13 Easy Herbs to Grow Indoors

Growing herbs indoors for year-round use is fun, gratifying and easy.

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Growing Herbs Indoors

Fresh herbs can thrive year-round indoors as long as you provide direct sunlight and protect them from cold drafts in northern regions. Keep fresh herbs always at hand by filling pots with soil for containers and arranging them on a bright windowsill. When designing a windowsill herb garden, help prevent overwatering by tucking plants into plain pots that you slip into pretty cachepots. Always empty the cachepot each time you water your herbs. Browse our favorite herbs that are perfect for growing indoors, no matter where you're located.

Lemon Balm

Grow lemon balm plants for a single year for the best flavor. Plant it indoors in the fall, grow it indoors through winter, then you can plant it outside for spring and summer.

Find More Ideas: Medicine Garden

Chives

Chives grow almost anywhere. Harvest them at the base (like cutting grass), no more than one-third of the bunch at a time.

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Mint

Growing mint indoors may be the best plan for most of us. Containerizing mint keeps it from growing all over the yard and garden. All varieties are suitable for indoors.

Learn More: Mint 411

Parsley

If you choose to start parsley from seed, soak it in warm water to crack the seed coat before sowing it.

Learn More: Growing Parsley

Basil

Use the smaller globe types of basil for indoor growing. Many of the larger types are too large and will cause space problems.

Learn More: Planting, Growing and Harvesting Basil

Cilantro

Cilantro is short-lived by its nature. Start a succession of seedlings at two- or three-week intervals to keep a supply going all the time.

Bay Laurel

Also known as bay leaf, this shrub can get quite large if left unpruned. It works well indoors through the cold months but performs best if kept outdoors in warm weather.

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From: Lynn Coulter

Thyme

Thyme is adaptable to pots as small as four to six inches. Simply re-pot it from a nursery plant, or divide a larger plant that has grown outdoors. Like rosemary and sage, it is easy to propagate from cuttings as well.

Learn More: How to Grow Thyme

Lemongrass

Lemongrass can be grown from seed, purchased as a starter plant or propagated in water from the fresh herb in the grocery store.

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Oregano

Oregano is easy to propagate from cuttings or by division. Take a few cuttings at the end of summer and root out in a cup of water. Fresh oregano is much milder than dried. Use it at the end of the cooking process so that its flavor is not lost.

Learn More: Herbivore: Get a Dose of Good Luck by Growing Oregano

Sage

Buy a starter plant or start it from cuttings off an established sage plant. Simply snip off the growing tips from a plant outdoors and stick them in a pot with good potting soil. Keep the cutting moist and it will root in a few weeks.

Learn More: How to Grow Sage

Rosemary

Take cuttings of outdoor rosemary at the end of summer to grow indoors through winter. Start with a four-inch cutting from a branch tip, strip the lower foliage and stick it into potting soil. Cover with plastic to retain humidity as it roots.

Learn More: How to Grow and Harvest Rosemary

Kaffir Lime

Kaffir lime is another woody plant used for its foliage. As with bay laurel, give it outdoor time in the summer if possible.

Learn More: Grow a Kaffir Lime Tree Indoors