How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Savory

The herb savory is exactly as its name suggests: full of flavor, delicious, and tasty.

This salty, spicy herb has been used in cooking and medicine since Roman times when it was used as a salt substitute to flavor food. It’s tough to find in stores, making it a great addition to your culinary herb garden.

Used fresh or dried, savory is one of the key ingredients in Herbes de Provence along with marjoram, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. It makes a great growing partner alongside its Mediterranean cousins. Why not try growing your own Herbes de Provence herb bed or patio container at home?

What is Savory?

Known by the Romans as the ‘Herb of Love’, savory’s powers were believed to be so strong that monasteries in Europe banned growing savory, for fear the monks would become bewitched by its pungent aroma. 

The popularity of growing summer and winter savory declined with the introduction of the Eastern spice routes trading all kinds of new and interesting flavors, in particular black pepper.  Fortunately, savory is making a bit of a comeback in recent years, used more in home and restaurant cooking.

Savory is especially good in spicy meat rubs, as it doesn’t lose its flavor with long cooking times like other herbs.  It’s also great for bean dishes, adding saltiness without the salt which can cause beans to harden when cooked. And it promotes healthy digestion, reducing flatulence when eating beans.

There are two main types of savory: winter (Satureja montana) and summer (Satureja hortensis). They are both similar but have some differences in how they are grown. Summer savory is commonly known as St. Julian’s herb, stone basil, and satyricon. 

Native Area

Savory comes from the mint family, Lamiaceae, originating from southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and Southwest Asia. It’s grown for its highly aromatic leaves.

Characteristics

Summer savory grows as an annual herb sown in spring and harvested until autumn, dying back with the first frost. It is a compact herb growing to around 12-18 inches in height. It has bronze-green leaves on green-burgundy stems and whorls of small white flowers tinged with pink in summer.

Its flavor and aroma are spicy and peppery with notes of thyme, marjoram, and mint and it is much more subtle than winter savory.

It is a hardy, dwarf, semi-evergreen woody perennial growing to around 6-18 inches in height and spread. Its leaves are dark, grey-green, lance-shaped, and stiffer compared to its summer counterpart and grow on woody, brown-green stems. Flowers are white, tinged with lilac, and appear in summer. 

Winter savory has a more robust aroma than summer savory with sage and pine tones in addition to its spicy, peppery flavor. Winter savory and summer savory seeds are small and brown-black.

Both winter and summer savory are low-maintenance herbs and easy to grow in your garden, taking up very little space but giving back loads in flavor. Grow savory in containers along with other perennial Mediterranean herbs like its mint family cousins: thyme, marjoram, and oregano.

There are a few other varieties of interest:

• Satureja biflora – Lemon, African savory. A hardy evergreen with highly pungent lemon-scented foliage.
• Satureja spicigera – Creeping savory.  A low-growing evergreen variety with a height and spread of 3 x 30 inches.

Planting

Start winter and summer savory indoors from seed eight to ten weeks before your last frost. Germination usually takes one to two weeks. Sow directly one to two weeks after the last frost date. Plant directly in the garden when all risk of frost has passed with well-rooted transplants or a store-bought savory plant. 

When you sow savory seeds indoors press them into the surface of a pre-watered seed-starting compost mix. Sow seeds individually into module trays or broadcast into a seed tray for pricking out later. Don’t cover seeds as they need light for germination.

Plant out into their final growing positions 12-18 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart when seedlings have developed good root systems. Alternatively, sow seeds directly outside into prepared drills. Thin seedlings to six inches apart and again later to the strongest plants approximately 12-18 inches apart.

If you are short on garden space, you can grow savory in containers in a greenhouse or conservatory. Growing indoors will extend the harvest period for summer savory and will produce more tender leaves on winter savory plants.   

How to Grow

These tips help you keep your savory plants happy and healthy!

Light

Summer and winter savory are sun-loving plants. When growing summer savory it’s best to provide around 12 hours of sunlight a day.

