How to Winterize Your Herb Garden

Herb gardens, like any other gardens, need to be winterized. No matter how many gardeners you ask, you will get many different answers. This advice comes from actual experience working in a garden. However, what works in one garden may not work in every garden. So, you need to experiment and take notes. If you have a journal of what you have done and what has or has not worked, then the next year you will know what should be done.

HARDY PERENNIAL HERBS

After two or three frosts, it is good to trim back the hardy perennial herbs. Leave about two to four inches of the stem intact. Be sure to only cut the dead growth from the plant. This method is good for the plants because it allows them to die back naturally from the frosts. When this happens, the nutrients stored in the plants will travel back to the roots and be stored for use the next spring. It also is a good way to tidy up your herb garden. Be sure to leave at least two inches of stem. The stems that are above the ground will catch and hold the snow. The snow will give the roots another layer of insulation against the freezing temperatures of winter.

ANNUALS AND OTHER HERBS

There are some herbs that are used in the kitchen that do not need to be cut back until spring. Thyme and Parsley can be harvested well into the cold months. I had one Parsley plant survive the entire winter and keep growing through the next summer.

Woody perennials should not be cut back at all. An example of this would be Lavender. It could be fatal to this plant to cut it back at all. Lavender plants will bloom on old growth that is from the year before. If you want to cut this plant back, be sure and wait until spring time. Then, you can see which part of the old growth is going to develop blooms.

MULCHING