The Best Herbs to Grow in Desert Climates

Location and Soil

• For the most part, growing herbs in the desert means providing morning sun and afternoon shade from the hot desert sun. Herbs can also be grown under trees such as mesquite that provide filtered shade. You do not need to add amendments to your soil, but a layer of mulch on top of the planting bed keeps roots cooler and reduces evaporation.

  Herbs can also be grown in pots, which may be an easy solution if you do not have room in your yard for a dedicated herb planting bed. Pots also allow you to move plants around to adjust the amount of sun and/or shade. It is important to remember that pots will require more water, sometimes twice a day in the hottest months.

Spring Planted Herbs

• Basil, borage, mint (only in full shade), and dill can be planted from seeds or plants. Rosemary, Mexican oregano, culinary sage and lavender are better planted from containers.

Fall Planted Herbs

• In late fall, you can plant parsley, cilantro, tarragon, thyme and chives. All of these can be planted as seeds, but plants will give you herbs for harvesting much quicker. Parsley from seed can be very challenging, as they are very stubborn to sprout. Be patient; as sometimes it takes two weeks for the seeds to germinate.

  Although the winter sun in the desert is not as hard on winter herbs, placing them where they will receive part shade when hotter weather arrives will increase the chances they will survive the summer and possibly bring you another round of harvesting the next year.

  Although not an herb per se, chocolate flower "Berlandiera lyrata" is a great addition to your desert herb garden. A native wildflower, chocolate flower smells and tastes like chocolate.

Shrub-like Herbs

• Mexican Oregano, "Poliomintha longiflora" is a small flowering shrub that thrives in the desert and poor soils. It prefers afternoon shade, so it works well with other herbs as long as you have room for its full size of two feet tall and wide.

  Rosemary is a bit different, as it is a long-lived plant from the Mediterranean, which means it can handle full sun and less water. Since rosemary requires less water than most traditional herbs, you will need to plant it in a different area than the rest of your herbs to avoid root rot.