Easiest herbs to grow indoors: 16 ranked, easy to hard

The easiest herbs to grow indoors, ranked

Mint is the easiest herb to grow indoors, and rosemary is the hardest. Here are all 16, ranked for a home windowsill.

#	Herb	Light	Water	How fast	Start from
1	Mint	3+ hours of sun	Keep damp	Fast	Plant or cutting
2	Chives	Some shade OK	When top inch is dry	Medium	Plant
3	Lemon balm	Some shade OK	Keep evenly moist	Fast	Plant
4	Parsley	Some shade OK	When top inch is dry	Slow from seed	Plant
5	Oregano	Full sun	Let it dry a little	Medium	Plant (Greek oregano)
6	Thyme	Full sun	Keep on the dry side	Slow	Plant
7	Marjoram	Full sun	Let it dry a little	Medium	Plant or seed
8	Sage	Full sun, moving air	Let it dry a little	Slow	Plant or cutting
9	Basil	Full sun, warm room	Never fully dry	Fast	Seed
10	Thai basil	Full sun, 70°F+	When top is dry	Fast	Seed
11	Lemongrass	Full sun, warm room	Keep damp	Medium	Grocery store stalk
12	Watercress	Sun, cool room	Roots always wet	Fast	Seed or cutting
13	Chervil	Some shade, cool room	Keep moist	Fast, then done	Seed
14	Dill	Full sun	Keep moist	Fast, then done	Seed
15	Cilantro	Some shade OK, cool room	Never fully dry	Fast, then done	Seed
16	Rosemary	Brightest window	When top inch is dry	Slow	Plant

Full sun means 6 or more hours of direct sun a day. Some shade means 2 to 6 hours.

Which herbs suit your window

Pick herbs that match the light you already have. That one choice matters more than any care tip.

• Less than 6 hours of sun. This is an east or west window, or a shaded south one. Grow mint, chives, lemon balm, parsley, chervil, and cilantro. Lemon balm, chives, and cilantro need only 2 to 6 hours of direct sun.^[1] Mint needs at least 3.^[2] No herb grows well in a dark spot, so see our list of herbs for a low-light window.
• 6 or more hours, or a grow light. This is a clear south window. Grow oregano, thyme, marjoram, sage, basil, Thai basil, lemongrass, dill, and rosemary.
• A cold window in winter. Keep basil and Thai basil off it, because basil cannot survive below 50°F.^[1] Chives, parsley, chervil, cilantro, and watercress all like it cool.

Light, pots, soil, and watering are all covered in our guide on how to grow herbs indoors.

Easiest herbs to grow from seed (and which to buy as plants)

Basil is the easiest herb to grow from seed. It sprouts in 5 to 10 days at 65 to 70°F.

Cilantro, dill, and chervil are easy from seed too. All three hate being moved, so sow them in the pot where they will grow.

Buy these as plants instead:

• Mint. Named mints like peppermint do not grow the same plant from seed.
• Oregano. Plants from seed are hit or miss for flavor, so buy one grown from a cutting.^[3]
• Thyme. It is much easier from a cutting than from seed.
• Sage. Seed can take years to give you a plant big enough to pick.
• Rosemary. It sprouts slowly and unevenly from seed.
• French tarragon. It cannot be grown from seed. Packets sold as tarragon seed are the blander Russian kind.

Parsley works either way. Seed takes 2 to 4 weeks to sprout,^[4] so a plant gets you picking much sooner.

The 6 best herbs to grow indoors for beginners

Start with these six. Each one forgives a slip or two, and each is easy to find as a small plant.

1. Mint

Mint grows on as little as 3 hours of sun and bounces back from almost anything. What kills it: a bone-dry pot, so keep the mix damp. Give it a pot of its own, since it crowds out other herbs. Buy a plant, or follow our steps on how to grow mint indoors from a cutting.

2. Chives

Chives grow back each time you cut them, and they get by on 2 to 6 hours of sun. What wears them out: a year or more of steady warmth, which leaves a thin clump. A few weeks in the cold, like an unheated porch in winter, wakes them up. Buy a plant, cut leaves 1 inch above the soil, and see our chives guide for more.

3. Lemon balm

Lemon balm is a mint cousin that spreads less, and it grows on 2 to 6 hours of sun. What slows it: letting it get tall and floppy. Cut it back by half and it regrows from the base. Buy it as a plant.

4. Parsley

Parsley copes with some shade and a cool room. What stunts it: a shallow pot. It grows one long root, so it needs a pot at least 8 inches deep. Buy a plant to skip the slow seed, and read growing parsley indoors for the rest.

A pot 10 inches deep, like this one, also suits dill and cilantro.

5. Oregano

Oregano is tough, and a lean pot with little feeding gives it more flavor. What kills it: too much water, so let the mix dry a little between waterings. Buy a Greek oregano plant, and crush a leaf first to check it smells strong. Our guide shows how to grow oregano indoors.

