Flower Specifications
- Season: Perennial
- USDA Zones: 4 - 8
- Height: 18 - 24 inches
- Bloom Season: Summer
- Bloom Color: White
- Environment: Full Sun
- Soil Type: Moist, well-drained, pH 6.1 - 7.8
- Deer Resistant: Yes
Planting Directions
- Temperature: 65F
- Average Germ Time: 2 - 3 weeks
- Light Required: No
- Depth: 1/4 inch
- Sowing Rate: 2 - 3 seeds per plant
- Moisture: Keep moist until germination
- Plant Spacing: 10 inches
- Care & Maintenance: See: Horehound
Horehound (Marrubium Vulgare) - You can grow Horehound and use it in your own soothing teas, or if you are adventerous, in your own homemade candy.
Did you eat horehound candy when you were a child? You may not have known it, but your parents were actually giving you "medicine"! Candy made from the herb Horehound was often given as a cough drop to sooth deep chest coughs.
Horehound can be established from herb seed and harvested the first year. This woody perennial has hairy stems covered with 2-inch, toothed, downy, gray-green leaves. The leaves have a wooly crinkled appearance. Small, off-white hairy flowers are born in summer on the 8 - 24 inch tall and wide plant. The flowers attract beneficial wasps and flies to the garden. It's a great companion plant for tomatoes and peppers as an added bonus.
Grow horehound in any well-drained, soil in full sun. Keep cutting back for new flushes of growth and extended harvests. The leaves and flowers lose their flavor quickly, so snip them into smaller pieces to dry on screens. When dry, crumble and store in jars. Cut the flowers and harvest it heavily each season as this plant is a liberal self-sower, dropping its own Horehound seeds and spreading.
To establish Horehound from seeds, sow the herb seeds indoors on sterile starting mix. Keep the seed moist until germination. Once frost season has passed and 2 leaves have formed on the seedlings, they are ready to transplant into the garden in a sunny location. Do not over water Horehound. It likes to dry out inbetween waterings.
