Best Soil and Mulch For Perennial Tea Herbs in Home Gardens

After the first frost, many herbs can benefit from an insulating layer of mulch such as compost, bark chips or pine needles to maintain warm and moist conditions. A 3-4″ layer will keep soil warm while also adding vitality and nutrition.

Most tea herbs can be planted together, although plants requiring lots of water should not be placed in the same container with those preferring drier soil. Mint grows rapidly and should be grown separately or near its edges to prevent it from taking over an herb garden.

Chamomile

Chamomile is an herb with a gentle fragrance that makes a relaxing herbal tea. Furthermore, its soothing properties may help alleviate stress, anxiety and insomnia symptoms.

Like most herbs, basil grows best under a 3-4″ layer of mulch such as bagged compost or pine needles, leaves or straw; remove this mulch each spring to promote growth and allow light into the soil. Also avoid applying fertilizers after August as this will encourage new growth that might not survive cold temperatures in winter.

Chamomile plants are moderately responsive to fertility levels and can flower and produce seeds even at lower nitrogen concentrations, although corn chamomile is more resistant than mayweed chamomile.

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is one of the most fragrant garden herbs, drawing pollinators to its flowers like magnets. Lemon balm also has a sedative and relaxing effect which has been proven effective against anxiety and depression.

As with other tea herb plants, it needs full sunlight but tolerates some shade; its height can reach five feet. As is true with many tea herb plants, bitterness may increase in hot weather; therefore it should be cut back often for best results.

As with other herbs, basil plants can benefit from having an extra-thick layer of mulch applied over winter. Mulching also keeps soil temperatures down while locking in moisture for increased plant health and blooming potential.

Mint

Mint is an extremely fast-growing herb, requiring light pruning every few weeks in order to stay under control and prevent overcrowding. Although mint thrives in warm, sunny garden beds, its growth should be contained by placing its container away so that it does not take over all available space in an herb bed.

Many herbs, like perennials like rosemary and lemon verbena, thrive best when planted in soil with slightly coarser particles than typical garden soil. By adding organic matter such as compost to their environment, drainage improves as does nutrient availability.

Overwintering herb plants requires providing them with an insulating layer of mulch – typically two or three inches of weed-free straw, bark chips, pinestraw or leaves – as this allows their energy to focus on root development rather than leafy growth that gets compromised by winter temperatures.

Pineapple Sage

Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) resembles common sage but features the unique scent of pineapple fruit, making it an excellent addition to herb gardens and pollinator-friendly landscapes.

Planting pineapple sage from nursery in spring after all danger of frost has passed will give it time to flourish into a large branching plant before producing dramatic blooms of cardinal red flowers in late summer or autumn – just in time to provide food sources for migrating hummingbirds heading south for migration season.

Add wood or brick edging to your herb garden to define its space and give it a more completed appearance, as well as keep weeds at bay.

Lavender

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is one of the most beloved perennial herbs for creating a Provencal-style garden, boasting both heat and cold tolerance, drought tolerance and pollinator attraction.

Lavender thrives best in dry, grittier soil that drains well – neither too sandy nor clayish; too much moisture is detrimental; lavender is particularly sensitive to having its roots become waterlogged up.

Amend heavy clay soils with light bark-based compost or coarse sand to enhance aeration and drainage, then plant lavender in holes twice the width and depth of its root ball in order to avoid transplant shock. Cover this layer with pine needles, straw or wood chips as mulch for an additional 3-4″ mulching layer.

Bee Balm

Bee balm, a non-invasive perennial that draws both hummingbirds and butterflies to gardens, blooms from late spring until fall with beautiful lavender-pink tubular flowers that attract pollinators-friendly pollination gardens.

Herb seedlings are ready for transplant once they develop ‘true leaves,’ or leaves that resemble those found on mature herbs. When transplanting them, dig a hole larger than their root ball and fill it with soil; press the earth around the plant while watering as necessary.

Pineapple Sage is an easygoing perennial that tolerates dry conditions well. To promote new growth in subsequent seasons, it should be cut back each winter and mulched, so as not to waste precious soil resources.