Herb Plants are in the nurseries here now..Does this mean they over winter? I bought parsey, oregano, african blue basil, chive, and another parsley. I've also seen thyme and various Basil's..I'm wondering if I'm only going to get a couple of months out of them or more.?
This is Zone 8b and sometimes we have a morning or two of frost, sometimes a hard freeze, sometimes no freeze..
Would someone make recommendations about best herbs for the area..
Thanks
Lynn
Herb Help Needed
Chives will be O.K. Both regular and garlic. My garlic chives are just sprouting. I am not sure how tender the rest will be for you. Rosemary stays out all winter for me. It is in a sheltered spot here. pod
Oregano should be fine. Even here in Michigan it tries to stay green all winter and continue to take over my yard. I cannot imagine it not liking Texas :-) I swear, a little chill seems to make it want to grow even faster! And it looooooves the summer heat. Especially if you get a bit of humidity.
I would think that the thyme would stay evergreen for you, though no promises there. Most of mine stay very perky even after a bit of snow has fallen. It takes the temperatures getting quite routinely cold to make them go to sleep for the winter (and they all come back in the spring).
As for your basil, I cannot say for sure though if you get hard freezes I think it will not do well. Here, basil can take some cooler temperatures at night, down into the upper 30's and maybe even a bit lower for a few nights, but a hard freeze kills most varieties. The leaves turn black and nasty looking. I think it kind of depends on what type of basil you have. Sweet basil is wimpy when it comes to cold nights. Greek can sometimes take a bit more abuse. Lemon and Lime seem to be as robust as Greek. I believe that basil stays green all year when in zones 9 and 10. 10 in the SW and West Coast I know for sure because of my family and friends living in S. California and Arizona.
Hope this helped a bit. It's tough trying to give advice from such a very different climate!
Calypsa ~ what type of oregano do you leave outdoors?
Hmmm.... good question! I have two varieties: Greek (the standard green variety), and some type of variegated oregano. I do not know the proper name of the variegated type, all I know is that it tastes good and grows vigorously.
Thank You..
That helps and I feel better buying the oregano, thyme , chives, and rosemary..I think I'll hold off on the basil..
You might try basil indoors in a 6" or 8" pot in a sunny southern window during the winter. Since having fresh basil this summer, I don't think I can live without it :-) My large leaf basil and sweet basil all did the "turn black and mushy" thing as soon as we hit 34*F here. I'm going to try some under grow lights this winter. Good luck!
Basil loooooves grow lights! I've got some hiding in the basement under a grow light for a special treat :-) It's nice to surprise guests (or the DH) every now and then.
Have this thread on my watch list and it popped up this am. The first comment about "herb plants being in the nurseries now" caught my attention this time. I have been noticing a plethora of beautiful plants in the garden centers and nurseries. Many of the plants will not survive the winter in our area but look lovely right now. Marketing is not compatible with gardening in all seasons I am afraid. Kind of aggravates me as people that are new gardeners will think they don't have a green thumb when their only mistake is assuming the gcs only sell what will grow. Good for you to ask first Lynn ... Best of luck.
Yes, I agree., Podster.
Now I am seeing lots of different types of Lettuce and wondering how they do.. Any Lettuce Growers out there.. ?
I would love to try Basil in Pots but the Cats ( feline's not caterpillars) would have a field day..
Oh no, just plant them a few pots of their own. I plant oat grass for the guy cat at work to graze on and pots of catnip for the one at the house that has the 'catnip gene'. I only grow the catnip in spring & summer, but the oats can be grown year around. Both grow easily from seed.
Honestly, I cannot say that any of my cats (my own two indoor kitties and the random feral cats that come by outdoors) have ever bothered my potted basil. They have not even shown any interest other than to sniff it and walk away. If my cats are any barometer, I'd go ahead and try it. So long as the dirt doesn't look enticingly good to play in, I think you would be okay.
Yes, If I could get everything up and growing well enough to hide the dirt I think the pots would be OK..
It's the dirt they want to fool with..
Where do you get oat grass seed?..We can't do catnip as one of them eats it until it makes him sick..
Look in the pet dept at Wmart, you get a small bag of it with a small plastic tub to grow it in and directions. It is easy and will be appreciated. Never had mine barf it up but if they eat the outdoors grass, it is coming up for sure!
I think mine barf for fun..
ROFL..
I have noticed that my cat pretty much hates the scent of any herb other than catnip... maybe you could cover the pot until the seedlings smell good to you and bad to your cats! The seedlings would like a little extra humidity with a dome or baggie anyway... just poke a couple holes for ventillation, and don't let the plastic touch the leaves... and be careful because too much bright sun could cook seedlings under a dome (I do mine under lights).
Critterologist, do you grow Valerian and if so, has your cat ever...?
I've got a small plant of it in a pot now, and so far I don't think he's paid any attention to it. I think I've heard it's the root that they like, so maybe he would have to dig in the pot before deciding to really go after it....
I've got some valerian in the garden and my cat and lots of neighbouring ones rub themselves on it so it is worn off at ground level. They also lick the tops of root that just appear above ground. My cat also does the same thing to bog bean on the edge of the pond (without getting wet). I looked up the properties of these plants and they both have sedative qualities. So does cat mint (catnip). I wonder how cats know - perhaps they have a smell we don't notice, and cats are so lazy anyway, why do they need sedatives?
Hi Patbarr ~ Wow! If this is the effect of a sedative, I don't personally want one... : )) I have one cat with the catnip gene. She will wear a plant down to a nubbin http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/607802/ but the reason I asked about the Valerian is one of our cats loves the bottled Valerian odor and becomes quite aggressive not sedate at all. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/656182/ I haven't grown any here but think I will go for it next spring
I think we may need to do an intervention on pod's cat.
Intervention, hmmm. : )) my sister thinks that only some cats have the gene? May never know but I want to plant Valerian too.
I do know some like catnip and some don't. My Maggie and Lulu wallow in it, and Angus looks at them like he's not sure whether they're playing a joke on him.
If you have the basil pot indoors, place some rocks (like the bagged round river rocks) around the base of the plant to keep the kitties out of the dirt. When we had our house cat all of our plants had rocks covering the dirt to keep the cat out.
Good Idea's all.. Thanks...
Pod,
I planted the oat grass..so far so good..
Lynn
Hopefully the oat grass won't turn into cat ghak! : { The river rocks are a great idea and one I hadn't thought of. Worth a try. pod
Hopefully the oat grass won't turn into cat ghak! : {
The river rocks are a great idea and one I hadn't thought of. Worth a try.
And, thanks to Calypsa, I will be brave and leave the oregano outdoors. If it will survive up north it should here, if not, grrrr. pod
If the Greek oregano doesn't survive for you, I have LOADS that I can split and send you ;-) I have one patch that is trying to spread as fast as it possibly can. It's trying to eat my creeping thyme as I type this.
Thank you Calypsa, I have trouble being adventuresome when I have a plant I love. pod
Shhhhh Pod! Greek oregano doesn't need any encouragement! I hope it didn't hear you.......