Bringing potted herbs inside for winter

11 years ago

I have rosemary, thyme, and parsley in containers and would like to overwinter them inside. We've already had nights in the 40's here, so I think it's time to get them off the porch. Anything special I need to do to ease the transition? I don't have an in between temperature space that has any light, unfortunately. I do have a grow light, though-- if I need that.

Featured Answer

jane__ny

11 years ago

When I lived in NY, I grew many herbs outside on my deck which was close to the kitchen. I had left Rosemary and Parsley outside until it got quite cold. They even got snowed on and survived. As a matter of fact, parsley likes cold and Rosemary seemed unfazed.

I would bring them in when the ground started to freeze. They were on a deck so they had little protection.

This is what I did. It worked for me. Nothing scientific.

Rosemary did not like the heat of the house. The needles would start drying out and falling off. It was prone to spider mites. I had an unheated room off the kitchen and it spent the winter out there and did well. Put it out each spring. That plant got huge.

Parsley likes cool weather. If you bring it in keep it away from any heat source. A sunny window in a cool room is best. If not, under lights in a cool spot.

Thyme likes heat. That and bay plants came in before it got too cold. Thyme never lasted long in the house. I always cut off all the leaves, washed them and put them in the freezer. I did that with parsley also as they got leggy.

Not sure you'll get the thyme to survive living inside. They love warmth but also high light.

Maybe other people in your zone have found ways to carry them over winter.

You can freeze them all to have fresh herbs all winter.

Good luck,

Jane

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Comments (6)

laticauda
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Thyme is an evergreen ground cover in some zones. Oh, just saw 4b. I'm really not sure. Sorry I couldn't be more help :(

could you keep them in an unheated shed or storage room with very little water and then in the spring just cut off all the nasty etiolation?
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
11 years ago
Parsley is a biennial (like an annual except it has a 2-year growth cycle instead of 1 yr) that's going to bolt in its second year, so buy a new plant. Most species of thyme can be over-wintered in a garage or maybe on the porch if it's enclosed. They don't like to be warm in the winter and are very prone to mites under warm, dry conditions indoors. A north-facing window sill behind the window treatment in a cold room would be better than trying to keep it growing. I had good luck with rosemary under lights in a 68* basement with humidity in the 50-60% range, but it doesn't do well indoors in low humidity. You can also over-winter rosemary in an attached garage by putting the plant on the garage floor and covering it with an overturned cardboard box which traps geo heat coming through the garage floor. I had 4 rosemary bonsai more than 20 years old on a large table in the garage that were lost in winter '13 when the garage door was inadvertently left open on one of those very cold -12* nights we occasionally get in MI. I lost a LOT of zone 7 & 8 plants that night - plants that normally over-wintered just fine in the garage in years previous.

Al
bananastand
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for all the advice so far. I am aware that parsley is biennial, but was hoping to be able to harvest off the plant through winter at least. Not sure when it's going to bolt, but thought I might have some time left. I do have an unheated shed with an opaque plastic "skylight" at the peak, maybe I will try the thyme and rosemary in there. Mostly I just hate buying bundles of herbs at the store for $4 a package in winter when I'll just need a tiny bit for a recipe. I find it hard to use all the fresh herbs that come in those packs before they go bad. And dry/frozen is fine, but not an adequate substitute for fresh all the time.
laticauda
11 years ago
Use fresh in season and grow enough to freeze or dry for the winter.
jane__ny
11 years ago
Yes, you can harvest as much as you can get before it bolts. I have had parsley make it in a cooler room and continue to grow. I always harvested the thyme and parsley and put it in the freezer. But you can keep the plant going for a while in a sunny, cool window.

BTW, the parsley and cilantro I grew in large containers outdoors would reseed and I would get fresh new plants in early Spring. Try planting a large containers with the herbs you use. Sage will survive, parsley will come back as will leeks and chives. I kept large containers outside my kitchen door on my deck.

Jane