8 Great Herbs to Plant in August

Herbs are usually tough plants. Many are perennials, but even annuals can thrive in a variety of hardiness zones and tolerate winter in cold climates. Herbs are most often grown from seeds, cuttings, division, or layering. The seeds of herbs tend to germinate quickly, and if you plant some in early August, they’ll take full advantage of the heat and long hours of sunlight. Here are eight great herbs to plant in August.

1. Sweet Basil

In most places, basil is an annual, but it’s the perfect herb to plant in August. Wonderfully easy to grow and take care of, there are dozens of types of basil. They range from plants with tiny chartreuse leaves to plants whose leaves are large and purple. What they all love is hot weather and to be continually snipped. This doesn’t weaken the plant but encourages growth. Basil is easily grown from seed and some types germinate in as little as three days. Even ones that take longer germinate in a little over a week.

Basil isn’t too particular about soil, though it does best in soil that’s a little acidic to neutral. This means a pH of about 5.5 to 7.0. It doesn’t need much watering, though soil that’s kept evenly moist is ideal. Plants grow between 18 and 24 inches high, with a spread of 20 to 30 inches. Seeds only need to be planted to 1/4 inch under the soil. Basil is often planted near other garden plants because it enhances their flavor and growth. Additionally, it may also repel mosquitoes.

2. Thyme

Another of the great herbs to plant in August, thyme also loves heat. It does best in hardiness zones 5 through 9, and if you live in a really cold climate, it needs protection during the winter. Otherwise, thyme is a tough herb that can bear up through frost and even light freezes. It flourishes in full sunlight and dry, poor soil with a pH of between 5.5 and 7.0. Even though it’s an herb, it can get a bit woody after a few years and benefits from new growth being rather severely cut back. It only needs fertilizing now and then, and most varieties are easy to propagate from seed, layering or division. Some people start seeds indoors a fortnight before the last frost.

Not only is thyme fantastic in cooking, but it attracts all manner of pollinators. They include many species of bees, including honeybees and bumblebees, butterflies, moths, and wasps. Depending on the variety, thyme grows from 2 to 14 inches in height. Some varieties like caraway and creeping thyme also make good ground covers.

3. Mint

Gardeners know to grow mint in a pot because if you plant it in the ground, it will simply take over your garden. There are thousands of varieties of this perennial, and all have square stems whether their leaves are crinkly, smooth, green, purplish brown, or a mix of colors. Of course, the aroma of mint is unmistakable. Mint grows in many types of soils, even though it grows best in soil that is rich, moist, friable with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5.

Like many herbs, mint prefers sun but can also do well in partial shade in hardiness zones 5 to 9. Variegated mints such as pineapple mint appreciate a bit of shade, but too much shade causes other types of mint to become leggy. Some varieties, such as Corsican mint grow only a few inches tall and can be used as a ground cover. Even taller plants rarely grow past 1 or 2 feet in height, but their underground rhizomes allow mint to become invasive if it’s not restrained.

Like sweet basil, mint benefits from frequent harvesting. Younger leaves have a more intense flavor than ones allowed to languish on the plant. Gardening experts recommend that you cut the stems back before the mint plant can produce its pretty white, lavender, or purple flowers for a continuous harvest. Another good thing about mint is that the flowers do attract butterflies.

4. Rosemary

With time, patience and the right conditions, the little rosemary sprig you planted a few years ago can turn into a rosemary hedge. The right conditions are full sun, warm temperatures, and soil that drains well. Rosemary can thrive in soil that’s quite acidic, with a pH as low as 4.5. It can also grow in soil that’s very alkaline, with a pH as high as 8.7. This woody herb with its wonderfully aromatic, needle-like leaves and tiny blue flowers does not need a lot of watering and only a bit of fertilizer and side dressing. It can grow from 2 to 6 feet in height with a 12-to-14-inch width. Indeed, a few plants can grow into a serviceable privacy screen.

