Herbs: recommend something that would be impossible to kill, please!

[Taedareth]

I'm thinking lavender or rosemary - would those be good candidates? Any other suggestions? :think

I buried part of my daughter's placenta in a flower pot and I want to grow an herb in the pot that won't die. Something that will be happy in a variety of climates (we might move to another part of the country in the next couple years, and I don't know where.)

[Katiebug]

Parsley
I'm near you and grow cilantro just fine
Greek oregano
Mint

[Aisling]

Oregano and mint are the ones that always completely overtake my garden and refuse to die in the winter. :giggle

[MamaPepper]

:popcorn

[Psyche]

Mint and chamomile have grown well for me. I NEVER have luck with lavendar, ever. Maybe I need to buy a big plant of it.

[LadybugSam]

its hard to kill mint on purpose, let alone by accident. I'd try that.

[Taedareth]

I've found that mint grows GREAT outdoors in beds, but I've killed it in pots before :blush

[canadiyank]

Mint is invasive, I would not grow it outside, but it's nice if you have it in a big container. Not sure about rosemary growing forever, I've never tried it in a pot before.

:think

[Psyche]

Cilantro?

I have mint around my shed (well, I'm trying to get it to grow around my shed). I planted it and it didn't seem to grow but the next year it did. At any rate, I put it around my shed b/c it is invasive and mice don't like mint.

[iburnbrownies]

I was going to say mint as I have tried to kill it before with no luck.

Hmmm.....I have had good luck with lavender outside before - never tried it in a pot. I think people grow Aloe in pots indoors with good success - would be useful in the home too for burns/wounds. Not really a "pretty" one though. :think Also not sure if Aloe is technically an herb (this is not really my strong area - herb etc....)

[canadiyank]

Cilantro is an annual, I would avoid annuals like that and basil, etc. since you want it to keep living. Oh, how about thyme? Or Italian parsley?

[JessicaTX]

Are jalepeno's annuals? I don't think those things ever die.

[canadiyank]

They are annuals up here. :)

[mom2threegirls]

Mint is impossible to kill, IME :yes.

[allisonintx]

mint, another vote for mint. It's a weed and grows like one :mrgreen It also smells so nice!

[poleidopy]

mint, another vote for mint. It's a weed and grows like one :mrgreen It also smells so nice!
:yes yeah, that

[anjelika]

Mint dies in the Winter up here (I believe I'm in Zone 6), but it always comes back and thrives in Spring.
Our rosemary stays and thrives year-round.

[Taedareth]

Rosemary has a woody stalk and can grow into a huge shrub, right?

[katiekind]

I have rosemary in a large planter pot by my back door and it's a couple years old now and about 18' tall at the most. I think in some climates rosemary can get big (or maybe I just have a small-growing variety).

It is pretty indestructible. I was just admiring it today, and cut some to put in a marinade for a roast I'm making tonight.

In the spring I add a couple of other herbs to the pot and use them all summer long. In the winter everything but the rosemary dies back.

[Taedareth]

Ladies who grow rosemary - what part of the country do you live in?

[katiekind]

I live in Western Kentucky. Zone 6 - 7 agriculturally speaking. :-)

[canadiyank]

Central WA here - mine gets about 18 in. high. Not really even a "shrub." :think But you trim it, too, so you could keep it whatever height you wanted.

[canadiyank]

Zone 6.

[Taedareth]

Hmmm I think the climate there is hot/humid in summer and frigid in winter. That about right? :giggle

Here in western Washington State it's pretty mild year-round - up to 100* in summer (all both months of summertime) and gets below zero for no more than 1 month in the wintertime. The rest of the year it's just overcast all the time. Would rosemary be happy here? And would it transfer well if we moved to the midwest?

Edit: Okay, sounds like rosemary grows well everywhere :rockon

[mom2threegirls]

I live in Western WA and I have some friends that have established rosemary that has gotten quite large into a bush. I have limited experience with rosemary as mine was purchased last spring and is still quite small but it is difficult to kill- I kept it in a small pot with no drainage and not much sun and forgot to water it through the summer and it did just fine! :giggle It's gotten a little less green over the winter but it hasn't died back- I'm pretty sure it's an evergreen plant so it shouldn't die back in the winter. And mint does get brown and shrivel up a bit in the winter here but it comes back quickly in the spring. Lavender does REALLY well and looks and smells great all year round. It doesn't continue to grow in the winter but the flowers from the previous season are really pretty on it.

[Atarah]

I'm in SE Texas, and I have a giant, COMPLETELY neglected (except when I cut off a piece for cooking) rosemary SHRUB in my back yard. It has poor drainage, I didn't water it during this summers drougt, and it just.keeps.growing. It's about 4 ft high, and probaby about the same in diameter. It's often sold here in pots, pruned into the shape of a 'mini Christmas tree'. :giggle

I've yet to meet someone who was able to sustain lavender here. It's too hot.

When I lived in middle TN, we had a rosemary shrub, and lavender.

Like someone mentioned about the mint vs. rosemary.... both survive the winter, but rosemary looks much prettier in the process - it doesn't really 'die back' over the winter - it just stops growing.

[canadiyank]

Wow, a 4 ft. shrub! Awesome! :lol

Maybe if it's potted it naturally stays smaller? :think

[Taedareth]

Like goldfish syndrome? That could be ;) I also suspect there are some varieties of rosemary that are naturally smaller. I looked up "rosemary varieties" and wowza, there are lots :yes

[canadiyank]

Like goldfish syndrome? That could be ;)


:lol

[April G]

mint, another vote for mint. It's a weed and grows like one :mrgreen It also smells so nice!


Yeah... I have done tons of container herb gardens, mostly in zone 8+. I have also successfully grown lavender in a pot before, but it helps if you start with a good sized healthy plant.