Winter Herbs: How to Keep Picking Fresh Herbs All Winter

Most of the kitchen garden goes quiet in winter, but a few herbs keep going right through the cold months. A pot of rosemary or thyme by the back door means fresh herbs for roasts, stews and stuffing all winter long.

Here's which herbs you can keep picking in a UK winter, which ones rest until spring, and how to look after them all until the weather warms up.

Herbs You Can Pick All Winter

The woody, Mediterranean herbs are the stars of winter. They're evergreen, so they keep their leaves all year, and they're hardy enough to stay outside. These are the classic winter cooking herbs, and you'll find them in our herbs range.

Rosemary

Rosemary is evergreen and hardy through an average British winter. What it really hates is cold, wet soil, which can kill it in a hard, wet winter, especially on heavy clay. Give it a sunny spot and sharp drainage, and it will keep you in sprigs all year.

Thyme

Thyme is fully hardy across Britain and stays green through winter. Like rosemary, it's winter wet rather than cold that kills it, so free-draining compost or soil is the key.

Sage

Culinary sage is evergreen and hardy in most of Britain. It's fairly short-lived, though, and easily lost to cold, wet soil, so give it a free-draining spot. Plain green sages are tougher than the coloured-leaved kinds, such as purple, golden and tricolour sage, which are more easily damaged by a hard frost.

Bay

A bay tree is evergreen and hardy in most of Britain, and it's normally left outdoors all year. Cold, drying winds can scorch the leaves brown, and a bay in a pot is more exposed than one in the ground, so move potted bays somewhere sheltered in a hard winter. It takes clipping well and is easy to keep small in a pot.

Rosemary, thyme and sage are also sold together in our winter cooking herb collection.

Herbs That Rest Over Winter

Some hardy herbs disappear in winter, but they're not dead. They're simply resting, and they'll come back in spring.

• Mint: the top growth dies away completely in winter, and new shoots come up from the roots in spring. Mint spreads fast, so keep it in a pot or a deep container sunk into the ground.
• Chives: vanish completely over winter, then reshoot from the clump in early spring.
• Parsley: hardy enough to stand a British winter outside, but it runs to seed in its second spring, so it's best sown or bought fresh each year.

Herbs That Won't Survive Winter

Tender herbs are summer plants. Basil is killed by the first frost, coriander is a frost-tender annual that's finished by autumn, and sweet marjoram isn't reliably hardy in Britain. Enjoy them in summer, then start again with fresh plants in late spring.

How to Look After Herbs in Winter

• Drainage comes first. Wet roots kill far more winter herbs than cold does. Use free-draining compost, and raise pots on pot feet so water can escape.
• Water sparingly. Herbs in pots need very little water in winter. Only water when the compost is dry a little way down.
• Give them shelter. Move pots against a sunny house wall, out of cold, drying winds. In a hard frost, move potted bays and coloured-leaved sages somewhere sheltered.
• Pick little and often. Herbs grow very slowly in winter, so take a few sprigs at a time and never strip a plant bare.
• Don't feed. Leave feeding until spring, when the plants start growing again.

For more on keeping pots safe in cold weather, see how to protect plants from frost.

Buying Herbs in Winter

If you're buying herbs in autumn or winter, keep them in their pots in a sheltered spot by the house, and plant them out in spring. Thyme, sage, mint and bay can go into the ground or bigger pots from March, and rosemary from April, once the soil starts to warm up. Until then, keep the compost on the dry side and keep them out of cold winds.

Winter Herbs: Your Questions Answered

What herbs can I grow in winter in the UK?

Rosemary, thyme, sage and bay are evergreen and hardy, so you can keep picking them all winter. Mint and chives die back and return in spring.

Can herbs stay outside in winter?

Yes, the hardy ones can, as long as they have good drainage. Give pots a sheltered spot, and move potted bays somewhere sheltered in a hard winter.

Can I grow herbs indoors in winter?

The hardy herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, sage, bay and mint, are outdoor plants and are happiest outside all year. Tender herbs such as basil are grown on a sunny windowsill, but they're summer plants, so they're best started fresh in spring.

Does mint die back in winter?

Yes. The leaves and stems die away completely, and new shoots come up from the roots in spring.

Fresh Herbs Through the Cold Months

With a few pots of rosemary, thyme, sage and bay by the back door, you'll have fresh herbs for winter cooking until spring. For more seasonal jobs, see our UK gardening calendar.

Our garden plants are grown in Britain by growers we know, including the Yorkshire nursery that grows most of them. We check every plant by hand before it's packed, and send it out ready for your garden.