Herbculinary herbStraightforward

Savory

Satureja hortensis

A peppery thyme-like herb traditionally grown beside beans, both because it suits them in the pot and because it is said to deter blackfly. Summer savory is an annual with the better flavour; winter savory is a hardy sub-shrub that is coarser and available all year.

Position: Full sun
Water: low demand
Drainage: Free-draining
Grows to: 25–45 cm × 20–30 cm
Hardiness: H3
Harvest: June to September
Difficulty: Straightforward

August

Harvest

Savory’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

Activity	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Sow outdoors				April.	May.
Harvest						June.	July.	August.	September.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

What kind of herb this is

Herbs are a kitchen grouping rather than a botanical one, and the plants in it want opposite things. This is the one distinction that decides how to treat it.

Mediterranean woody herb

Growing regime

source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — growing

Checked 2026-08-13

Wants sun, poor free-draining ground and very little water once established. Far more of these die from winter wet at the roots than from cold air, so drainage matters more than hardiness ratings suggest.

Treated the same way: bay, borage, chamomile, hyssop, lemon thyme, marjoram and 7 more in the same group. The herb bed, split by regime

The damage happens in January and shows in May. An evergreen herb asks almost nothing of its roots in winter, so a drowned root system stays invisible until the plant is asked to grow and cannot.

Indoors: Not worth growing indoors

Where the indoor assessment comes from

IndoorsSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — growing indoors
Checked 2026-08-13

Almost any herb will sit on a windowsill in July. This is about whether it is still there in March, which is the part a pot on a supermarket shelf does not tell you.

What happens when it flowers

On a herb this is rarely a problem and rarely nothing. It is the point at which the plant stops being what you grew it for — by a lot, a little, or not at all.

No real effect on the leaves

source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — harvesting

Checked 2026-08-13

Nothing to do about it. Flowering does not change what savory is worth picking, so there is no reason to prevent it.

Conditions it needs

Light: Full sun
Frost: Half hardy
Hardiness rating: H3 (RHS)
Grows best at: 15–25 °C
Germinates at: 15–25 °C
Soil: Sandy, Loam, Chalky
Soil pH: 6–7.5
Drainage: Free-draining
Water needs: low
Drought: good tolerance
Waterlogging: poor tolerance
Heat: good tolerance
Wind and exposure: moderate tolerance

Where these figures come from

LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — position
Checked 2026-08-13
FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — hardiness
Checked 2026-08-13
Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings
Checked 2026-08-13
Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — temperature
Checked 2026-08-13
Germinates atSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Seed germination temperatures
Checked 2026-08-13
SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Satureja hortensis — culture
Checked 2026-08-13
DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

Soil	Verdict	Why
Heavy clay	Works, with one condition	Savory will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Sandy	Prefers this soil	Sandy suits Savory as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Sandy soil is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Chalky and alkaline	Prefers this soil	Chalky and alkaline suits Savory as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Chalky soil is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Loam	Prefers this soil	Loam suits Savory as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Silty	Prefers this soil	Silty suits Savory as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Peaty and acid	Works, with one condition	Savory will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rock	Prefers this soil	Shallow over rock suits Savory as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Made ground and urban soil	Works, with one condition	Savory will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height: 25–45 cm
Mature spread: 20–30 cm
Rooting depth: 20 cm
Spacing: 20–25 cm apart

Where these figures come from

Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13

Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

In a container

Minimum volume: 4 litres or more
Minimum depth: 15 cm

Where the container figures come from

Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

A small pot is enough for summer savory, which is a slight annual pulled at the end of the season. Sow direct rather than transplanting, keep it lean and dry, and pinch the tips to make it branch.

