Summer Savory Satureja hortensis
- Phonetic Spelling
- sah-tur-AY-jah hor-TEN-sis
- Description
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Summer Savory is an edible, annual flowering herb, and with a culinary, medicinal, aromatic and decorative value. It has a mild peppery taste and is often used to flavor soup, tea, vinegar, meat, cabbage, and butter. It is also used in potpourris. Savory is most often used as a culinary herb, but it also has marked medicinal benefits, especially upon the whole digestive system. The plant is grown from seed in early spring and harvested in the summer when in flower and can be used fresh or dried. Summer Savory is grown as an annual, unlike its cousin, Winter Savory, which is grown as a perennial and tends to have a more bitter flavor. The genus name comes from the Latin for Savory.
Summer Savory is easy to grow in rich light soil with plenty of moisture, full sun and alkaline soil, although it is not fussy. However, it does not do well in damp soil or shade. Savory is a good companion plant in the garden to repel insect pests with onions and beans. It is a fast-growing plant, can be harvested within 2 months of sowing, and can be cut back as the flower buds appear to produce a fresh flush of leaves. The flowers are very attractive to bees, but the plant is rarely troubled by deer.
Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems:
No known diseases or insect pests.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Satureja
- Species:
- hortensis
- Family:
- Lamiaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- The leaves are harvested just before the plant comes into flower and have a tangy, marjoram-like flavor. The flowering shoots contain about 0.5% essential oil.
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Southeastern Europe to Western Asia
- Distribution:
- Introduced to North America; from Newfoundland south to Virginia and west to Ohio.
- Play Value:
- Attracts Pollinators
- Edibility:
- Leaves, raw or cooked, can be used as flavoring. Aromatic and slightly peppery, it can be a garnish for salad or steeped for tea.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 6 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Edible
- Herb
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Low
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Soil pH:
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Nut
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Broad oblong-ovoid, pale brown nutlets.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Pink
- White
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Fragrant
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Tubular
- Flower Petals:
- Bracts
- Flower Description:
- Multiple congested flowers or lilac, pink, or white.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Linear
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Linear 3/4 inch leaves are spread over the stem stem, tapering into an inconspicuous petiole, gland-dotted, with a few simple hairs.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- Branched with very short backward or downward facing white hairs.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Hanging Baskets
- Small Space
- Landscape Theme:
- Edible Garden
- Design Feature:
- Border
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Dry Soil