Winter savory requires half the amount of sunlight hours (six hours) compared to its summer cousin, reflecting its perennial growing habit.

Water

Savory is a drought-tolerant plant, but it benefits from regular watering to keep its foliage fresh and hydrated, especially during the hot summer season. Be careful not to overwater as savory does not like to grow in soggy ground.

Water in the morning using a timed soaker hose or watering cans directed at ground level. Winter savory requires minimal watering during winter months unless grown indoors. 

Soil

The ideal soil conditions for growing savory vary between sandy loam (summer) to loam (winter) and range in pH from neutral to slightly alkaline. The soil must also be free draining.

Both savory varieties benefit from organic matter amendments before planting in spring. A compost mulch in late fall will protect winter savory plant roots from hard frosts.

Temperature

The ideal temperature range for summer savory is 55-85°F (13-29°C) but plants are frost tender at low temperatures.

The ideal temperature range for optimal winter savory growth is 45-80°F (7-27°C), but it will survive winter temperatures down to around 23°F (-5°C). In lower temperatures, move pots indoors, or protect with horticultural fleece if they are in beds.

Fertilizing

Savory is not a heavy feeder and will manage with organic mulches and soil amendments. Transplants may benefit from a balanced and diluted liquid feed in mid to late spring to help roots establish and reduce any transplant shock.

Maintenance

Regular harvesting will encourage branching and create a nice bushy growing habit. Left unpruned, savory will become leggy and weak.

Harvest summer savory completely when flowers develop in late summer and early fall. Winter savory benefits from a light prune at the start of the growing season, taking out any old or damaged shoots and stems.

Propagation

Summer and winter savory are easily grown from seed, which is the preferred method of growing them.

Gather seed from plants when they have produced flowers. Gather the flowers and place them in paper bags with a few holes to dry out. Seeds will be viable for one to two years.

You can also propagate winter savory from soft-wood cuttings in spring and semi-ripe cuttings in late summer/early fall. Using clean pruning shears, cut stems four to six inches in length and remove the lower two to three inches of leaves. 

Prepare small pots with a mix of equal parts compost and perlite or horticultural grit to aid drainage. Insert the cuttings evenly spaced around the edge of the pots up to the leaves and firm in to ensure good contact with the compost. Dip the stems in rooting hormone to give them a good start. 

Water the cuttings and keep them moist until roots have established. Cuttings may benefit from some bottom heat to stimulate root development. Separate the cuttings and plant one rooted cutting per pot and then into the garden in spring.

Harvesting

Harvest when plants reach six inches in height. It’s a good idea to have a few plants on the go to ensure a constant supply. 

Harvest summer and winter savory in the morning when essential oils are at their peak. Simply snip the young leaves and use fresh or dried. Try not to cut stems too far back as it will take longer for the savory plant to recover. This is especially important with winter savory which has woody stems. 

Harvest winter savory all year round. Leaves picked in the colder months may be a little tough, but they are perfect for slow cooking in stews and casseroles. Harvest summer savory before flowering for the best flavor.

Common Problems

Both winter and summer savory have no notable pests or diseases. In fact, they are excellent companion plants to repel or lure away pests such as bean weevils and aphids and to reduce mildew on roses.

Root Rot

The main growing problem associated with both summer and winter savory is the soil becoming too wet, resulting in the development of fungal root rot.

Tell-tale signs are a slow decline in plant health with wilted or yellowing leaves. Check the roots for dampness and reduce watering until the plant improves.

Pests

As a general rule, most pests and diseases don’t cause significant harm to savory, no matter which type it is. However, any plant can become a breeding ground for certain pests, aphids and spider mites being the most common.

If you see evidence of either of these pests, it is always wise to reduce their population so you don’t run the risk of further pest spread in the garden. Blast them with a stream of water from a hose. Neem oil is beneficial for eliminating both of these pests when water doesn’t cut it.

Frequently Asked Questions