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Which herbs should I grow together?

10 years ago

Today I bought 4 herbs from our nursery's sale. I got variegated Oregano, purple Basil, Chocolate Mint, and French Lavender. Obviously lavender is gonna grow separate since it loves dry conditions, but should I grow the three together or only the basil and the mint? I'm planning on growing them in containers BTW.

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Comments (9)

balloonflower
10 years ago
Honestly, the best is to give them separate containers. All can get rather large (would say especially in your tropic conditions) and aren't going to be as happy sharing a pot.

If that's not an option, the oregano and lavender prefer the same soil conditions. Mint is so aggressive that it will take over all the pot space and push out any other plant, though it does like the same wetter conditions as basil, so you could put them together, but your basil will have to fight to grow properly.
Ronn Bonites
Original Author
10 years ago
Ok then. I'm gonna have mint grow alone. Don't want it taking over my basil. I'll just grow lavender and oregano in one pot temporarily until I can get more pots. Thanks for the advice!
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wally_1936
10 years ago
Oregano can spread over a large area. Mine went from a 3" pot to a 3' X 3' bed in a year. Pots can contain it but it will go over the sides quickly. Mint loves to keep its feet moist but does not like the hot weather and will die or at least die back. It is more of a cool weather plant it did great in Colorado but here it has never tried to spread, it does not need to be restricted as it will not spread unless you have great soil.
Ronn Bonites
Original Author
10 years ago
Ok since I bought more herbs a while back, I'll just show you photos of the plants that I've grouped together for the time being.

Over here's Rosemary, Oregano, Sage, and Lavender:

And the other group has Purple Basil, Holy Basil, Chocolate Mint, Spearmint, Lemon Balm, Tarragon, and Perilla:

I also have Pineapple Sage which I dunno where to put. Should I put in the dry group with sage because it's a Salvia, or does go with the moist group with basil and mint?

This post was edited by Resolute_Noir on Mon, Dec 30, 13 at 21:36
twolips
10 years ago
Oh the pineapple sage gets HUGE. Mine this year got to about 4' tall and 3' wide. Also has a bright red flower on it that hummingbirds love.
Ronn Bonites
Original Author
10 years ago
I see. I put it in a separate pot for now. Guess that was a good decision. But what are its growing conditions? Does it like it dry or moist?
seysonn
10 years ago
Unless you want to grow those clumped together for ornamental reason, each of those plants (basil, lemon balm, .. ) need at leat a 3-4 gal. pot. Plus, as mentioned before, I would absolutely plant mint separately. In addition to aggressive root system, mint loves lots of water and very little fertilizer.
twolips
10 years ago
I just watered mine when I watered everything else. A few times it was neglected and started to droop, but picked right up after a watering. Temps where I live, in the summer are in the 90's and can get up to the 100's. I did not use the herb for cooking, just for aesthetics. My chocolate mint, which I do not use either and stupidly planted in the ground, I am trying to pull all of it out, to use the space for something else.
Ronn Bonites
Original Author
10 years ago
Oh I'm planning on having these on their own pots and maybe two herbs with the same growing conditions in one large pot but for now they'll just be grouped together like that for convenience.

This post was edited by Resolute_Noir on Thu, Jan 2, 14 at 21:22

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