Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-598
Hyssop
Hyssopus officinalis
Hyssop is a bushy Mediterranean subshrub whose sage-and-mint-flavored leaves and flowers season soups and salads, but it earns its keep more as a hedge and pollinator plant than a kitchen herb - it trims into a tidy low hedge, draws bees and butterflies heavily, and shelters overwintering insects. It has a long history as a household remedy for coughs and bronchitis, but the essential oil can trigger convulsions and should be avoided by anyone prone to seizures or in pregnancy. It wants sharply drained, dry, slightly alkaline ground and tolerates real drought and hard cold well, but rots in wet winter soil. It is naturally short-lived and is usually cut back hard each spring and replaced every few years.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 4–9
- Soil
- Sand · Loam
- Moisture
- Dry · Well-Drained · Moderate
Vertical layer
Shrub- Soil pH
- 6.5–8.5
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 18–24 in
- Mature spread
- 12–18 in
- Plant spacing
- 12–36 in
- Root type
- Fibrous-shallow
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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