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

Method	Suitability	What it needs
Open ground	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Traditional dug bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Raised bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Container	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Greenhouse	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Polytunnel	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Windowsill	Workable source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Cold frame	Workable source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Hydroponics	Workable source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence Summer savory is a fast tender annual and behaves like marjoram; winter savory is woody and behaves like thyme. The seed rack sells them under one name. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

HarvestingCut sprigs before flowering, when the flavour is strongest. Summer savory dries well and holds its flavour better than most soft herbs.
SowingSow direct where it is to grow — it dislikes root disturbance. A short row beside the beans is the traditional placing and costs nothing to try.
WateringSummer savory is a thin, wiry annual that wants a dry root run; water it only enough to keep it growing and let the surface dry between times. Overwatering produces a soft floppy plant with weak flavour and invites the stem rot that finishes it early. A pot of savory outdoors in a wet August often needs no water at all.
FeedingDo not feed it. Savory is grown for a peppery flavour that comes from being slightly starved, and a fed plant is bigger, softer and blander. It also has one of the shortest useful lives of any herb here — sown in spring and finished by autumn — so there is nothing to sustain.
ProtectionSummer savory is not overwintered: it is an annual, it is killed by the first real frost, and no amount of covering changes that. Pull the plants once they go over, and either sow again next spring or plant winter savory, which is a hardy sub-shrub that stands through the cold and gives a coarser but usable leaf all winter. A late sowing kept in a pot on a bright sill will crop into November but rarely beyond it.

Where this guidance comes from

HarvestingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — harvesting
Checked 2026-08-13
SowingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — sowing
Checked 2026-08-13
WateringSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
FeedingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
ProtectionSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13

Is it worth putting under cover?

Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.

Structure	What protection is worth	What decides it
Greenhouse	Extends the season source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Frost tenderness. Summer savory is annual and tender; the winter savory that shares its name is neither, which is a distinction the seed rack rarely makes.
Polytunnel	Extends the season source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Frost tenderness.

On a windowsill

A few weeks, then replace

source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

How long the crop is actually productive on an ordinary British windowsill without added light.

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

A supermarket pot or a sowing gives a few weeks of cutting and is then exhausted. That is what the crop is, not a failure to keep it alive. Lifecycle. Summer savory is an annual — it grows, crops and dies in one season, and no amount of care extends it.

Growing it without soil

Nearly anything can be grown in a soilless system by somebody with enough equipment. The useful question is whether it is worth it, in which technique, and what goes wrong.

Works with conditions

Succeeds when the conditions listed here are met and fails when they are not. The conditions are the answer, not a caveat.

source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

Summer savory is a fast tender annual and behaves like marjoram; winter savory is woody and behaves like thyme. The seed rack sells them under one name.

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Buy the seed knowing which one you have. The two savories want opposite treatment in a system.

Techniques that suit it

Drip-fed mediumSolution is dripped into an inert medium around each plant. The most forgiving technique and the one that suits large, long-season, heavy crops.
Nutrient film (NFT)A shallow stream of solution runs over bare roots in a sloped channel. Cheap and productive for small fast crops; a pump failure kills a crop within hours because there is no reservoir at the roots.

source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Root space: Small.
Lighting: Needs supplementary light
pH band: 5.5–6.5

Where these figures come from

Root spaceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

LightingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

pH bandSourced guidancehigh confidence

Outside roughly this band, individual nutrients become unavailable even when they are present in the solution — which is why a crop can starve in a full reservoir.

Purdue Extension — Purdue University: Hydroponic solution management — pH

Checked 2026-08-13

No nutrient recipes here

GrowingHQ records pH bands, which are measurable properties of nutrient availability, and deliberately records no EC or PPM targets and no mixing instructions. Published targets vary by cultivar, growth stage, water source and technique, and the figures that apply to your system are on the product you bought.

Harvesting

When it is readyPick from the point the plant is 15 cm or so and branching, and take the main crop just before it flowers in midsummer when the peppery flavour is strongest. A plant that has flowered and set seed is finished for the season.
How to pick itSnip leafy shoot tips, and start early — pinching the tips out once the seedlings are 10 cm tall makes them branch, and a savory never pinched runs up to a single flowering stem and stops making leaves by July. Summer savory dries well: cut whole stems just before flowering and hang them in bunches.

Where the harvest guidance comes from

When it is readySourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Savory — harvesting
Checked 2026-08-13
How to pick itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

What goes wrong

Problem	How often	Notes
Normal end of an annual's life	common source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13	Summer savory is an annual: going over in autumn is the end of its year.
Aphids	uncommon source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.