Short Herb Roots
Which Herbs Are They?

Wild thyme has short roots

Short herb roots are plants that have a grown depth of 3 to 8 inches approximately. They provide some weed control when planted near other crops such as tomatoes for vegetables or basil for herbs.

Another benefit is they help to retain moisture during the hot summer months thus requiring less water for the main plant your growing. Also, the beneficial insects have a place to hide or rest until they’re hungry again to eat harmful insects.

Short Herb Roots List

There are many different varieties of basil, lavender and rosemary herbs so check the growth height to determine if it will have short roots. A growth height of 4 to 8 inches would be an ideal height. If more than 10 to 18 inches in height the plant naturally requires more root structure to grow and produce flowers or fruits.

Aloe vera, alliums, basil, blue vervain, calendula, California poppy, caraway, catnip/catmint, cayenne peppers, chamomile, chervil, curry plant, gotu kola, hyssop, lemongrass, French marigold, marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sweet violet, salad burnet, salad herbs, stevia, wild strawberry

When considering planting herbs with short roots the site selection is important if they need full sun or like to share the sun. Some herbs become competitive and use the nutrients the other plant may need. An herb like basil loves to be planted with peppers and doesn’t mind some shade. On the other hand rosemary, a sun loving herb requires full sun.

Herb Lawn With Short Herb Roots

The apple scented nonflowering variety of chamomile, (Chamaemelum), noble ‘Treneague’ is tolerant of dry conditions so it works perfectly for the lawn.

Mints are a good selection because the tiny leaves, strong scent and moisture loving herb will do well planted near a garden hose with partial shade or planted in a wet area of the lawn. Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) enjoys moisture; both pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) and corn mint (Mentha arvensis) produce a bright green color with a strong peppermint scent.

Thymes are excellent since they love to creep thus filling in bare spots in the lawn grow along the lawn edges. The variety (Thymus praecox, thymus pseudolanuginosus) are excellent since they prefer dry, sandy soil.

Short herbs for hanging baskets in a sunny location are the creeping thymes such as lemon thyme, caraway thyme, lavender thyme, catnip/catmint (Nepeta mussinii), ivies, prostrate winter savory, prostrate rosemary, prostrate sage and lady’s mantle.

Herbs that are good for shade areas in hanging baskets would be pennyroyal, variegated mints for visual interests like ginger mints or orange mint, periwinkle and tuck in some parsley for a mini herb garden.

To learn more about short herb roots plants like marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme click on the links.