Hardiness Zone Guide For Perennial Tea Herbs With Winter Protection Steps For Cold Climates

Herbs thrive in gardens with cool weather when grown as perennial plants. Use our hardiness zone guide with winter protection steps for cold climates to plan and design a suitable herb garden.

Plant fragrant perennial herbs that can withstand freezing temperatures to make herbal tea all winter long. Examples are:

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is an easy, robust plant to cultivate that thrives under either direct sun or partial shade conditions. With its refreshing lemony scent and flavour, its leaves can be harvested year-round from spring through autumn for salads, cooked dishes, tea, etc.

Flowering Marigolds appear in summer and feature fragrant blooms brimming with nectar-rich blossoms that attract bees to your permaculture garden, making this plant an excellent way to lure pollinators such as bees. Marigolds make an especially good addition if combined with other aromatic herbs like mint, chamomile or anise hyssop for maximum pollinator attraction.

Lemon balm, like many herbs, self-seeds freely. To prevent unwanted seedlings from sprouting up quickly and uncontrollably, promptly deadhead faded flower stems once they become faded to prevent unwanted seeds from germinating and germinating.

Lavandula

Many gardeners grow lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), which can thrive in USDA Zones 8 to 10, though sudden frost could threaten less-hardy species.

In colder regions, select hardy cultivars like Munstead or Provence at planting time to ensure successful results. Less hardy varieties such as French or Spanish lavender need to be brought indoors during winter, but may return in spring with proper care.

Avoid heavy fall pruning of lavenders as this could stimulate new growth that doesn’t harden off before freezing temperatures strike. Instead, prune lightly in early spring to maintain lush plants during the summer. Plus, their fragrance adds therapeutic value!

Sweet Cicely

Sweet cicely plants can tolerate USDA hardiness zones 3 through 7. These perennial flowers thrive in sun or part shade conditions and moist, well-drained soil conditions.

If your garden bed is clay-rich or sandy, amend with compost or well-rotted manure before layering with mulch — such as straw or wood chips — to help retain moisture.

Keep a keen eye out for frost damage, wilted leaves, and other signs of stress during winter. Check soil moisture regularly, watering only when necessary (the top inch should be dry before doing so) and watch out for fungal diseases like powdery mildew, rust, or black rot that might appear. Pruning regularly helps prevent disease outbreaks.

Tarragon

Tarragon can be grown easily in most climates, although it performs best with moderate warmth. A well-draining soil helps prevent root rot while supporting strong flavor development. Overwatering may lead to poor growth and wilting; for optimal results only water the herb when its top inch of soil dries out completely.

Sow seeds indoors in spring using a light potting mix with peat-free seed compost, providing them 12-16 hours of bright indirect sunlight to germinate them. Once several sets of leaves appear, transplant them to 12″ pots for ultimate frost protection – make sure the plants are kept away from direct wind exposure if possible to avoid risk.

Mitsuba

Mitsuba (Cryptotaenia japonica) is an easy and shade-loving herb to cultivate that makes an excellent replacement for parsley or sorrel in recipes, featuring green stems and leaves with an intriguing blend of celery-cilantro flavors.

Mitsuba thrives in heavy clay soil when supplemented with compost; it also tolerates sandy soil provided it remains evenly moist throughout.

Plant seeds in spring when all risk of frost has passed and soil temperatures have warmed, or in fall in warm climates. Sow them at least 1/4″ deep.

Once your plants reach a few inches tall, thin them out so that each plant is nine inches apart. Harvest the thinned plants for microgreen harvesting or use in salads.

Bee Balm

Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) is an easy-to-grow flower that thrives in most garden conditions, from perennial beds to containers. This beautiful perennial stands out as an eye-catcher in perennial beds and mixes well with native species alike, adding color and life.

This native herb is a favorite pollinator attractor, drawing butterflies and hummingbirds alike to its vibrant flowers, which bloom throughout summer before respreading themselves to provide color throughout fall and winter as well.

Bee balm, like many members of the mint family, is an expansive perennial that needs to be divided every two or three years to keep its spread under control. Bee balm can be grown from either seeds or root cuttings.