Medicinal Plant Seeds: 29 Herbs to Grow From Seed

Most baskets off this shelf look the same: two kitchen herbs, one odd plant for the border, and no plan for when any of it goes in the ground. Sowing time splits these 29 packs.

What are medicinal plant seeds?

Medicinal plants is simply the category name shoppers search for, the shelf sold in other markets as Wellness Plantzaden. Each pack holds an ordinary garden or kitchen species, from Salvia officinalis to Withania somnifera. And no, this category contains no cannabis seed.

Medicinal seeds at a glance: sowing, sun and harvest

Roughly half go straight outdoors in spring, the rest start on a windowsill and move out after the last frost. Hard seed does better after stratification or a light scarification of the coat, and windowsill seedlings need hardening off.

Comparison table: species, botanical name, annual or perennial, sowing month, sun and part used

Cold Soil or Warm Windowsill: When Each Seed Goes In

Corn poppy 'Single Red' (Papaver rhoeas) goes in late spring for red flowers from June to September, white mustard in March, mallow (Malva sylvestris) in April for flowers by September. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) wants an outdoor seedbed in April or May, pricked out in June, then its final spot in autumn. Ashwagandha, lovage, sage and cumin start indoors and go out after the last frost; klip dagga (Leonotis nepetifolia) goes in at the end of April. Cumin is fussiest: above 15°C outside, full sun, sparing water, roughly 120 days to seed. Asparagus officinalis 'Argenteuil' wants a nursery bed four weeks before the Ice Saints, three weeks to germinate, then a year there before the crowns move to their trench.

The Ones That Take Over and the Ones That Stay Put

Perennials do the heavy lifting. German winter thyme (Thymus vulgaris) wants full sun and loamy, well-draining soil and holds its spot for years; tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) copes with most conditions given sun and drainage; St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) takes loamy or sandy ground, drought and even flooding; mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) shrugs off acidic and slightly alkaline ground. Watch the runners: mugwort, tansy, dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and chicory (Cichorium intybus) self-seed hard, so pot them up or hand them a corner you don't mind losing. Summer savory, cumin, white mustard and corn poppy stay put, and lemon-scented gum (Eucalyptus citriodora) gives sharp citronella from a brushed leaf, indoors all year.

Popular medicinal seeds explained

Two packs get asked about most.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)

Sown early indoors, ashwagandha goes out once the last frost has passed and is ready around six months in, so autumn for a spring sowing. Withania somnifera is the adaptogen packet here.

Wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa)

Wild lettuce is the contrarian: sow it straight outside, cover it very loosely with soil and leave it cold. It germinates in 10 to 20 days and even comes up in frost, while warm soil can stop it dead. Salad leaves run from early spring to autumn, toughen and turn bitter into winter, and a bolted flower stalk reaches about 2m.

Picking Leaves, Flower Heads and Seed, and One Plant to Handle With Gloves

Sage (Salvia officinalis) rewards regular cutting back, and the fresh leaves taste best in cooking or in a herbal tea. Cumin seed dries for the spice rack, chicory root is roasted and ground as a coffee substitute, and Norwegian angelica gives celery-like stems plus roots used in gin distillation. Dry leaf and flower heads somewhere warm and airy, out of direct sun.

Rue (Ruta graveolens) is the exception on handling. We don't sell or describe it as a herb to eat or brew, it is not an edible plant, anyone who is pregnant should leave it alone, and the fresh leaves can burn skin in sunlight, so wear gloves when you cut it. One honest note: the anise packet's artwork shows the wrong plant, the seed inside is Pimpinella anisum, not star anise. The Wellness Seed Pack from Zammi's Farm covers wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), valerian, mugwort, sage, St John's wort and tansy in one go, though singles suit a small bed.