I'm between houses this year, so I'm doing all my herbs in containers, too. Here are some things to remember:

Most herbs like sandy, not overly rich soil and good drainage. They need lots of sun (8 hours daily is great) and shouldn't be overwatered.

I'm guessing you want herbs to cook with, so I'll suggest a few of my favorite culinary herbs:

SAGE -- perennial, does very well in pots, is very fragrant and tasty, easy to maintain and disease resistant, comes in a number of lovely ornamental varieties, doesn't grow easily from seed so you might want to start with a 4-inch nursery plant that'll cost about $2.00

BASIL -- annual, easy to start from seed, very sensative to cold and will not germinate well in cool weather, dies at first touch of frost, beautifully fragrant and ideal for cooking, Sweet Basil is probably the best to try

THYME -- perennial, very easy to maintain but difficult to start from seed, pretty, available in different "flavor" varieties like lemon

CHIVES -- perennial, very easy to start from seed, pretty blooms, easy to use for cooking or in salads

Basically, think of what you like to cook with and try growing some. There are lots of books and websites with details on how to grow each herb -- but don't get too caught up in the details. Most herbs are pretty forgiving, overall, and hey, if you make a mistake, you can always start again. Good luck and have fun!

I think you could do rosemary in a pot too...I love rosemary with chicken and in mashed potatoes.

I've tried dill in a pot without much success...I mean it grew, but I never got a bunch of great dill out of it.

You could do parsley and cilanto too if you wanted. Cilantro is yummy in lots of mexican dishes including salsa

My biggest suggestion to you would be to invest in decent sized pots/containers. Although clay pots are pretty, they dry out too fast in my opinion. Also invest in the right soil (don't buy the cheap stuff) you will be glad later when your herbs are happy and you are not watering as often.

I have a similiar question...How many herb plants can i put together in a pot? And about the dirt--is garden soil okay? I have rosemary, lavender, lemon-scented thyme....what else would you recommend? I want perrenials. I want them year-round...

Thanks-
Sarah

G'Day!
- The bigger the pot, the easier to grow in. i actually use a window box indoors, both for maximum volume and to be right by the window. If the volume is big enough (say, over a gallon) you can even pop in a couple of worms to keep the soil airated for you! Little pots may be cute, but i wouldn't use them for anything but sedums and sempervivums.

- Soil should drain well; more herbs are killed by damp roots than by dry. (But don't let it get TOO dry!) i recommend a heaping table spoon of rich soil to a cup of sand. Others may recommend milled moss and vermiculite, or a half-and-half mix of commercial potting soil and sand.

- Garden soil is FINE - that's what i use - as long as it drains OK; if it doesn't drain well, add sand. You may want to sterilize garden soil. This is easy: you can make it into mud and boil it in an old saucepan (which will STINK) or water a panful with boiling water and let sit until cool, then drain as best you can and let evaporation do the rest.

- With a big pot, you can grow several herbs together; many seem to do better with "companions." Also, if something fails, your container isn't empty.

- Light is another major factor; the better the light, the sturdier the plants. But you dodn't say if you were growing indoors or outside. Even if your plan is to have the herbs inside in cool and cold weather, they may enjoy a "summer vacation" ouside, if you can do that. (my herbs lok great outside, but with no good light inside, they look scraggily and terribly unhappy during the winter indoors, not growing enough to use nor do they look nice, so i may give up on inside herbs until i can get better lighting.)

- Basil note: basil are actually perennial, IF you keep them warm and happy and don't let them flower. But they can be challenging.

- Rosemary is funny; some folk find it extremely challenging, while for others it grows like a weed. i think it's partly just luck to have the right range of humidity and light and to neither over nor under water her.

- Parsley doesn't like transplanting; direct-seed in the container, sowing extra seeds and then thinning them out when you see which are strongest.

- Thymes come in a wide range, are generally quite hardy, and look nice cascading over the edge of a container; you might like to use them as a "ground cover" about the base of larger plants such as sages or rosemary; what ever you do to keep the big plant happy will be fine for the thyme too.

