You can plant parsley, cilantro, basil(smaller variety), chives together.

but perennials like thyme, sage, oregano... its better to plant the separately. You can plant them together too but they will be crowded next year.

I'm new to this too, and may seem like a silly question...

^Does that mean for my zone 5 garden that thyme, sage, oregano (parsley, cilantro and basil too) will act as a perennial and grow back next year or is it that some of these tend to re-seed themselves?

Cilantro and parsely will reseed themselves. Perhaps Basil, though i've never tried it. You can extend your season on these, by growing some in containers that can be moved to progressively warmer spots as needed.

With adequate protection, the others (woody, drought tolerant, Mediterranean herbs may survive in the ground throughout your winter, but, personally, I would keep them in pots and move them into shelter of some sort.

if you don't, then take some late season cuttings and root them, just in case you need new plants next year. if you can keep the original ones alive, they grow to be large plants that can be divided through the root ball, which will also give you new plants.

Jan

In my zone 5b, thyme, oregano and sage will come back as well as parsley (sometime) and of course mint. Basil definitely not in our zone. I have found that rosemary, basil and parsley do better for me in containers. Oh, and chives are perennial as well.

Sharonie, sorry we sidetracked your original question a little bit. I'm one who prefers to keep my pots individual, and not in groupings, but my desires/needs may differ greatly from yours. When you're looking at herb groupings, you need to check the water and soil requirements especially. You'll find groupings at the greenhouse that mix the arid herbs with water lovers like basil and chives for 'culinary baskets'. These are really just a sales pitch and are not going to last long all together. Something's just not going to be happy.

Which herbs, specifically, are you thinking of, and which do you like to use? And are you planning on just potted outside for a season, or trying to create year-round perennial pots for culinary use?

Hi balloonflower, I usually keep my herb separate also. And I would never put more than two in one container. My chives are in the ground, basil in pots, oregano, thyme, mint in ground. Haven't gotten around to rosemary yet. I haven't really had much luck with the indoor herb garden, although one year I did have a creeping rosemary that lasted for a while. I use a lot of rosemary, ,,mint, oregano and parsley. I have the most gorgeous chives but hardly ever use it. Don't know why. I agree, that not all herbs can or should be grown together.

Mints you shouldn't have a problem with--I would keep them separate--I have heard that they can cross pollinate and goof each other up if you try more than one varietal, and the roots will crowd out anything else you put with them. My outdoor boxes (Earth Boxes) hold 2 cu ft of soil, and I just had to switch out an entire boxfull of runner roots for some new soil.

I like oregano on its own--mine is in an 8" pot and seems pretty happy. Rosemary is a picky pot plant--my current record is a whopping 8 months for my current tree. Thyme is the one I occasionally pair--I have a small pot that's the one I use from, and I also have it paired with a small bay laurel around the edges of a 12" pot. You could possibly also pair it with sage or rosemary. I haven't tried sage indoors over winter yet, but am thinking of it--I love sage browned butter.

Parsley could be paired with some chives, or you might consider something different like a bloody dock sorrel that's just pretty as well as yummy on veggies. You might also consider something like edible flowers paired with the non-arids--I could see a pot with something centered and cute little violas around the edge in cool season. Bush nasturtiums could be fun too, if you were talking a large pot and maybe basil for summer.

I'm growing the creeping rosemary in its own pot. I might pair thyme and oregano in a large container. Mint, I only grow one variety and its in the ground, sage I planted in the ground as well. I love the creeping rosemary even more than regular rosemary. I find it more aromatic and more tender.

Never ever plant basil with/close to/near Rosemary or sage .... It kills them. I always save my seeds from my annuals to replant the next year instead of buying seed packets. Over the last few years I've bought seed packets & I didn't get what I bought lol .... Through the season I always prune/pinch etc all of my herbs to encourage a more vigorous healthy plant & towards the end of the season I let half of it flower and keep tending to the other half to keep it growing so I can harvest all of it to preserve, dry or whatever I wanna do with it - the parts that I let flower on my basil get about a foot tall and after they die, I snip them off and place them upside down in a brown paper bag to save the seeds. You wouldn't believe how many seeds you can get just from ONE flower stalk lol it's like the equivalent to one seed packet you buy at your garden store hahaha .... Some times I'll do like Jan said and either divide whichever plants I wanna keep growing through winter by potting them to move indoors or I'll take cuttings, root them & start fresh plants altogether.

I had a pretty rough last couple of years just personally (not meaning my garden, but me as a whole) and I didn't really pay any attention to ANY of my plants or my beds for that matter. So all the leaves from fall were everywhere especially in my beds and in the tops & bottoms of my bushes all around the perimeter of my property. Not sure if it was the fact all the leaves were surrounding everything or me neglecting my gardens in general but my oregano, rosemary bush, sage, roses and medicinal weed garden ALL survived the winter. They were so healthy and undead that when spring came around it looked as if my plants were already in the summer season :) my Rosemary bush is about 3-4 feet wide and the tallest stalks are a little over 3 feet as well. I try to keep it a little shaped up when I'm snipping Rosemary to use for whatever so it usually will have a tapering appearance.

This year I decided to incorporate quite a few plants I've never grown before: lavender, lemon verbena, lemon balm, yarrow, holy basil, German chamomile & regular chamomile, lemon grass, hyssop and some hydrangeas

We'll see how it goes :))))

Abbrad--it's not the basil that kills off rosemary or sage growing nearby. Basil is really not aggressive. Most likely, it's that basil wants water, while the other two require much better drainage and need to dry out a bit (but not completely) between waterings. Either the basil was getting watered too much which root-rotted the others, or it could possibly have pulled water from the other two, but not as likely as they can take pretty tough conditions when mature. In my vol work in the Herb Garden at our a Botanic Gardens, we do mix rosemary in with the basils, since both are grown as annuals here. There is also thyme edging the beds, which prefers the same conditions as sage/rosey. It's simply a matter of proper care, soil and drainage.

If you could list your zone or location, it is helpful. I'm jealous of any who have a perennial rosemary outside--my winters are too cold, as are the OP's. I think you'll love your lemon verbena--one of my summer favorites (also won't winter here). Watch the German Chamomile--it reseeds abundantly and will spread; yarrow and lemon balm too.

I have a small wedge between two sidewalks where I am planning to grow mint in order to contain its spreading. I was also hoping to grow oregano in the same area to contain its spreading. Will they goof each other up? I guess I'll have to find another place for one of them if they will, but won't be easy... Thanks for tips!

It's likely the mint will eventually choke out the oregano.

Lol, this thread is funny.

Rosemary, Sage, hyssop, and Oregano grow well together.

Bay is a tree here, but I've grown small ones with basil and lemon balm. If you grow a large bay tree in a pot, rose geraniums do well with it.

Lavender, thyme, sorrel, chervil, tarragon and chives grow well together. Add lovage if you have space.