Round Robin: Glad to Be Here

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Newberg, Oregon—The annual conference of the International Herb Growers and Marketers Association (IHGMA) was held in Washington State in July, and it gave me the opportunity to compare notes with fellow herb growers from across the nation.

I feel fortunate to live in a climate that is so temperate and accommodating to growing herbs. Winters in the Northeast are so hard that growers must take all of their rosemaries inside for the winter. I leave all of my upright rosemaries planted outside, although the prostrate or creeping varieties, which are less hardy, do have to go into the greenhouse. (The creeping cultivar Rosmarinus ‘Severn Sea’ has surprised me the past four winters by surviving outside, even through an entire week when the temperature reached 3°F.)

Southern growers, on the other hand, have such hot, humid summers that they must constantly battle fungal diseases such as powdery mildew when growing lavenders and rosemaries. The only plant that’s sure to get powdery mildew in our area is bee balm (Monarda didyma), and most growers just accept it and try to minimize it by good sanitation and by avoiding watering late in the afternoon.

California growers often boast that they can grow everything outside year round, but they have no really distinct seasons nor severe cold winter temperatures—nor even snow! Without a cold period to make them go dormant, herbs such as French tarragon (Artemisa dracunculus var. sativa) can’t get the rest period they need to recuperate in preparation for another season of growth. That’s why Californians often substitute Mexican mint marigold (Tagetes lucida) in their cooking: it doesn’t need a dormant period.

Californians miss the splendid fall colors that herbs can produce as cold weather approaches. Color intensity increases in the blue of Jackman’s Blue or Blue Mound rue (Ruta graveolens), the crisp golds of golden sage (Salvia officinalis ‘Icterina’), and the smoldering reds of tricolor sage (S. o. ‘Tricolor’), whose edges turn even deeper red later in the season until they approach the rich burgundies of purple sage (S. o. ‘Purpurascens’). Shorter day lengths and colder temperatures seem to heighten the foliage contrast of the smaller, more subtly variegated herbs. Creeping lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus ‘Doone Valley’), Mayfair thyme (T. c. ‘Mayfair’), and the upright golden and silver lemon thymes (T. c. ‘Aureus’ and ‘Argenteus’) are at their best now. The silver portion of silver thyme’s leaf margins will redden subtly as temperatures drop toward frost levels. All these thymes make excellent culinary wreaths, and the colors will hold up for the holidays.

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