A few potted plants here and there breathe life into a space. Be it a pot or a half barrel, window boxes or hanging baskets, you can start your container garden almost anywhere. The patios, balconies, porches, decks, and stoops serve as the best sites. Container gardening instantly changes the display, giving lively vibes while cleaning the air around you.
It is always a good approach to go planting the herbs that provide endless benefits. We, as medicinal plant specialists, would highly recommend growing medicinal plants in pots due to their amazing health-related perks. Besides, there is nothing bad about investing in our ecosystem as it is going to be good for every living being on this planet. This green-thinking surely sounds fanciful, almost impossible at times, but the flip side offers growing blessings in this depressing background.
Let’s walk you through the info about our favorite medicinal plants that you can easily grow in pots and place in your condos and apartments.
Holy Basil
Holy Basil, often hailed as ‘The Queen of Herbs’ is an easy-to-grow annual plant. It cheerfully supports medicinal, culinary, spiritual, and aesthetic motives, all the while serving as an exquisitely satisfying addition to your garden, patio, balcony, or porch. It is preferred to start Holy Basil with seeds. Sow them in a potting mix composed of three parts peat moss, one part compost, and one part perlite for vigorous growth.
Make sure you keep the soil moist but not soggy as it can potentiate the chances of diseases in Holy Basil, like basil downy mildew. Give it plenty of sunlight to ensure gloriously large leaves. You can continually harvest Holy Basil leaves every week to encourage its growth. To prolong its life span and promote bushy growth, pinch off the flower heads to prevent them from producing seeds.
Lemon Balm
Lemon Balm is a glamorous herbaceous perennial that comes back year after year. This tiny cheerful plant has all the powers to bring delight to any yard or kitchen apothecary. Its mild lemon scent and sweet white flowers are calming sights to behold.
Growing Lemon Balm is an easy endeavor. You can start it using seeds or transplants, planting them at least 8 inches deep in a slightly sandy, well-drained, neutral to acidic soil. Give it around 4 to 5 hours of direct sunlight and harvest every week to encourage healthy growth.
Lemon Verbena
Lemon verbena is a deciduous sub-shrub that mimics an annual in New Jersey. This prestigious bush owns rich medicinal history and fervently compliments salads, teas, and other beverages due to its strong citrusy scent.
Growing Lemon Verbena in pots is ideal to ensure its year-round availability in colder regions. Start your lemon verbena in spring in a 12 inched diameter pot, containing soil with rich organic matter. Water your plant just enough to keep the soil moist and not wet to avoid root spoilage. You can harvest it weekly to encourage its growth.
Sage
Sage is an artistic perennial brimmed with copious antioxidants. It is often used for teas and fried to be crumbled over savory dishes to magnify their flavors. Apart from its medicinal perks, it is used by some industries to avoid the rancidification of oil.
You can easily grow sage in pots as a kitchen herb. It can be started with cutting or seeds. Make sure your potting mix is loamy, enriched with 20-25% compost, and offers excellent drainage. Place the pot in a location that receives 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight and water it regularly but do not go over the board with watering process as it can cause root rot.