Does the time of the day matter when harvesting herbs outdoors? Which herbs respond well to being pruned? When should you start pruning, harvesting, and where should you cut?
We will answer these questions and more in our Smarter Gardening Guide to Pruning and Harvesting Herbs!
Summary of the Guide
- Begin pruning annual herbs when they have enough leaves to support themselves. Always leave at least two leaf sets.
- When growing annuals for leaves don’t let the herb flower before you harvest.
- Woody-stemmed perennials can be harvested mid-flowering.
- Most herbs respond very well to pruning.
- Herb flowers are at their peak after the buds develop, but before they open.
- Harvest seeds after green pods change their color, but before they shatter.
- Store most herbs in the fridge if you plan on using them within ten days.
- (Bonus) Stay skeptical of the advice you see out there!
Intro: Issues With Some Popular Advice
Humor me; pause for a moment and try to remember whether you have heard some variation of this advice:
“Many herbs are reaching full maturity just now. For best flavor, pick basil, parsley, thyme, and others in early morning or evening. Their aromatic oils dissipate in the heat of the sun and, after the sundown, fade completely to the human palate.”1
Chances are, many of us have heard the idea that daytime sun bleaches out flavor before. And the advice does make sense intuitively: we do know that intensive sun can make plant leaves look pale (in the context of using artificial lights for young shoots, for example). Alike boiling vegetables in a pot full of water, it would make sense for the sun to make leaves taste more stale.
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But, to some of us this is still news. It certainly was to the professor of botany, Arthur O. Tucker, Ph.D., and the passionate journalist and commercial herb grower, Thomas DeBaggio, with decades of professional experience behind their shoulders. After reading this exact quote in a major American newspaper, Arthur and Thomas reached out to the garden writer behind the advice.
In their response, the author admitted that the tip was based “solely on her own experience and was limited almost entirely to her perception of basil.” Still, the author insisted that the loss of aroma in herbs after dark was “astonishing.” That night the two went out to their respective gardens to sniff their basil, noticing no change in the aroma compared to what they are used to.1
Here’s the thing: the garden writer might have been right, but not for the reasons she thought she was. There are many, many little things that can influence concentration of essential oils in herbs — from your local weather, to the time of the year, to the age of the leaf you are harvesting, to whether the herb is flowering or fruiting (in chamomile, dill, or coriander, for example).
If you want to know the ideal time of the day for harvesting, we discuss it in the section below, under “At What Time of the Day Should You Gather Your Herbs?”
Little Bit of Geeky Trivia
Finnish scientists reported that growing basil and marjoram inside a greenhouse resulted in them having more essential oils. Meanwhile, Delaware State College found that simply mulching lavender with an inch of white sand can increase its oil yields by 771%!1
We always say this: do keep your inspective glasses on when reading advice online, from newspapers, or magazines.
In particular, places that try to sell you some miracle gardening solution are infamous for giving skewed, or outright poor advice.
While some of it just doesn’t do anything (you probably won’t notice a lot of change in the taste of your basil if you gather it as early as possible in the morning), some advice might make you harm your plants!
Pruning and Harvesting Questions, Answered!
To not get overwhelmed with all the information, 
follow our green bulbs for the core advice. You can always come back to read more on any of the sections you are interested in!
Need to learn pruning for a specific plant? Scroll down to see if we have it covered in more detail under “Common Herbs: Pruning and Harvesting.”
Little Bit of Geeky Trivia
At LettucePlant we lo-ove our geeky science. After all, with good science comes good advice.
For ultimate geeky green thumbs, the entire section of footnotes awaits you at the bottom. There you can (and totally should) follow our information to its original source to learn even more about expert gardening practices!
#1 – At What Time of the Day Should You Gather Your Herbs?
Good news: there is not much reason for you to account for all the sciencey mess we just discussed. Unless you are a commercial essential oil producer, of course.