- Happy gardening,
-vlad

I grow ALL of my herbs in containers. This is because I started my herb garden when I was still living in an apartment. When I got a house, I put all of the herbs by the back (kitchen) door until I could put them in the ground, but loved so much the convenience of being able to slip outside to harvest herbs to use in cooking (even if it was dark or raining) in just a few seconds, that I left them all in their pots. I've re-arranged them since this picture to give them some more room and keep them from being crammed too close to each other, but this slightly outdated photo will give you the idea:

Here I have (left to right):
-Citronella (not a cullinary herb--I bought it because it's supposed to repel mosquitos. It doesn't. But it does have pretty little flowers now, so I'll keep her)
-Thyme (she gets lots of haircuts)
-Chives (great for any time you're using sour cream or cream cheese in a dish)
-Cillantro (at DH's request)
-Parsley (I use this all the time. The quickest way to impress your dinner guests is to put sprigs of parsley on everything)
(below these, garlic)
-Oregano (this one was grown from a cutting I got about 9 months ago)
-Pineapple sage (the hummingbirds love it)
-Chocolate mint (mmmmmm)
-Rosemary (needs extremely good drainage, and I water it a little less than the others)
-Apple mint
-Bay (in the gray pot. He was in one half this size not too long ago. I can't wait to see how tall he gets in this pot. But, this pot is his final home--I'm not willing to get any bigger than this)

And the little pots in front are for the baby basil, giner, and dill. Oh, and the sweet potato I'm trying to get to vine, but ignore that.

All of it is in full sun. All of it is in potting soil because that has such excellent drainage. All but the bay are in clay pots (because those breathe and suck in moisture from our humid air when the soil is dry, and leech it out when the soil is too wet). And all of them are mulched well (so the roots have time to absorb water before it evaporates in our very hot summers). I've had some of the herbs in the same containers together before, and though I really loved how it looked, they just got too big and started crowding each other. I had to separate all of them to give them enough space. So that works when they're babies, but if you're growing them long term, I don't think it's the best idea. As it is, they would all be much larger in the ground, and putting them in containers already stunts their growth. Oh, and you'll see that several of these (citronella, oregano, mint) have runners looking for a place to root. Well, too bad! : ) Containers means controlling where they go and how big they get.

So, my advise is potting soil, sun, and chosing herbs that you will use or love (love can be for the smell, the pretty flowers, whatever). And put them where you can harvest them easily. That's all it takes to have a very enjoyable container herb garden. : )

great ideas! thank you so much!

LaurelLily, your herbs are beautiful! I am soooo jealous! I have just started container gardening this season. I potted my herbs less than a month ago, and they are still too small for me to use. How long did it take for them to get that big? My bay tree is about the size of yours but not so many leaves! I just repotted it into a 20" pot but I guess I didnt need one quite that big huh? I am on a balcony so I dont want it to get too big!

Lydia

Hi, Lydia. : )
Thank you very much. I love my herb garden and just got a couple more plant stands to help it look more organized. For the Bay, it will get as big as the pot allows (they get HUGE in the ground). Prune off some of the leaves on the sides to make it branch out and get bushier (you see gaps in mine where I did that for the same reason). I found out last year, thanks to the folks in this forum, that Bays don't like much fertilizer and that feeding them often can make their leaves change shape and lose smell, so avoid that.

