GrowingHQ

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.

21 plants
PlantTypeLightSpacingMin. pot depthIn a container
ChervilAnthriscus cerefoliumHerbSome care neededPartial shade, Dappled shade20–25 cm20 cmwell suited
ChivesAllium schoenoprasumHerbStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade20–30 cm15 cmwell suited
Curry leafMurraya koenigiiHerbDemandingFull sun100–150 cm35 cmwell suited
Garlic chivesAllium tuberosumHerbStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade20–30 cm20 cmwell suited
HyssopHyssopus officinalisHerbStraightforwardFull sun40–50 cm25 cmwell suited
Lemon balmMelissa officinalisHerbStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade45–60 cm25 cmwell suited
Lemon thymeThymus citriodorusHerbSome care neededFull sun30–40 cm20 cmwell suited
LemongrassCymbopogon citratusHerbSome care neededFull sun25 cmwell suited
MarjoramOriganum majoranaHerbStraightforwardFull sun20–30 cm15 cmwell suited
MintMenthaHerbStraightforwardPartial shade, Full sun, Dappled shade30–45 cm20 cmwell suited
OreganoOriganum vulgareHerbStraightforwardFull sun30 cm20 cmwell suited
ParsleyPetroselinum crispumHerbSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade20–25 cm25 cmwell suited
RosemarySalvia rosmarinusHerbStraightforwardFull sun90 cm30 cmwell suited
Salad burnetSanguisorba minorHerbStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade30–40 cm25 cmwell suited
ShisoPerilla frutescensHerbSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade30–40 cm25 cmwell suited
SorrelRumex acetosaHerbStraightforwardPartial shade, Full sun, Dappled shade30–38 cm25 cmwell suited
TarragonArtemisia dracunculusHerbSome care neededFull sun45–60 cm25 cmwell suited
Thai basilOcimum basilicum var. thyrsifloraHerbSome care neededFull sun25–30 cm20 cmwell suited
ThymeThymus vulgarisHerbStraightforwardFull sun30 cm15 cmwell suited
Vietnamese corianderPersicaria odorataHerbSome care neededPartial shade, Full sun30–40 cm20 cmwell suited
Winter savorySatureja montanaHerbStraightforwardFull sun30–40 cm25 cmwell 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.