Growing Herbs in Containers | Tips for Professional-Quality Results

Potted herbs offer real advantages for every kind of grower, from commercial producers and their retail customers to home gardeners. They're versatile and portable, and they last longer and sell better than cut herbs. These tips will help you succeed with container herbs.

Benefits to Growers

Potted herbs for sale at a regional fair

• Quick turnaround. Potted herbs are ready to sell in about 4–8 weeks, depending on variety. See the container herb production timetable, in the chart below.
• Good returns. Fresh herbs are a valuable crop that tends to pay back well.
• Longer shelf life. With good care, many potted herbs stay attractive for several weeks. If you sell at a farmers' market or farmstand, unsold pots are easy to keep until the next market. Cut herbs have a much shorter shelf life and bruise easily.
• Attractive displays. Potted herbs add color and fragrance to a market display of vegetables and flowers.

Benefits to Consumers

• Better quality. As living plants, potted herbs stay fresh far longer than cut herbs, giving customers a high-quality product they value and the convenience of keeping it longer.

These tips will help you do well with container herbs.

1 • Start out with popular and easy-to-grow crops.

Potted basil and parsley in a greenhouse trial

• Easy herbs to start with include basil, dill, chives, cilantro, and parsley.

2 • Select varieties with demonstrated container performance.

A mix of potted herbs

• For full, attractive pots that last, choose compact, bushy, slow-to-bolt varieties, such as compact Genovese basils and 'Fernleaf' dill.
• For faster turnaround, pick quicker-growing varieties like standard Genovese basil and 'Bouquet' dill. Keep in mind that fast varieties can also get tall and leggy and may bolt sooner in a pot than compact types.
• Some potted herbs stay presentable longer than others. Many dills and cilantros bolt quickly in heat and can't be sold once they do. Others, including most thyme and rosemaryand some basils, can be trimmed to delay bolting and encourage side branching, which can also improve their looks and yield. Sell the trimmings from overgrown plants as cut herbs.

3 • Grow an assortment and time your plantings.

'Peione' flat-leaf parsley: an improved Giant of Italy type with bigger, darker leaves, a more uniform habit and sweeter flavor

• Give customers a variety of culinary herbs to spark their interest. Crop times differ, so plan sowings carefully to keep a steady assortment.
• To compare days to germination, days to harvest, and annual or perennial status by zone, see our herb culture chart.

4 • Offer specialty varieties.

French tarragon

• 'Peione' parsley. With sweet, glossy, dark green leaves on tall, full plants, heavy yields, sturdy stems and strong regrowth, 'Peione' is great for bunching, whether for market growers, chefs, homesteaders or keen home gardeners.
• Sweet Thai basil. A must for authentic Thai cooking, this basil is known in Thailand as bai horapa. Its fairly compact habit, small leaves, and purple-tinged stems and flowers make it a handsome container plant, and it makes a pretty garnish for desserts and drinks.
• Greek basil. Greek basils like 'Spicy Bush' and 'Piccolino' form tight, rounded mounds that look almost like little boxwoods in a pot. Their flavor is like Genovese basil but spicier, and the tiny leaves can be pinched off and scattered over food without chopping.
• More excellent choices. Other specialty herbs that do well in pots include garlic chives (also called Chinese chives), purple basils such as 'Amethyst Improved' and 'Red Rubin', citrus basils, and Greek oregano.

5 • Plan to offer seasonal culinary pairings.

• Grow herbs that go with your seasonal vegetables.
• Schedule sowings so herbs are ready alongside the vegetables they pair with in the kitchen. Examples:
• Pair dill, chives and parsley with cucumbers and new potatoes for pickles and chilled salads.
• Basil, cilantro, and oregano alongside ripe tomatoes.
• Thyme, rosemary, sage, and marjoram alongside winter squash, potatoes and other roots and keepers for roasts, soups and stews.

6 • Use containers of appropriate size.

• Retail herbs are usually grown in 3–6" pots.
• A 4" pot is a good compromise between bench space and a plant big enough to look good and sell well.

7 • Sow according to recommendations.

• Sow seed straight into the retail pot, or start it in plug trays and move the plugs into retail pots 2–3 weeks later to finish.
• See our herb growing information or the seed packet for sowing details by variety.

Times below are estimates and may vary with conditions.

• Herb culture chart • PDF
• Herb growing information
• Herbs suited to containers (products)
• Growing 12 herb species in containers • NC State University horticultural science (PDF)
• Organic greenhouse herb production • ATTRA sustainable agriculture program (PDF)
• Growing vegetables, herbs and annual flowers in containers • Cornell Cooperative Extension (PDF)
• Container herb growing • University of Illinois Extension