Herbs that keep producing on a windowsill
Sprint 16 established that the honest answer for most windowsill herbs is 'until October', and Sprint 22 made it a field. Filtering on whether the herb will actually grow indoors returns thirty-two of thirty-three, because almost anything survives a windowsill; filtering on whether it keeps PRODUCING returns twenty-one, and the twelve it excludes are the ones people buy most. A supermarket basil is fifteen seedlings in one plug and dies on schedule, coriander bolts from a single check, and neither is a failure of care. This is that distinction as a list.
How this list was built
Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 21 of the 33 herbs qualify. It is published because it names a question people ask, returns enough plants to be useful, does not return most of the group it is about, and rests on fields that are actually populated. Lists that fail any of those are on the coverage page instead.
| Plant | Type | Light | Spacing | Min. pot depth | In a container |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChervilAnthriscus cerefolium | HerbSome care needed | Partial shade, Dappled shade | 20–25 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| ChivesAllium schoenoprasum | HerbStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade | 20–30 cm | 15 cm | well suited |
| Curry leafMurraya koenigii | HerbDemanding | Full sun | 100–150 cm | 35 cm | well suited |
| Garlic chivesAllium tuberosum | HerbStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade | 20–30 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| HyssopHyssopus officinalis | HerbStraightforward | Full sun | 40–50 cm | 25 cm | well suited |
| Lemon balmMelissa officinalis | HerbStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade | 45–60 cm | 25 cm | well suited |
| Lemon thymeThymus citriodorus | HerbSome care needed | Full sun | 30–40 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| LemongrassCymbopogon citratus | HerbSome care needed | Full sun | — | 25 cm | well suited |
| MarjoramOriganum majorana | HerbStraightforward | Full sun | 20–30 cm | 15 cm | well suited |
| MintMentha | HerbStraightforward | Partial shade, Full sun, Dappled shade | 30–45 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| OreganoOriganum vulgare | HerbStraightforward | Full sun | 30 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| ParsleyPetroselinum crispum | HerbSome care needed | Full sun, Partial shade | 20–25 cm | 25 cm | well suited |
| RosemarySalvia rosmarinus | HerbStraightforward | Full sun | 90 cm | 30 cm | well suited |
| Salad burnetSanguisorba minor | HerbStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade | 30–40 cm | 25 cm | well suited |
| ShisoPerilla frutescens | HerbSome care needed | Full sun, Partial shade | 30–40 cm | 25 cm | well suited |
| SorrelRumex acetosa | HerbStraightforward | Partial shade, Full sun, Dappled shade | 30–38 cm | 25 cm | well suited |
| TarragonArtemisia dracunculus | HerbSome care needed | Full sun | 45–60 cm | 25 cm | well suited |
| Thai basilOcimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora | HerbSome care needed | Full sun | 25–30 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| ThymeThymus vulgaris | HerbStraightforward | Full sun | 30 cm | 15 cm | well suited |
| Vietnamese corianderPersicaria odorata | HerbSome care needed | Partial shade, Full sun | 30–40 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| Winter savorySatureja montana | HerbStraightforward | Full sun | 30–40 cm | 25 cm | well suited |
This is one cut through the herbs, which compares every one of them on foliage, size and container suitability — including the ones this list rules out, and why.