But, if you are feeling a little geeky, the two authors leave us with this take on the newspaper writer’s advice:
“Harvesting in the cooler parts of the day decreases the need for cooling the foliage to reduce loss of aromatic oils and leaf deterioration.”1
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Technically, the best time of the day to harvest an herb is mid-morning of a sunny day (to get most fragrant oil), as opposed to a cloudy morning. Wait for the dew to evaporate if you plan on drying your herbs: moisture will slow down the process and might even cause mold.2
If your herbs do happen to be wet, a quick way to dry them is to lay them on a kitchen towel (or cloth) in front of a fan.
So, as it turns out, sunny days are actually a better time to harvest your herbs. And, if you don’t plan on using your herbs immediately (instead drying them or storing them in your kitchen for a few days), you can harvest during a cooler time of the day.
#2 – Pruning and Harvesting Herbs: How Much and How Often?
Annual Herbs
Examples: Basil, Dill
For annuals like basil or cilantro, wait until the main stem has more than two sets of leaves before you start doing anything to it, and always leave at least two sets of leaves after you are done.2
When harvesting annuals for leaves, you don’t want to allow the plant to flower before you start pruning, in the majority of cases. Otherwise, new leaves will stop forming, and what you do have will start to taste bitter.
If harvesting leaves, keep enough for the herb to sustain itself afterwards. Don’t leave the plant without its solar panels!
Perennial Herbs
Examples: Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme
Don’t prune more than 75% of what grew this season. Woody-stemmed perennials can be pruned to one-third of their height and re-grow just fine (they tend to respond well to this aggressive maintenance), just make sure to not cut right up to where the wood part begins.
Most herbs of this kind are harvested in the period from right before flower buds form, up until mid-flowering. That is, unless you want the blooms. Woody-stemmed perennials are often harvested mid-blossom, when the oil production is at its highest.
Perennials like chives still develop an off-flavor when flowering — they should be gathered before buds appear.3
Do stop harvesting perennials about one month before the first frost date, since tender young growth that will appear to replace your cuttings might not harden off before winter.
Flowers, Root, and Seed
Herb flowers typically reach their peak in oil and flavor after the buds develop, but before they open. However, this differs for each herb. Borage and chamomile are picked just before full flower, for example.
Herbs like tarragon and lavender can be sheared to half their height after first flowering in early summer — they should flower again during fall.
Harvest herb roots (bloodroot, chicory, ginseng, goldenseal) in the fall, after the leaves fade.
Harvesting for seeds is best done when the green pods change their color, but before they shatter (open). In some cases having morning dew on the flowers helps prevent shattering.3
Read More on General Harvesting
Use sharp tools (pruners, knives, sickles, shears) for cutting leaves to make sure that you don’t bruise what you leave behind. If you plan on harvesting a lot, rubber bands or bread ties are useful for holding bunches together.
Remember to not crush leaves when you are harvesting: the oils are quick to evaporate into the air, and they are a major source of flavor for herbs.4 That’s another reason to opt for sharp cutting tools (unless you are a very precise pincher).
Noting some wilting when you finally get to use your harvest? Next time you can stick the cut end of the stems into a bucket of water immediately after harvesting to help prevent wilting.
#3 – Common Herbs: Pruning and Harvesting
Basil (Harvested for Leaves)
Want a huge harvest? Basil will respond well to being cut back a lot and frequently.5
Pruning and Harvesting Basil
- Whether you are starting from seed or sapling, wait for two sets of leaves to form after you transplant your basil to its final destination. Do not let it form its first flower.
- Cut the stem right above the second set of leaves, counting from the bottom. Do not leave a lengthy stem section on the top: cut just above the leaf node. Do not damage the node itself.
- Cut basil back like this every four weeks or whenever you spot a flower bud. If you only pinch off the tips or the flowers, the plant will just keep trying to set seed instead of forming new leaves. Worst of all, the leaves you have might become bitter. Provided the plant is very happy with its environment, expect to fully harvest basil five or six times during the season — about 15 to 25 cups of basil leaves.
Cilantro (Harvested for Leaves and Coriander Seeds)
Don’t try to prevent Cilantro from flowering: just keep cutting until the flower stem eventually rises and new leaves stop forming.6
Pruning and Harvesting Cilantro
- About a month after sowing you can start pinching or shearing the outermost leaves.
