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Florida Gardening

easy 2 grow herbs for FL?

tumblingtomatoes

13 years ago

Hi al,

was wondering what you think are the easiest herbs to grow from seed here in Florida. We're gardening with kids so we're looking for things that smell/taste good but also have a nice looking leaf/flower.

Thanks! :)

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Comments (17)

carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
13 years ago
Basil, dill, parsley (tho it is very slow to germinate), fennel.

& altho these can be difficult to start from seed, you can buy 1 plant to supply most of your needs & kids love, IMPE:
chives - esp. garlic chives (you can eat the flowers)
mints
oregano
juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl
13 years ago
Carolb: I want to add either dill or fennel to the garden for the black swallowtails. Do you find that one does better than the other in our heat and humidity? Does it persist through our summer heat or does it decline but reseed? If fennel wins, do you have the green or the bronze. Sorry for all the ? but I value your experience as an actual grower.

Thanks, June
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tumblingtomatoes
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks Carol!
tomncath
13 years ago
I'd add rosemary and chives to that list, you have to really mess up to not be able to grow them....
goldenpond
13 years ago
Oh such fun! My grandkids Love to stuff fennel foliage, mint, and tarragon in their mouths when visisting my yard. They also enjoy the Stevia leaf and honeysuckle blossoms. If they like salsa they MAY like cilantro or culantro but not all kids do.
They also love to rub Sweet Marjorum on their wrist for its WONDERFUL fragrance.
**tomncath I only have TROUBLE with rosemary for some reason!

Tanya

START EM YOUNG!
{{gwi:811699}}
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
13 years ago
Fennel is definitely hardier than dill, IMPE. I had plants last through brutal summer heat & even come back from the roots after harvesting. Dill prefers cool weather - once the heat kicks in, it's gone. The swallowtails seem to prefer laying their eggs on my fennel as well. I grow the bulbing kind (Florence fennel).

& FWIW, many folks plant mint in a confined area (or a pot), since it can send out runners & take over.

Rosemary has done very well in dry sandy areas of my yard, once established.

& mmmm - I love sweet marjoram = )
sun_worshiper
13 years ago
I wouldn't recommend rosemary as easy to grow here - I have had a very hard time keeping it alive in FL. I have a lot of experience growing herbs in the NW, but find many of the Mediterranean herbs really struggle here in the summer. I don't know if you can grow from seed - but lemon verbena is excellent here! It grows easily, doesn't have any problems over the summer and is so fun to crush and smell & eat. Just like lemon, but without the sourness.

Also, I would stay away from culantro for a kid friendly garden - it has thorns.

Another herb that has grown really well here is Mexican tarragon. It is very easy to grow, smells like licorice when crushed and has edible yellow flowers.
sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
13 years ago
Lemon balm grows super easy and I didn't have to protect it last winter. I had good luck with chocolate mint and sages as well.
thonotorose
13 years ago
I have a pretty big rosemary that is at least three years old. I bought a set at HD, planted it in bagged cactus soil in a clay pot. It is in midday to late afternoon sun. It lives in a bed with several roses and gets hosed when they do, which is often. I usually skip over it during the rainy season. The pot is large and shallow-ish.
fighting8r
13 years ago
My rosemary grows like crazy, all the time. Stuck one little broken off piece in the sand and now it is a big plant.

The others, forget it. Mainly I've tried dill, fennel, and parsley for the black swallowtails. It does wonderful till around June, then dies completely, like clockwork, a couple of weeks before the swallowtails come around to lay eggs. I also grow rue for them but have not had much luck with it lately either. If only the caterpillars could eat rosemary!

Carolb I guess I need to try the Florence Fennel. I would love to hear any more ideas about growing this group in the heat! I love dill and fennel anyway, it is beautiful IMO.

kelly
writersblock (9b/10a)
13 years ago
If rosemary likes you, it grows like crazy. If it doesn't, nothing works. I've tried for years and for me it does fine till it starts to bloom, then it's history in no time flat. But my neighbor has a huge bush of it, with no care at all, and it grows wild all around here.

I do grow dill and parsley in the winter, but that's for the cats, not for me. It's worth it to have swallowtails around all the time.
tumblingtomatoes
Original Author
13 years ago
We did okay w/ parsley & we did have adorable swallowtail caterpillars & several survived to become butterflies. The kids LOVED that! Okay, I admit it....we all did. LOL!

Love Rosemary, really love it, but only seem to do so-so last year growing it. hmmmmmm........

Oh, I had Mexican tarragon in a pot as a gift, loved it, but it died. (Bummer, it smelled yummy!)

Okay, we're gonna try a few of everyone's suggestions & see how they do. :)

Got some seeds for lemon balm, chives & cilantro. We'll give them a try. Oooh, sweet marjoram, didn't think of that one! Yummy!
Thanks everyone, I didn't expect so many replies so quickly! LOL!
marigoldy
13 years ago
Hi, everyone. Newbie down in Lee County here. Could you also help with planting dates/times, growing seasons for the easy to grow herbs? I'm not sure the home stores' offerings are dependable so far as when to buy and plant. They offered various herb plants all summer, but I didn't know if they would thrive in the heat & humidity. And what should I buy to grow this winter? Thanks for your help.
tclynx
13 years ago
We have a big old rosemary bush right in front of our front door, was moved here from GA about 5 years ago and it was probably an old plant when we dug it up from the house there. It is planted in our sandy soil next to the concrete slab of the front porch and driveway so the pH is raised there from the concrete. I have drip lines run along the base of it but it doesn't get too much water from that. When it rains it gets extra water from the roof but it is very sandy soil so drains quickly. I've layer out cuttings from this plant and put them in pots. The ones I'm neglecting seem fine but the ones we give to the neighbor all seem to die. He must be giving them too much extra loving care.
greenacresgirl
13 years ago
AH! My successful rosemary is also right next to the house. On the east side.
yukkuri_kame
13 years ago
Greek oregano has been my fastest growing herb in my S. Florida container garden. Very easy to grow and propagate by cuttings.

Rosemary doing well. It doesn't like too much water.

Basil has always been a winner for me in S. Florida. It tends to go to seed quickly. I don't mind, because it grows well from seed. Though often I will take cuttings, eat all but the very top leaves and root that piece.

Lemongrass is exceptionally adapted to the climate. Culinary ginger and turmeric make attractive and low-maintenance plants.
wally_1936
13 years ago
Its nice to read all of your post and see what all grows there in your areas. It seems we has some of the same results with the same plants. As for Florance fennel it seems to do best for us grown in the fall-winter season. My Greek oregano seems to slow down in the summer it does its best in the fall-winter and does spread like crazy on its own. But then it is nice to find new homes and make friend at the same time. For some reason I lost my thyme this summer after expanding to 5 times its planted size from this spring. Maybe morning sun rather than afternoon sun, Any Help? For me sage never seems to pull though our summers but does fine in the fall until our hot summers start. It seems I did goof with my rosemary, I thought I could just bury the ends of those branches near the ground but ended up with all those which I buried dying back to the main trunk so now my rosemary is more like a tree than a bush. Sounds like from all the post that I need to go to our Chinese Grocery store and pick up some lemon grass and a few other items. Thanks for all your post
Paul

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