Let me try to remember how old some of these are...
joana (also posts on GW) gave me the thyme (just ripped out a little of hers with roots attached) and the oregano (a cutting from a runner) something like 8 months ago. The pineapple sage, I bought when it was about 6 inches tall, something like 11 months ago. It's about two feet across right now and would be bigger if I didn't share cuttings of it so often (I don't have it for food so much as to attract hummingbirds). The apple mint died back this winter but I cut her back to the soil line in Feb., and she came back from the established roots. Later in the year, she'll get so tall that she'll start spilling over the sides of the pot (I have a grapefruit mint in a container basket for that reason). That basil you see I started from seed in Feb. or so, and I've already harvested a few leaves for pasta sauce. It's really enjoying fertilizer right now. I had a bad record with rosemary, so with this one I cheated and bought one of those rosemary trees they sell around the holidays (they're so much larger than what nurseries have the rest of the year, so I figured more foliage=more roots=more established plant=less likely I'll kill it). I let her alone for a few months, then when it got warmer, pruned a little of her cone shape off so she'd look more natural and repotted her. She's doing fine. The cillantro is the baby--my husband likes picco de gallo so I grabbed a little cillantro at Wal-Mart one day. The parsley (biennial, of course) is in its second year. The citronella is a couple years old, from a division from my sister, but I chop her down when she gets too huge. And right now, the citronella, pineapple sage, and chives are all blooming well, so I'm very excited about that.

My advise for larger herbs in containers is, give them lots of sun. When yours are at least a month old, start feeding them (it's the growing season, they will need food right now). Once they have several pairs of true (adult-looking leaves) you can start to pinch off a leaf here and there. And once they're a decent size, don't hesitate to harvest off as much as a third of the foliage. They're meant for this and will just grow new stuff back for you.

Happy Gardening! : ) Your plants will be big before you know it, and then you'll be sharing them with everybody else and going crazy in the kitchen.

I have some thyme plants in a pot. They are about 2 and a half months old, and the tallest plants are 2 and a half inchs tall is this normal?

Well, that depends. Did you start it from seed, cuttings, or buy a baby plant? You might want to feed it and make sure it's getting enough light. But I wouldn't worry right now that it's too small. : )

LaurelLily, What an incredible display of herbs. Unfortunately, with the weather patterns here in z5 I don't believe I could ever achieve the size of plants you have in the short growing season we have. I tend to buy more established plants at the start, the bigger the better,so I can use them sooner and the most for my money. But it's nice to look at your collection and dream though. Thanks for sharing it !

LaurelLily, what do you feed your herbs with? And how often? I havent done anything but do a little foliar feeding with Maxicrop seaweed and John's Recipe (from the Natural Gardener), it's mostly meant for foliar feeding I think and the numbers are quite low. I also realized that neither supplies much nitrogen. I have been afraid to fertilize much because I have always read that herbs shouldnt be fed much or they will grow big but with little flavor. I added a some worm castings on top but thats about it. Thymes, sage, rosemary look okay, but thai basil, new growth on the bay and mint are looking a bit pale. Some of the leaves on my mint were yellowing and I did fertilize it with John's Recipe and Maxicrop. It started looking a little better after that so maybe I should fertilize it a bit more. My chives are doing the same thing now. Some of the new leaves are yellow. Most of them were potted the first week in April so they more than a month old, so I guess I should feed them something, but wasnt sure what. I am trying to go with organic stuff and was planning to try fish/seaweed emulsion. But again, not sure how often. Next year, when I repot, I will put some slow release fert in the pots, but I didnt have any at the time I planted these. Help!

Lydia

Due to some life changes, I now am living in an apartment - I had previously grown a large vegetable garden and had established a wildflower garden. My apartment is on the third floor with a southeasterly exposure - no balcony. I was wondering what type herbs I might be able to grow in my apartment - I still like to cook so fresh herbs will be welcome. Thanks, I look forward to making garden friends again - even if it is bover te Internet!

I'm with blackie - all of us zone 5ers are admiring that picture, those of us in apartments even moreso!

I have some potted herbs and I want to care for them in a way that they will grow nicely.
I have a Rosemary I acquired yesterday. It came in a plastic pot, that I believe it is to small. My question is should I replant the rosemary to a larger clay pot, or it will be well in the small container. How do I cut the babies to transplant to another container and when? I understand rosemary like full sun, water twice a day, and it will be fine. is it right?
My Basil is two weeks with me. He is doing fine, getting lots of sun. I collect leaves as I need and when they start to show brown spots. I also think the pot he came in is too small, but I am affraid to replant it in a larger container. WHat should I do to keep it beautiful? Any special care?
My cilantros are babies. The old cilantros just died and the seeds they left are giving me babies (iupii!!). But yesterday I tried to separate the babies 6 inches apart, but some of them were dead today. Did I kill day while transplanting? I tried to transplant them with all the soil in the roots. How much sun does babies cilantro need? Any special care so they could grow strong?
Parsley. My parsley has new branchs, but some of them are getting yellow. It is in fun sun, outside in a big pot. What should I do to them grow greener?
I also have small chives, they are struggling for life, I leave them in fun sun outside in the same large container of the parsley. Is it ok?

