How do I keep supermarket herb pots alive?

Supermarket herb pots are grown for immediate sale rather than longevity — many seedlings forced quickly in a small pot. That is why they collapse within two weeks, and it is entirely fixable in ten minutes.

What you'll need

• Pots
• Compost
• A knife (optional)
• A sunny windowsill (optional)

Step by step

1. Understand why they fail.Dozens of seedlings in one small pot, competing for water and root space, grown fast in ideal greenhouse conditions. In a kitchen they collapse within days.
2. Split the pot into three or four clumps.Ease the whole rootball out and cut or pull it into sections, each with plenty of roots and stems. This is the change that transforms their lifespan.
3. Repot each clump into a larger pot with fresh compost.Give each one room. A pot with drainage holes, in decent compost rather than the exhausted plug they came in.
4. Give them the brightest position you have.Most herbs want full sun. A kitchen away from a window is not enough light and they become pale and leggy.
5. Water when the top of the compost is dry.Not on a schedule. Overwatering is the second most common killer after overcrowding, particularly for Mediterranean herbs.
6. Harvest by pinching the growing tips.Not by pulling whole stems from the base. Pinching the tips makes the plant bush out and produce more.
7. Treat the Mediterranean herbs differently.Rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano want dry, sunny and free-draining. Basil, parsley, coriander and mint want richer and more moisture.
8. Move them outside in summer if you can.Almost all herbs do considerably better outdoors in warm weather. A windowsill box or a doorstep pot is enough.

Tips

• Mint is invasive and should be kept in its own pot. Planted in a bed it takes over completely within a couple of seasons.
• Basil dislikes cold and draughts. A cold windowsill overnight is a common reason it collapses despite good light.
• Cutting herbs regularly keeps them productive. A plant left uncut goes to flower and stops producing usable leaves.

Common mistakes

• Leaving them in the pot they came in — Dozens of seedlings competing in a small exhausted pot cannot survive long. Splitting and repotting is what makes them last.
• Keeping them away from a window — Most herbs need full sun. A kitchen counter away from light produces pale leggy growth that then collapses.
• Watering all herbs the same — Mediterranean herbs want dry and free-draining; soft herbs want moisture. Treating them identically kills one group or the other.

Questions people ask