Horehound

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Marrubium vulgare (ma-RUE-bi-um vul-GAR-ee)
Common Names: Horehound, White Horehound
Family: Labiatae
Type: Perennial
Location: Full Sun

Planting: Set out transplants or make cuttings anytime during the growing season. Start seed in early spring.
Height: 12 to 14 inches
Spread: 18 to 24 inches
Final Spacing: 12 inches




Bloom/Fruit: small white flowers followed by many small seeds that germinate freely.

Growth Habits/Culture: Bushy and woody, fuzzy gray-green crinkled edge leaves that turn down. Hardy and weedy looking. Easy to grow even in poor soil. Good for arid areas due to its drought tolerancy.

Problems: Overwatering will kill it. Can become invasive. Some people consider this plant a serious weed. Control can be done by physical removal and spraying tender regrowth with vinegar or fatty acid products.

Harvest/Storage: Harvest and dry leaves and stems anytime but best is before flowers have formed. Use fresh or store in glass in a cool, dry place.

Culinary Uses: None

Medicinal Uses: Use the leaves and stems to make teas, syrups, and tinctures. Drink tea for respiratory problems. Good cough medicine. Use dry or fresh leaves to make a tea. Make lozenges for coughs. Horehound is used as a digestive, vermifuge, and sedative. It is said to control irregular heartbeat and used to treat fevers and malaria. It is a bitter, awful tasting herb. Landscape Uses: Good groundcover for dry areas. Useful in landscaping as a contrast herb. Can be grown in containers.

Insight: A gardening tea made from soaking leaves in water has been used to control cankerworms and other insect pests.

 

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