Perennial herbs are herbs that will continue to grow without needing to be replanted each season in most cases. For obvious reason growing perennial herbs is appealing to many because it saves the hassle of dealing with annual herbs which will need to be replanted each year.
I’m a Survivor
If the herbs are noted as hardy perannials they are, like Beyonce, a survivor and so should be able to make it through the winter weather and live to tell the tale in the following year. Tender perennial herbs are as the name suggests a little more susceptible to the more severe weather – if the winter was a mild one they probably could be able to survive it but would almost certainly need some added protection to get through some of the worst winter weather that we can be subjected to. If perennials are planted in colder climates than they are suited for they will need to be replanted each year in the same way as an annual would.
One way of protecting tender perennials when it is too cold for them is to add a layer of mulch thickly over them to help them to survive the winter. Perennials go dormant when it is winter and will seem as though they have died but in fact they are still living at the roots and when it gets warmer again new growth will begin.
We have only been doing this a few years and found out that finding which zone for planting you live in can play a large part in establishing the care your plants will need. Longer growing seasons are likely for perennial herbs which are grown in places that are warmer and those that live in the colder areas will have to have special attention paid to them as the seasons change.
In or Out – You Decide
Herbs can be grown both indoors and outdoors. One potential indoor method is using Hydroponics, we haven’t tried that yet but it can apparently work quite well. Herbs are quite a convenient for growing indoors as most of them are less than 12 inches tall so they can work well in a desktop or small garden indoors or even when grown in containers. If you place your herbs outside the door, not only will they be easy to collect and use they will also give a lovely fragrence by your door as an added bonus. Even growing herbs in a windowsill or in pots that you can take out in the daytime and bring back in at night is a possibility (although also a bit of a hassle).
Perennial Herbs Commonly Grown
Here is a list of some of the most commonly grown perennial herbs that you can plant:
sweet marjoram, parsley, chamomile, tarragon, horseradish, mint, sage, cardamom, chicory, coriander, ginger, fennel, lavender, lemon balm, lemongrass, marjoram, oregano, sage, nutmeg, nettle, rue, rosemary, savory, sweet cicely, saffron, thyme, wood betony, chives, aloe vera, sweet woodruff, and many more.
Even though they are perennials some will still need to be replaced after a few years as they are best in their earlier years. For instance if you grow thyme it is probably best used for no more than three years but with Lavender you will need to get a new plant after around six years.
By choosing perennials that are hardy, you should have a herbal garden which is relatively low maintenance – and isn’t low maintenance what we all want? 🙂