Are ANY herbs perennial?
redloves2sing
18 years ago
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kris
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Wanted: Perennial & Herb Seed for Postage
Comments (3)Hi suegardens2, Since you don't have anything to trade (exchange) at this time, you might want to check out some of the many Seeds for Postage Offers. Those are posts made by generous members who have excess seeds to share. Just look for posts that say SASBE, BEAP, SASE, For Postage, Free, etc. hth. (also)Sue...See MorePerennial herbs with perennial vegetables/fruits?
Comments (3)I mix my gardens - herbs, veggies, fruits, etc. side-by-side so I do exactly what you are suggesting. A couple of suggestions: 1.) DO NOT plant toxic medicinal herbs in with edibles. Keep those in areas where mistakes won't happen. Even if you are sure where everything is, others might go to the gardens and not know any better. I realized this when my youngest child (a budding gardener) got old enough to go to the gardens himself and pick lettuce, spinach, purslane, and manner of other edible stuff from the garden to munch. I plant various blooming plants in certain areas to attract pollinators plus they're pretty. That year I had some foxglove planted in one of those areas. Nothing bad happened, but I had to do some special instruction and ban picking anything from that garden bed. I no longer plant anything that "dangerous" near to the edibles. 2.) Plant your asparagus where you can mow the bed. We mow ours in the spring before anything sprouts. Clears all of last year's debris - necessary. 3.) Check the plant's needs. Not everybody likes the same soil. Blueberries are a prime example. I have to put them in a special bed and amend the soil because they love high acid soils. That is not what I have. See what sun, water, soil ph, richness of soil, etc. requirements they have. Put like needs together. 4.) I often have small areas in the veggie bed where I start perennials like coneflowers. It's a bit of a nursery. But I have to end up moving them before working the beds the next spring. It takes effort and can hold up working the soil. If I was smart, I would just have set areas for this but that never seems to happen and probably never will. 5.) Check out companion plantings. Sources like Carrots Love Tomatoes can give you great advice on what to plant together and what not. 6.) Blooming herbs, perennial or not can attract many beneficial pollinators to your garden. Pollination by insect is requirement for success with many foodstuffs. I have calendula, marigolds (tagetes), marshamallow, borage, chamomile, and other blooming plants always next to or intermixed with the fruits/veggies. 7.) Raspberries sprawl. Best to have them not intermixed. Have a dedicated area. But be sure to encourage some wild rubus species that grows around you which you enjoy to a wild corner of your property. They often out preform the specially bred cultivars I've bought and planted. Of note, wild raspberry leaves do make a nice tea. Raspberry leaf tea is often drank medicinally for women's issues. 8.) I would plant some pole or runner beans by your arches. Some like "scarlet emperor" and hyacinth beans are quite ornamental. Some peas are as well. I like "dwarf grey sugar" for its pretty blossoms and edible pods. 9.) Encourage your youngling helpers to suggest some additions to the garden. It makes it more fun for them. Many vendors sell "kids" collections of seeds if you need some suggestions. FataMorgana...See Moreperennial herbs
Comments (2)This list is culinary herbs only: Perennial herbs are oregano, sweet marjoram, sage, rosemary, winter savory, salad burnet, thyme (although it can be short-lived and have to be replaced every 3-4 years), garlic chives and onion chives, and bay (laurel nobilis, not the California bay). All of these take sun, although here in the south, they will appreciate a little afternoon shade in the height of summer. This is by no means a complete list--just some of the ones we grow. Annuals are the basils, parsley (actually biennial, but it gets tough the second season), chervil, cilantro, and fennel. The mints will grow happily in shade. Just be sure to keep them in a pot because they are extremely invasive. It is also a good idea to keep them as far apart as possible so they don't cross-pollinate and you end up with some funny tasting mints. The site for your herb bed is ideal--handy to the kitchen when you want to add something special to a dish at the last minute. Don't amend the soil very much, and don't fertilize. Herbs like a little stress and lean soil, otherwise they get big, lush, and tasteless. If you have more questions, e-mail me and I'll try to help....See MoreOverwintering Perennial Herbs
Comments (8)I'm in zone 10. My tarragon never needed any attention. I just left it outside and it did just fine. I'd imagine lemon balm is the same. Like fata said, don't cut down your woody plants (e.g. rosemary). They should do just fine. It depends on what kind of sage you have. Some sages drop all their leaves and flowers in the winter and you are left with just bare semi-woody branches. You can safely cut these down to the ground as they won't put out any new growth the following year. The plant will re-sprout from the crown with fresh growth. If the variety of sage you have doesn't drop it's foliage it will do just fine left alone (though you may want to do some pruning in the fall or spring). I grow many perennial herbs here (thyme, oregano, chives, lavender, rosemary, sage, marjoram) and I don't do anything special to them over the winter to help them survive--they just do....See Moreredloves2sing
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