Fresh Herbs - Annual, Biennial or Perennial?

Herbs bring fresh flavor to recipes and are easy to grow, but not all herbs have the same life cycle. This list of annual, perennial, and biennial herbs will help you select the perfect herb for your garden.

Annual herbs complete their life cycle in one season, biennial herbs take two years to grow, and perennial herbs return year after year. Knowing the difference helps you plan your garden, decide which herbs to replant each spring, and choose the ones that you can rely on without replanting.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to tell if an herb is annual, biennial, or perennial, along with examples of each type. A handy chart makes it easy to identify your favorite herbs so you can grow them with confidence and enjoy fresh flavor all season long.

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Are your fresh herbs annual, biennial, or perennial?

Just like flowering plants, herbs come in several varieties – annuals, biennials, and perennials. This post discusses the differences between each and gives a handy list of herbs in that category.

Annual herbs

An annual herb is a plant that goes through its whole life cycle from seed to flower, and again to seed in a single growing season. Once this happens, the stems and leaves of the annual herb plant die.

You can collect seeds from annuals, so that you get another growing season by planting again. However, left to nature, annual herbs will not grow on their own the following year.

Fortunately, most herbs freeze well, so this enables you to enjoy annual herbs even after they have died.

Some common annual herbs are:

Basil
Cilantro
Chervil
Margoram
Summer Savory
Coriander (seeds of cilantro)
Dill (this herb is actually a biennial but doesn’t like the frost, so it is normally grown as an annual.
Bay Laurel (considered a perennial in warmer zones)

Biennial herbs

A biennial herb is a plant that requires two years to complete its whole life cycle. Leaves, roots, and stems grow in the first year, and flowering seed production and death of the plant occur in the second year.

Common biennial herbs are:

Parsley
Stevia
Caraway
Fennel
Clary sage
Angelica

Perennial herbs

A perennial herb is a plant that lives for more than 2 years. It regrows each season without needing to be replanted.

Perennial herbs grow from underground roots. They go dormant in winter and start growing again each spring.

It would seem by the name that these herbs will last forever, but this is not really the case. However, they will continue to grow for many seasons.

Some common perennial herbs are:

Oregano
Mint (keep this one in a pot unless you want a garden full of it)
Fennel
Tarragon
Thyme
Bay leaves – get 11 recipes that use bay leaves here.
Chives
Sage
Winter Savory
Lavender
Rosemany

Cross over herbs

A few herbs will cross over between annual and perennial depending on your growing season and climate.

For me, even though I live in zone 7b and most perennial herbs will come back for me, tarragon is iffy at best. Chives often act like biennials for me.

But many, like rosemary, thyme, and oregano, are stalwarts that I can always plan on seeing each spring.

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