Herbs for a small pot
Every herb will live in a container and that is why the phrase is useless. The question with an answer is which ones are happy in a SMALL one — a windowsill pot, a 15 cm terracotta, the compartments of a herb planter — because the ones that are not do not die dramatically. They sulk: half the growth, early bolting, a woody unproductive middle, and a gardener who concludes they cannot grow herbs. Bay and rosemary are shrubs and want a tub; fennel and lovage put down a taproot longer than most pots are deep. These are the ones that genuinely do not mind.
How this list was built
Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BasilOcimum basilicum | HerbSome care needed | Full sun | 20–25 cm | 15 cm | well suited |
| ChamomileChamaemelum nobile | HerbStraightforward | Full sun | 20–30 cm | 15 cm | well suited |
| 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 |
| CorianderCoriandrum sativum | HerbSome care needed | Full sun, Partial shade | 15–20 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| Garlic chivesAllium tuberosum | HerbStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade | 20–30 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| Lemon thymeThymus citriodorus | HerbSome care needed | Full sun | 30–40 cm | 20 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 |
| SavorySatureja hortensis | HerbStraightforward | Full sun | 20–25 cm | 15 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 |
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.