10 Best Herbs to Grow on a Kitchen Windowsill

The best herbs for a kitchen windowsill are chives, mint, parsley, lemon balm, basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro, sage and rosemary, roughly in order from easiest to hardest. Which of them will do well for you depends less on the herb than on your window: how many hours of direct sun it gets, and how cold the glass gets in winter. Start there, and the rest is simple.

First, check how much light your window gets

Light is the most common reason windowsill herbs fail. Extension horticulturists generally recommend at least five to six hours of direct sun a day for most culinary herbs, and more for sun lovers like basil and rosemary (Iowa State University Extension, NC State Extension). Indoors, the glass and window frame cut that light further, and winter days at northern latitudes are short and weak.

• South-facing (north-facing in the Southern Hemisphere): the best spot. Almost every herb on this list will grow here.
• East- or west-facing: roughly four to six hours of sun. Good for chives, mint, parsley, lemon balm and cilantro. Basil and rosemary will grow, but they get leggy.
• North-facing: bright, but little direct sun. Stick to mint, chives and parsley, or add a grow light.

A quick test: around midday on a sunny day, hold your hand about 30 cm (a foot) above the sill. A crisp, dark shadow means strong direct light. A faint, fuzzy shadow means bright shade.

The 10 best windowsill herbs at a glance

Herb	Direct sun	Watering	Start from	Difficulty
Chives	4+ hours	Keep lightly moist	Plant or seed	Very easy
Mint	4+ hours	Keep moist	Plant or cutting	Very easy
Parsley	4–5 hours	Keep lightly moist	Plant (seed is slow)	Easy
Lemon balm	4+ hours	Moist, not wet	Plant	Easy
Basil	6+ hours, warm	Moist, never soggy	Seed or plant	Easy in summer
Thyme	6+ hours	Let the top dry out	Plant	Easy
Oregano	6+ hours	Let the top dry out	Plant	Easy
Cilantro (coriander)	4–5 hours, cool	Keep moist	Seed, resown often	Moderate
Sage	6+ hours	Let the top dry out	Plant	Moderate
Rosemary	6–8 hours, cool winter	Never bone dry, never soggy	Plant	Hardest

1. Chives

Chives are the most forgiving herb you can put on a windowsill. They cope with an east or west window, regrow quickly after cutting and rarely attract pests indoors. Cut whole leaves 2–3 cm (about an inch) above the soil rather than trimming the tips; this keeps the clump producing fresh, tender growth. Use them in eggs, potatoes and soft cheese.

2. Mint

Mint grows quickly in less light than most herbs, which makes it a good choice for a north- or east-facing kitchen. It wants consistently moist soil and, above all, its own pot: its runners crowd out anything it shares a container with (RHS). Pinch the tips regularly to stop it getting tall and sparse. Spearmint and peppermint are the most useful for tea and cooking.

3. Parsley

Flat-leaf and curly parsley both handle moderate light. Parsley grows a long taproot, so give it a deeper pot, at least 15–20 cm (6–8 in). It is slow from seed, often three to four weeks before anything appears, so buy a young plant if you want to harvest this month. Pick the outer stems at the base and leave the centre to keep growing.

4. Lemon balm

Lemon balm is a mint relative with a bright lemon scent. It copes with partial sun and bounces back after hard cutting. Like mint, it spreads, so keep it in its own pot. Use the leaves in tea, fruit salads and summer drinks.

5. Basil

Basil is the herb most people want and the one most likely to sulk indoors. It needs warmth, ideally above 18°C (65°F), and a full six or more hours of sun. Cold glass and drafts blacken its leaves. On a south-facing sill in summer it is easy; in winter it usually needs a grow light. Once the plant has three or four pairs of leaves, pinch out the growing tip just above a pair. It branches into two stems there and gets bushier with every harvest. For more detail, see our guide to growing basil indoors year-round.

6. Thyme

Thyme is a small Mediterranean shrub that likes plenty of sun and soil that dries out between waterings. Plant it in a gritty mix (potting compost with about a quarter perlite or horticultural grit) in a terracotta pot, which helps the roots dry faster. Overwatering kills more indoor thyme than anything else. Trim the soft green tips often, and avoid cutting into bare, woody stems, which rarely regrow.

7. Oregano

Oregano, and its gentler cousin marjoram, has the same needs as thyme: strong sun and lean, well-drained soil. The flavor is more concentrated when the plant isn't pampered, so go easy on fertilizer. Harvest sprigs just before the plant flowers for the strongest taste.

8. Cilantro (coriander)

Cilantro prefers cool conditions and quickly runs to seed (bolts) in heat or when its roots are disturbed. Sow seed straight into the pot it will grow in, about 1 cm (½ in) deep, and start a new pot every three weeks so you always have young leaves to cut. A bright but cool sill, away from radiators, gives the longest harvest.

9. Sage

Sage needs a sunny window, soil that dries out between waterings and decent air flow; a stuffy, humid corner invites powdery mildew. A compact variety is easier to keep tidy on a sill. Pick individual leaves as you need them and pinch the tips so the plant doesn't turn woody.

