Best Perennial Herbs to Grow and Enjoy Year After Year

Herbs are one of my favorite plants to grow in my vegetable garden. They are easy to grow and have so much versatility in the kitchen.

If you can find plants that come back year after year it makes growing an herb garden that much easier. The first few perennial herbs I grew were by accident. I didn’t have time to pull them in the fall and to my surprise, they came back the next year even stronger than the first.

Difference Between Annual and Perennial Herbs

Annual herbs only grow for a single growing season. This is typically due to the weather. If you live in a colder climate the frost will damage the plants enough not to come back the next year.

Perennial herbs can handle the cold weather. Sometimes they even need a little bit of frost to grow back stronger the next year.

Perennial Herbs

Depending on where you live this may vary a little bit but for the most part, these are perennial herbs in most regions. These plants are considered hardy perennials.

• Chives: Chives are one of the first herbs I learned were perennials. Mostly because they spread pretty quickly. Once you start growing chives you can't get rid of them. For this reason, I love to grow them in pots. Chives flower and then seed around their main plant to spread from year to year. Some chives can handle cold down to 40°F but most are very hardy and can survive temperatures below 0°F. Even if your chive plant dies back it often comes back from all the seeds that spread during the growing season. There are different types of chives such as garlic chives and common chives. All of them have similar growing patterns.
• Mint: Mint is also a prolific grower. Instead of spreading by seed, mint spreads by their roots underground. Mint will take over a large area of the garden if you don’t contain them. These plants are hardy down to -40° F.
• Tarragon: Tarragon is a beautiful plant that puts on a lot of growth year to year. Tarragon can handle temperatures down to -30°F so it is considered a very hardy herb. It’s not a super common one but once you find new ways to use it you can start adding tarragon to a lot of dishes from scrambled eggs to roasts.
• Thyme: There are many different types of thyme plants that you can grow in your garden. I have personally grown English thyme and creeping thyme. Both of these come back for me year after year. Most thyme plants are hardy down to a zone 4 or 5 which is about -30°F so they are a great choice in cold climates.

Herbs that Can Sometimes Be Perennial

If you live in a warmer climate these herbs might be perennial for you. They are considered tender perennials.

I live in Zone 5 in Michigan and can grow these as annuals and I will occasionally get them to come back after the winter. If you live further south in a zone 6 or higher these might just work for you!

• Rosemary: I have had some luck with rosemary coming back in my garden, but it’s not every year. There are a lot of different answers to the cold tolerance of rosemary. I would say it is safe down to 10°F but it may be able to take it colder than that. The more established the plant is the better it will be at surviving colder winters. If you have rosemary in a pot you can bring it to an area of your garden that is slightly blocked by the cold or has a little more sun. One thing I love about rosemary is you can plant it in fairly poor soil and it does well. This is a great one to plant as a perennial in warmer climates
• Lavender: Similar to rosemary, lavender also prefers hot and dry conditions but can withstand some cooler temperatures. Lavender can typically take down to 40°F but it is a well-established plant that can survive down to about 10°F.
• Sage: Sage is also hit and miss if it will come back year after year. Sage often looks like it has died back but it can push new leaves once the cold has passed. It is hardy to about 10-15°F.

What Herbs Are Not Perennials

Some herbs do not come back every year. This can be from cold weather or hot weather. Here is a list of herbs that are not perennial.

• Basil: Basil thrives in warm weather and is highly sensitive to frost. It completes its entire life cycle in one growing season, dying off in cold weather. Basil also tends to bolt in the hot weather so you may need to plant it a couple of times in one growing season.
• Cilantro/Coriander: I love to plant cilantro in the early spring. Once the warmer weather comes cilantro tends to bolt (flower and go to seed) when the weather becomes too hot, which signals the end of its life cycle.
• Dill: Dill is adapted to complete its life cycle in a single growing season. It produces seeds and dies off before the cold weather sets in.

What About Biennial Herbs?

Biennial herbs are plants that take 2 years to complete their life cycle. Some examples of biennial herbs are parsley and caraway.

• Parsley: Parsley spends the first year growing leaves and a strong root system. Then during the second year, they will flower and set seed. After that, the parsley plant will die off. I typically buy plant starts for parsley every year.
• Caraway: I have personally never grown caraway but I do know it is a biennial plant. It works very similar to how parsley grows.

Perennial Herb Hardiness Chart

Here is a quick overview of the different perennials I have talked about. Take a look to find out which ones will grow in your zone. If you don’t know your growing zone use this plant hardiness website to add your zip code to find out.

Alternative Growing Condition

There are a few things to consider in your garden if you are hoping to winter over some of your perennial plants.

• Microclimates: Even within the same growing zone, microclimates can affect hardiness. For example, herbs might survive better with some protection or in sheltered spots. Different areas of your garden will be warmer throughout the winter. Look where the snow melts the quickest or what areas are in full sun to find the hot spots in your garden.
• Container Gardening: For herbs with higher temperature needs (like rosemary), consider container gardening so you can move them to a warmer spot or indoors during extreme cold weather.