Growing Horehound: A Complete Profile

By Growing Home Greens Team · August 20, 2026

Horehound is a grey-green, woolly-leaved mint relative grown for a bitterness that mostly appears in throat lozenges.

Deadhead it or get a patch

NC State Extension notes it can be weedy and is usually found in disturbed and overgrazed ground, spreading in pasture because livestock avoid eating it. In a garden the mechanism is seed rather than runners, which makes it easier to manage than mugwort: cut the flower heads before they set and the problem does not start.

It wants poor, dry ground

Hardy zones 3 through 9, one to two feet tall and wide, full sun to partial shade, flowering June through November. It does best in thin dry soil and rots in wet ground, which is the usual way to lose one.

Using it

The bitterness is strong and the traditional preparation pairs it with a great deal of sugar for exactly that reason. Leaves are used fresh or dried in tea and in candy. It is not a culinary herb in the way sage or thyme are; a little goes a long way.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Marrubium vulgare.

Companion planting guide for Horehound · Find your planting dates

Typically viable in USDA zones 3-9. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.

Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. Horehound doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.

See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →

How many Horehound plants fit per square foot?

Spacing: 1 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1-2 ft.

Where to buy horehound seeds

• Botanical Interests
• True Leaf Market
• Burpee
• High Mowing Organic Seeds

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See it growing

Search YouTube for "growing horehound" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)

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Growing Horehound: The bitter herb behind old-fashioned cough drops, which seeds itself around freely if you let it.

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