You know, I don't think I've ever grown that one. I'll have to try it some time because like you, I'm not a huge fan of rosemary.

Thanks for the suggestion!

FataMorgana

I've grown it for many years, for me it makes an attractive, tidy low bush but it needs regular trimming as it spreads out. It is hard to divide so should be layered.

I only grow the winter savory because it's a perennial, whereas summer savory is an annual. I also grow lemon savory which is very pretty and tastes good too. It goes well with beans - and reduces that after-bean burpiness!

Thank you for responding, ladies and gentleman. Yes, Daisy, summer savory is annual
and you can collect your own seeds easily. It will also ressed itself if you leave it alone

As I said, savory has similaritie to both rosemary and thyme but it is also different.
It also has a minty, tongue numbing taste like tarragon but pleasntly stronger.
So it can be a substitute for all those three with much wider use.
The summer savory that I have is a middle eastern (Persian, called MARZEH) variety. It grows naturally bushy. WEhere as other savories tend to sprawl.
Tomorrow I will get a picture and put it up.

Cyrus

Here s a pcture of some summer savory plants as I promised.

Yes I also love Savory both the annual and the perennial. One thing I noticed most of the local garden centers and big box stores don't sell it anymore. My Winter Savory had died and I finally got a replacement today at a specialty nursery. So I think most people don't see it and don't even know it exists!
Joann

I grow Summer Savory with my beans

I agree that Savory is a little too strong, but a good alternative is Creeping Winter Savory. It is great in stuffing. Here is one of the few websites that talk about it: http://www.improveyourhomeandgarden.com/creeping-winter-savory#more-4495

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Creeping Savory

Winter savory is the only plant I have ever gotten to grow in one of those strawberry pots. It was a chance planted seed so I have nothing to do with it. Every so often I will toss in some fertilizer.

Even though this thread is old I just had to add my love for winter savory. I've had it in my garden for 3 years now. I started it from a cutting that I thought was thyme. Everyone was surprised that my thyme had survived the winters. Only until last week did I finally identify it as 'winter savory'. Again by accident a recent garden catalogue flopped open to a page showing a photo/description of winter savory. Voila! Mystery solved.
I'm not a great herb lover simply because most are annuals in my zone 5. I felt an obligation to add a few herbs to my potager .. just because it seemed right. This one was the right one( by accident) for me.
Upon identifying it through the accidental catalogue incident it was foremost on my mind & how I missed it's flavour in my breakfast eggs.
So today, Jan 2, I made my way over ice & snow to where it's planted. Although a little beat up from winter winds & cold it was still holding on to many frozen green leafy branches. A snip snip here & a snip snip there & I was 'savour-ing' it on my breakfast eggs & reminiscing of warmer days.
Winter savory ... the herb that keeps on giving.

I really love my summer savory but depend on the winter savory when summer's gone.

I love summer savory in green beans. I consider it an essential in my kitchen, fresh or dried. Winter savory is more pungent and a wonderful garden plant.

I just transplanted 2 winter savories from the 1" starter cells to 3" pots....

Also - a supposed english thyme in the next row - that looked identical - did a winter savory seed wash over into the next row? Or are they so similar as to look identical? They are at 2 sprout leaves and 2 baby first true leaves.....

No luck so far with the summary savory row......will give then another week or so and then replant....

I love savory and have to order it now, as local stores don't carry it and if you happen to find it, the price is out of sight! I'd love to grow it next season. I'll have to search for the winter savory, as local nurseries don't have it. I didn't understand the difference in summer and winter savory until reading this thread. Thanks for the info!

Just to throw my 2 Cents into this old thread. Dug through the snow the other day to uncover the winter savory. Took about 15 cuttings and I'm pretty sure most if not all will take.

I LOVE SAVORY, both kinds. But woe! alas! CANNOT GET THE DARN SEEDS TO GERMINATE. I've tried for season after season, indoors and out, zip loc bag method, greenhouse method, dry soil method, moist (no, not wet) soil method, "negligence" outdoor method and have bought packet after packet of seed and can't get it to germinate. What on earth am I doing wrong???????

If you are near Huntsville, mimi, you could call Bennett's; they have a good selection of herbs right now.

I ordered my winter savory from Mountain Valley. It's still too small, but if all else fails by the end of the summer I'll probably have lots of cuttings to share and you can try to root one of those instead.

Am responding to this very old post. In my Polish/Gernan/Russian heritage in northeastern North Dakota, everybody makes and loves a green bean soup that is dependent on savory as the primary seasoning. As a college student, I knew it only by the low German name used in our community. I located it in a grocery store by opening jars and sniffing until I found the correct one. The gardeners of my mom's generation let summer savory reseed in their gardens, controlling the amount by choosing how much to hoe out each spring. I tried transplanting some into my Minnesota garden multiple times as well as seeding fresh seed, to no avail. I finally found a couple winter savory plants in a garden center several years ago. I carefully guard that corner of my garden to make sure it doesn't get worked out by any overzealous family helper. I don't find this perennial variety so useful in fresh dishes, but fold a bunch into quarts of green beans when I can them. The flavor infuses the beans, making them convenient for our soup recipe in winter. I LOVE the smell of the soup simmering in the slow cooker throughout the day. In fact, I bought green beans at the local farmer's market today, planning to can them with the savory from my garden in preparation for winter meals.

S Gronhovd, your greenbean soup sounds very appealing; would you be willing to share the recipe?