Despite this, rosemary is not quite as tough as mint or thyme. Gardening experts recommend it be grown in pots in hardiness zones that are cooler in the winter than zone 8. This allows the plant to be brought indoors. Other than this, you can harvest rosemary all year long once it’s established but be careful not to remove too much of the plant’s stems. Rosemary also differs from other great herbs in that it is hard to grow from seeds. Rosemary seeds can take nearly a month to sprout! However, it grows easily from cuttings taken from the tips of the stems.

5. Winter Savory

There are two types of savory, summer and winter. Winter is the one you could plant in August, for it’s a perennial from the Mediterranean and simply loves hot weather. It does best in zones 6 through 9, and though it may go dormant during cold winters it bounces back quickly when the weather warms. In the summer, tiny flowers of white pink or lavender appear to accompany the small, oval, fragrant, deep green leaves.

Winter savory grows in mounds that are between 8 and 15 inches high with a 1-to-2-foot spread, so it can make a good ground cover as well as enhance your culinary skills. It needs full sun and well-draining, fertile soil with a basically neutral pH of about 7.0. Adding compost and bone meal to the soil helps, but you should avoid liquid fertilizer, which dilutes the herb’s strong, somewhat piney flavor.

You can grow winter savory from seeds or cuttings. If you’re going to start it from seed, start indoors about a month to a month and a half before the last frost. Make sure to sprinkle the seeds on seed starting medium. Don’t cover them, because they need the light to sprout. They’ll germinate in 10 days to two weeks.

6. Dill

Depending on where it’s grown, dill can be an annual or a perennial. Light freezes and frost put an end to the dill plant, which, like the other great herbs discussed here, likes the heat and sun of August. One thing to keep in mind is to protect its long, delicate stems from the wind. Dill grows to a height of 3 to 4 feet, with a 2-foot spread.

Dill germinates easily from seed best planted to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inches in soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. The plant also needs average watering and maybe only needs some light fertilizer once during the summer. The one thing about dill is that it has an unusually long taproot, so it should be planted in a large pot or in the ground. The long taproot also makes transplanting difficult, so it’s best to plant the herb in a spot where it won’t need to be moved.

7. Oregano

This perennial herb whose name is Greek for “joy of the mountain” also loves the August sun and heat and can stand light freezes and frost up to hardiness zone 5. As with other herbs, the ideal pH of soil for growing oregano is between 6.5 and 7.6. Oregano doesn’t need much watering to thrive and only needs light fertilizing, if any. You can start oregano from seed, but like winter savory, you should place seeds on top of the soil or growing medium since they need light to germinate. This happens in as little as four days.

Another good thing about growing this herb in August is that you should wait until it flowers for the strongest flavor. This is because the oil in the plant’s oval, fuzzy, fragrant leaves double when the plant blossoms. Flowering happens from late summer into fall in many varietals. By then, the flavor of the leaves will be intense and peppery. The plant grows from 1 to 2 feet tall and has a 1-foot spread.

8. Sage

This hardy perennial can withstand temperatures as low as – 30 degrees Fahrenheit but loves sun and warm weather. Hardiness zones 4 to 10 are ideal for its growth, as are somewhat neutral soil that drains well. Sage appreciates average watering, but the soil must never be allowed to stay wet. Indeed, it’s best to let the soil dry out rather than overwater, for overwatering leads to deadly root rot. Some gardeners feed their sage fish emulsion now and then to benefit it, though it’s otherwise a light feeder. Sage is not only valued for its long, gray-green, fuzzy, pebbly leaves, but for its beautiful flowers. They arrive in masses of white, lavender, or pink. They attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

After a few years sage often forms a shrub that’s from 12 to 40 inches high. Sometimes older shrubs get a big leggy, but the plant can be propagated through layering and stem cuttings. You can also grow sage from seed. Start indoors one or two months before the last frost in your area, or sow seeds outdoors one or two weeks before the last frost.

Not only is sage good for cooking, it is said to have antibacterial qualities and was often used as a preservative. It may also naturally lower blood sugar in diabetics.