10. Rosemary

Rosemary is the hardest herb on this list to keep happy indoors. It wants as much sun as you can give it and prefers a cool winter, which is why it often declines in a warm, dry, heated home. It is also fussy about water in both directions: unlike thyme, rosemary can die if its root ball dries out completely, yet it rots in soggy soil. Water when the top few centimetres feel dry. If this is your first indoor herb garden, start with something easier and add rosemary later.

Pots, soil and drainage

• Size: at least 12–15 cm (5–6 in) across for a single herb; parsley and rosemary prefer deeper pots. Tiny decorative pots dry out within hours and stunt the plant.
• Drainage holes are essential. If you love a pot without holes, use it as an outer cover and slip a plastic pot with holes inside it.
• Use potting mix, not garden soil. Garden soil compacts in pots and can bring pests indoors. Add perlite or grit for thyme, oregano, sage and rosemary.
• Group herbs by how thirsty they are. Thyme, oregano, sage and rosemary like to dry out; basil, parsley, chives and cilantro like steady moisture. Put one of each type in the same trough and one of them will always be unhappy. Mint and lemon balm get their own pots.

Watering without drowning them

Push a finger 2–3 cm (about an inch) into the soil. If it's dry, water thoroughly until water runs out of the drainage holes, then empty the saucer after 15 minutes. If it's still damp, wait. Most windowsill herbs need water every three to seven days, depending on pot size, the season and how close they sit to a heater. Yellowing lower leaves, soggy soil and tiny black flies (fungus gnats) all point to watering too often. Our guide to signs you're overwatering covers how to rescue a waterlogged pot.

Feeding

Fresh potting mix holds only a few weeks' worth of nutrients. From spring to early autumn, feed with a liquid fertilizer at half the strength on the label every two to four weeks. Leafy herbs such as basil, parsley and chives benefit most; thyme, oregano and rosemary need little or nothing. For gentler options, see our guide to homemade fertilizers that work.

Harvesting so they keep growing

• Never take more than about a third of the plant at once.
• Pinch basil, mint, oregano and sage just above a pair of leaves; two new shoots grow from that point.
• Cut chives and parsley from the outside of the clump, close to the base.
• Remove flower buds on basil, mint and cilantro as soon as you see them, unless you want seed. Flowering slows leaf growth and changes the flavor.

Growing more than you can use? Dry the extra at home for winter cooking.

Make supermarket herb pots last

A supermarket herb pot is dozens of seedlings crammed into one small pot and grown fast under glass, which is why it often collapses within a couple of weeks at home (RHS). You can give it a much better chance: tip out the root ball, gently tease it into three or four clumps, and pot each clump into its own container with fresh potting mix. Water well and keep them out of strong direct sun for a few days while they recover. One basil pot split this way can become three or four productive plants.

Common problems and quick fixes

• Long, floppy stems with big gaps between leaves: not enough light. Move the pot to a sunnier window, turn it a quarter turn each week, or add a grow light.
• Yellow lower leaves: usually too much water or a pot without drainage; occasionally hunger in an old pot.
• Brown, crispy leaf edges: too dry, or scorched against hot glass in summer.
• Sticky leaves or tiny green insects: aphids. Rinse the plant under the tap and wipe the stems; repeat every few days until they're gone.
• Basil leaves turning black: cold damage from the glass at night. Pull the pot back from the window on cold nights.

Adding a grow light

If your only window faces north, or you want basil in January, a simple LED grow light makes the difference. When lights are the only source, herbs need at least eight to ten hours a day (NC State Extension), and 12 to 14 hours gives noticeably sturdier plants. Keep the light 15–30 cm (6–12 in) above the leaves and plug it into a cheap timer so you don't have to remember.

Easy starter combinations

• Low light (north-facing or shaded window): mint, chives, parsley.
• Italian cooking (sunny south window): basil, oregano, thyme.
• Tea garden: mint and lemon balm, plus thyme if you have sun.
• No room on the sill? Grow upward instead with a vertical herb garden.

Frequently asked questions

What herbs grow best on a north-facing windowsill?

Mint, chives and parsley handle the lowest light. Lemon balm and cilantro can work in a bright north window. Basil, rosemary, thyme and sage will survive, but they grow weak and sparse without a grow light.

Can I grow herbs on a windowsill all year?

Yes, though growth slows in winter as the days shorten. From late autumn to late winter, harvest lightly, water less often and consider a grow light if you want steady basil or cilantro.

How often should I water windowsill herbs?

There's no fixed schedule. Check the soil every couple of days and water only when the top 2–3 cm is dry. In practice that's every three to seven days for most herbs.

Which herbs can share a pot?

Herbs with the same water needs: thyme, oregano and sage together, or basil, parsley and chives together. Keep mint and lemon balm on their own.

Why does my supermarket basil keep dying?

Overcrowding. Each pot holds many seedlings competing for the same water and light. Split it into three or four clumps and repot them, as described above.

Find more herb guides in our herbs collection.