For now, these are my herbs. I will get new ones slowly, as the one I have show me I am ready to take care of them.

Thank you for reading and helping me.

I just started my first herb garden in a Stack-A-Pot. :)

They're all up even though you can't really see the seedlings in this pic. (except for the Basil which needs to be thinned :D)

I planted
Garlic Chives
Geneovese Basil
Mammoth Dill
Cilantro
Lemon Balm
and English Thyme :)

Best Wishes
Amino-X

It is a pretty nice container!! You take the herbs in the same way of other containers?

sorry about the message above, I forget to include care after take. - Do you take care of the herbs in this container in the same way you do with other containers?

Hi! I'm a new member, newlywed, new gardener! I'm starting an herb garden on my apt. deck, too, and all this good advice is so very helpful! Thanks especially to LaurelLily!!! Your herb garden is what I had in my head when I went to the garden store for the first time... though I still have a long way to go to get there! Pardon me if you or someone else already answered this question (I haven't seen it anywhere in this conversation), but how and with what do you fertilize potted herbs? I'm pretty clueless about all this, and fear that my soil might be exhausted pretty soon! Thanks! ~liz

YMMV on the following Liz, but I use a dry 6-10-10 fertilizer (only about 2 bucks at Wal*Reich for a box that'll last me a decade), and apply a handful for every 4 square feet every 3 growing months. And every 6 months, I apply a light dusting of magnesium sulfate (epsom salts, just make sure they're the pure thing). The plants respond well, all else being constant.

Congrats on all the newness!

Just a word to no one in particular from my experience: stay away from anything that says "potting mix" for herbs... They will HATE it. Way too much loosley-packed raw organic matter. Always go for a landscaping-grade or home-processed compost, manure, or blend thereof... Or failing that, just plain topsoil. Throw in about half a cup to a cup of sand for every gallon of compost or manure, depending on the particular plant's requirements (IE more for rosemary, less for parsley).

Just my $0.02 on the subject.

hi i just bought some varigated silver thyme and sage plants at our local garden center i put them in a large 13" pot with some potting soil made by mircale grow and add sand i had for reptilesthat i wasn't useing and perlite. i am hopeing it right for them. i did water them in so the wouldn't be any air pockets theare ina east window under a plant light this my second try at cantainer gardeng of herbs other didn't make it im trying again

Don't forget that alot of these herbs can be grown indoors as well in a sunny window sill. This will keep your kitchen stocked with fresh herbs in the winter as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Container herb garden

When is a good time to start the herbs ? is it okay to do in late summer as long as they have a hours of sun?

Which herbs are you thinking of starting? Some like cilantro & dill will have enough time to grow for you before winter. Others, I would wait until late winter/early spring to start for next year's garden.

FataMorgana

So based on this very helpful thread, I'm thinking my herbs are yellowing and spotting because they are in 100% topsoil? We planted basil, Thai basil, chives, and cilantro in large clay pots full of "moo dirt" top soil (enriched by cows). They are in full sun almost all day.

Either that or the wet weather recently was too much.

Other than adding in some sand if we need to replant, could there be another cause to look at? This is our fist attempt and it has only been 2 weeks.

If you are growing in containers, you should really invest in some potting mix. Top soil and such turn into something totally unsuitable when used in pots. Adding sand to what you have will only make matters much worse.

You may have just saved our second round of plants. I think we will have to cut our losses and start over next weekend. Will pick up some potting mix when we pick up the new plants. Thanks!