6. Thyme

Thyme needs very little water, so it forgives a busy week. What kills it: a soggy pot, so keep it on the dry side in full sun. Buy a plant, since it is slow from seed, and browse everything we have on thyme.

Easy if you give them one thing

These six are easy once they get the one thing they need. For most, that is full sun or a warm room.

7. Marjoram

Marjoram is a milder, sweeter cousin of oregano. It needs full sun and a wide, shallow pot, because it spreads out more than up. What kills it: a wet pot, so let it dry a little between waterings. Start from a plant or seed, and see our marjoram guide.

8. Sage

Sage is easy as long as it stays dry and has air around it. What kills it: a wet pot in a still, crowded corner. That brings powdery mildew, a white dust on the leaves, so water the soil, not the plant. Buy a plant, then read how to grow sage indoors.

9. Basil

Basil is the easiest herb to start from seed, and it grows fast. What kills it: a cold window, so keep it where nights stay above 50°F. Pinch off the tip above a pair of leaves to make it bushy, and pinch off any flowers. Our guide covers how to grow basil indoors.

10. Thai basil

Thai basil grows fast from seed and sprouts in 5 to 10 days. What kills it: the same cold window, since it wants the room above 70°F. Grow it just like basil, with tips in our guide to growing Thai basil.

11. Lemongrass

You can start lemongrass from fresh grocery store stalks. Stand them in a glass of water and they root in about 2 weeks.^[5] What kills it: a cold room or a dry pot. Give it warmth, sun, and damp mix in a wide pot, as our guide on how to grow lemongrass indoors explains.

12. Watercress

Watercress grows fast and wants wet roots, the opposite of most herbs. What kills it: a pot that dries out, so stand it in a tray with 2 to 3 inches of water. Change the water once or twice a week, and keep it in sun in a cool room. Start from seed or a cutting, and see how to grow watercress in a pot.

Easy to start, quick to finish

Chervil, dill, and cilantro sprout fast, then bolt. Bolting means the plant sends up a flower stalk, and the leaves turn thin or bitter. Sow a new pot every few weeks so you always have one coming.

13. Chervil

Chervil likes a cool spot with some shade, unlike most herbs. The usual mistake: burying the seed. It needs light to sprout, so press it onto the soil and barely cover it. Sow again every 3 to 4 weeks, as our chervil guide explains.

14. Dill

Dill sprouts easily and flowers soon after. What kills it: being moved, because of its long root, so sow it in the pot where it will grow. Pick a short type like ‘Fernleaf’, since plain dill gets too tall for a sill. Sow again every 2 weeks, with tips in our guide to growing dill indoors.

15. Cilantro

Cilantro is easy to sprout and copes with some shade. You get 2 cuts: one 6 to 8 weeks after it sprouts, and one about 2 weeks later. What kills it: heat and a dry pot, which make it bolt sooner. Sow a new pot every 2 to 3 weeks, and read how to keep cilantro coming.

The hardest herb to grow indoors: rosemary

Rosemary is the hardest common herb to keep alive indoors. It makes the list because so many people want it.

Rosemary dies from kindness more often than neglect. What kills it: too much water, the top cause of death. Water when the top inch is dry, but never let the whole pot go bone dry. Give it your brightest window and moving air in place of misting. In winter, a cool room around 45 to 55°F helps.

Buy a plant, since seed is slow. Start with 2 or 3 herbs from the top of this list. Once they thrive, come back and learn how to keep rosemary alive indoors. For something less common after that, try our list of rare herbs worth growing.

Questions & answers

What is the easiest herb to grow indoors?

Mint. It grows on 3 hours of sun, roots from a cutting in about a week, and gets over most mistakes. Chives come a close second.

What herbs can you grow indoors year round?

Most of them. Mint, chives, lemon balm, oregano, thyme, sage, lemongrass, and rosemary keep going for years. Dill, cilantro, and chervil need a new pot every few weeks, and basil every few months.

What is the quickest herb to grow?

Basil and cilantro are two of the quickest from seed. Basil sprouts in 5 to 10 days, and cilantro is ready to cut 6 to 8 weeks after it sprouts. A small plant is faster still, since you can pick it the day you buy it.

Can you grow herbs indoors without sunlight?

Only with a grow light. No herb grows well in a dark room. With a few hours of direct sun, mint, chives, lemon balm, parsley, chervil, and cilantro all get by.

Which herb is the hardest to grow indoors?

Rosemary. It rots in a wet pot and needs more sun than most windows give. Lavender is harder still, which is why it is not on this list.

References

1. Penn State Extension, Growing herbs indoors. https://extension.psu.edu/growing-herbs-indoors ↩︎ ↩︎

2. NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Mentha x piperita (peppermint). https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/mentha-x-piperita/ ↩︎

3. Illinois Extension, Oregano. https://extension.illinois.edu/herbs/oregano ↩︎

4. Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Parsley key growing information. https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/herbs/parsley/parsley-key-growing-information.html ↩︎

5. Utah State University Extension, Lemongrass in the garden. https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/lemongrass-in-the-garden ↩︎