The perennial herbs are the ones that outgrow their spot. Rosemary, sage, lavender, and bay are shrubs in everything but name, and they want their mature spread respected from the day they go in. Annual herbs — basil, cilantro, dill, chervil — are replaced every season and can be planted tight without consequence.
Plant library · Spacing charts
Herb spacing chart
Center-to-center spacing for 49 herbs, with mature spread, hardiness zones, and sun needs — the working numbers for laying out an herb bed rather than a list of seed-packet minimums.
Spacing across this chart runs from 9 inches (23 cm) to 8 ft (2.4 m). Click any column heading to sort.
| Plant | Spacing | Mature size | USDA zones | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AngelicaAngelica archangelica
|
3 ft90 cm | 5 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 4–9 | Partial Sun |
AnisePimpinella anisum
|
9 inches23 cm | 2 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Bay LaurelLaurus nobilis
|
8 ft2.4 m | 10 ft tall, 8 ft wide | 8–11 | Full Sun |
Bee BalmMonarda didyma
|
2 ft60 cm | 3.5 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
BorageBorago officinalis
|
18 inches45 cm | 2.5 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 3–10 | Full Sun |
CarawayCarum carvi
|
9 inches23 cm | 2 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 3–8 | Full Sun |
CatnipNepeta cataria
|
2 ft60 cm | 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
ChivesAllium schoenoprasum
|
9 inches23 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
CilantroCoriandrum sativum
|
9 inches23 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 3–11 | Full Sun |
ComfreySymphytum officinale
|
2 ft60 cm | 3 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Common SageSalvia officinalis
|
2 ft60 cm | 2.5 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Common ThymeThymus vulgaris
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Curly ParsleyPetroselinum crispum var. crispum
|
9 inches23 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Curry PlantHelichrysum italicum
|
2 ft60 cm | 2 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 7–10 | Full Sun |
DillAnethum graveolens
|
12 inches30 cm | 3 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 2–11 | Full Sun |
English LavenderLavandula angustifolia
|
2 ft60 cm | 2 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
EpazoteDysphania ambrosioides
|
12 inches30 cm | 4 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 3–11 | Full Sun |
FennelFoeniculum vulgare
|
18 inches45 cm | 5 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
FeverfewTanacetum parthenium
|
12 inches30 cm | 2 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Flat-Leaf Italian ParsleyPetroselinum crispum var. neapolitanum
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
French LavenderLavandula dentata
|
3 ft90 cm | 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 8–11 | Full Sun |
French TarragonArtemisia dracunculus
|
18 inches45 cm | 2.5 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Garlic ChivesAllium tuberosum
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
German ChamomileMatricaria chamomilla
|
12 inches30 cm | 2 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 3–10 | Full Sun |
Greek OreganoOriganum vulgare subsp. hirtum
|
18 inches45 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
HorehoundMarrubium vulgare
|
18 inches45 cm | 2 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 4–10 | Full Sun |
HyssopHyssopus officinalis
|
12 inches30 cm | 2 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Lemon BalmMelissa officinalis
|
2 ft60 cm | 2 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | 3–9 | Partial Sun |
Lemon ThymeThymus citriodorus
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Lemon VerbenaAloysia citrodora
|
4 ft1.2 m | 5 ft tall, 5 ft wide | 8–11 | Full Sun |
LemongrassCymbopogon citratus
|
3 ft90 cm | 4 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 9–11 | Full Sun |
LovageLevisticum officinale
|
2.5 ft75 cm | 5 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
PeppermintMentha x piperita
|
2 ft60 cm | 2 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 3–11 | Partial Sun |
Pineapple SageSalvia elegans
|
3 ft90 cm | 4 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 8–11 | Full Sun |
Prostrate RosemarySalvia rosmarinus 'Prostratus'
|
3 ft90 cm | 1 ft tall, 4 ft wide | 7–10 | Full Sun |
Roman ChamomileChamaemelum nobile
|
12 inches30 cm | 0.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
RueRuta graveolens
|
18 inches45 cm | 2.5 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
ShisoPerilla frutescens
|
12 inches30 cm | 2.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 3–11 | Full Sun |
Shrub RosemarySalvia rosmarinus
|
3 ft90 cm | 4 ft tall, 4 ft wide | 7–10 | Full Sun |
SpearmintMentha spicata
|
2 ft60 cm | 2 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 3–11 | Partial Sun |
SteviaStevia rebaudiana
|
18 inches45 cm | 2 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 9–11 | Full Sun |
Summer SavorySatureja hortensis
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 3–10 | Full Sun |
Sweet BasilOcimum basilicum
|
12 inches30 cm | 2 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 2–11 | Full Sun |
Sweet MarjoramOriganum majorana
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 3–10 | Full Sun |
Thai BasilOcimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 4–11 | Full Sun |
ValerianValeriana officinalis
|
2 ft60 cm | 4 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Winter SavorySatureja montana
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 5–8 | Full Sun |
WintergreenGaultheria procumbens
|
12 inches30 cm | 0.5 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 3–8 | Partial Shade |
WormwoodArtemisia absinthium
|
2 ft60 cm | 3 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Spacing is center to center — measure between planting holes, not between the edges of the plants. Mature size and hardiness ranges are catalog values and shift with cultivar and local conditions.
How to use this chart
Mint, oregano, lemon balm, and the other runners spread by underground stems no matter how far apart you set them. Spacing controls how fast they close a bed, not whether they stay in it. If you want them contained, that is a job for a pot or a sunken barrier, not for a planting distance.
Herbs you cut hard and often stay well under the mature spread listed here. A basil plant picked weekly never reaches the footprint of one left to flower, so a kitchen herb bed can run tighter than the chart while an ornamental planting should not.