properly. I just planted my first crop of garlic last month and will discover in a few months if garlic can do well here just below Frostproof, Florida.
