Is there a trick for herbs (in a pot?)

[kfillmore]

I have bought mint, marjoram (2x), parsley and oregano. They are all dead or not doing well. Am I missing something?

[swd12422]

Did you repot them when you brought them home? Are the roots growing out of the bottom? Most of the time, you need to replant in larger pots than the ones they come in. Also follow the light and water guidelines on the tags, and even then, sometimes the plants just weren't all that strong to begin with.

[cristeen]

How long did they survive?  When you say "dead or not doing well", can you describe that for us?  Where did you put them/plant them? 

Mint is usually pretty hard to kill, but the others can be dependent upon watering, sun, heat, etc.  You live in HI, so what are your temps like?

I know around here most of them will die back over the winter as it gets colder (and it doesn't get all that cold here), but they will come back in the spring.  Except the parsley, which can be more finicky. 

[ollyoxenfree]

Most herbs need a fair amount of light and good soil and drainage. If you've provided these things according to the directions for the type of plant, then I'd suspect that you didn't receive good nursery stock. 

My grocery store sells potted herbs but I've never bought them - they look stringy and weedy. I'd go to a reputable plant nursery instead. 

[kitchensqueen]

I agree about the light - it's huge. I never give my herbs supplemental lighting in the winter, and they suffer from it. Light from a window in the winter just doesn't cut it for most herbs. 

[MonarchMom]

Here in zone 7, mint, marjoram and oregano are all hardy herbs.  If planted in a semi-protected spot, they will dye back in the winter and re-emerge come spring.  Generally speaking, herbs with this type of woody stalks like a hot, sunny spot with dry and less fertile soil.  The oils that give them flavor are more concentrated that way.  Same with Rosemary, lavender, thyme and sage.  You might be overfeeding or over watering them.

Parsley is a "tender" biennial, meaning it lives for 2 years, flowering in the second year.  Tender herbs die off in winter, though it may come back for the second year.  It wants lots medium sun, lots of water and food. Other tender herbs include basil, dill, tarragon, cilantro.

I've tried to overwinter tender herbs many times, usually they don't get enough sun and die after a month or so.

Chives will grow inside - they are more of a perinnial, but then the whole house smells like chives!

[SweetSilver]

I'm not a big fan of growing herbs in pots--indoors.  Are you growing them indoors or out?  In both instances, to do well i.e. to get them to a point that you can harvest them over and over again, you will need quite a large pot, regular water, repotting every year in fresh soil.  Italian parsley is nearly a weed in my zone 7 vegetable garden :) but it has a deep taproot (carrot family), loves rich garden soil and does not do well in smaller pots.  The trick is larger pots.  Indoors, without supplemental lighting a sunroom or greenhouse, you are not going to get much from them.  Sunny windows won't hold pots large enough to be really useful.