- New leaves should form within the next few days, from the center of the plant. Keep harvesting the plant like this until it tries to flower. This will help you get as much as possible from a single plant.
- Cilantro’s white flowers can be used in salads or as garnishes. You can also pick flower stems for coriander seeds after about half of the seeds goes from green to a tannish-gray color (or when the seeds on the central flower clusters are ripe). Try to gather them in the morning — dew will help prevent shattering (opening). Dry them thoroughly inside paper bags, shaking to get a head start in separating seeds. Store in jars out of direct sun for a year.
Dill (Harvested for Leaves and Seeds)
Just like with Cilantro, snip leaves as needed before new leaves stop forming and flowering begins.7 You will probably be able to do so between three to six times.1
Pruning and Harvesting Dill
You can harvest seeds as soon as they start turning brown.
Dill doesn’t preserve its flavor as well when dried. Use fresh or freeze.
Mint (Harvested for Leaves)
Mint is the exception to the no-flowers rule: feel free to harvest it at the time of flowering. To do so, just cut the stem near the base. Remember to be gentle with leaves to preserve oils and flavor.8
Pruning and Harvesting Mint
Beware that with mint the problem might be less so with trying to make it grow, and more so with trying to control it.
Feel free to hang them to dry — mint does great when fresh or dried.
Oregano (Harvested for Leaves)
Harvest oregano when about half of the flowers open. Oregano’s flavor is most intense in the flowers, so do use both flowers and leaves, fresh or dried.9
Pruning and Harvesting Oregano
Oregano dries very well. You can dry it as a whole by hanging it for several days, then stripping leaves and flowers to keep in jars, out of sunlight, for a year.
#4 – How to Care for Herbs After Harvesting?
And just like that — with the snip of your cutters the fragile leaf or the bountiful stem is separated from its herb. The plant will do its best to take care of the rest, but now you are the one in charge of the cutting in your hand.
And, as soon as you remove that part from the plant, the clock starts ticking.
We will be discussing how to preserve your harvest long-term in a different guide (coming soon!), but what do you do when you want to use this cutting fresh within the next few days?
The quick answer is, store it in the fridge. Keep the temperature as close to 32°F (0°C) as possible. Unless you are dealing with basil; do not let basil get colder than 50°F (10°C) to avoid deterioration, but store it somewhere dark, like others (thankfully, other common culinary herbs are fine being stored in the fridge).
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Chervil, chives, dill, marjoram, mint, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme store really well at 32°F (0°C) for up to ten days.
Out of these, sage, marjoram, and especially rosemary and thyme are okay being stored at 50°F (10°C) for ten days, but others will look significantly less appealing over time.
Remember to inspect what you gathered for any wilted, brown, spotted, or bug-eaten leaves. Also look for webs, insect eggs, and cocoons. If you do notice these and must wash your herbs, rinse them quickly under running water. Gently pat them or shake them dry. Using paper towels may cause bruising, releasing oils that are key to herb’s flavor.24
If you are going to be storing or drying your herbs after that, it’s a good idea to dry them by laying them out on a kitchen towel (or cloth) in front of a fan.
Let’s talk disinfecting. If you are harvesting close to the ground (small salad seedlings, for example), growing in a highly organic soil, there is a low chance of getting some unpleasant bacteria on there.
There are higher-risk cases: if you know that there is cow or deer manure in your soil, especially if it was applied fresh less than 60-70 days before harvest, you might not want to eat herbs you just gathered in their raw state. Or, you can disinfect the herbs with an effective solution.
You will need two liquids for this. The temptation might be high, but do not mix them into one disinfecting solution. First one is a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. The other one is your typical vinegar (you don’t need anything stronger than that). Use a sprayer and mist your vegetables and herbs with the two solutions, in any order.1
Thankfully, in most cases you do not need to do this.
- Arthur O. Tucker and Thomas DeBaggio, The Encyclopedia of Herbs: A Comprehensive Reference to Herbs of Flavor and Fragrance (Portland: Timber Press, 2009), see chap. 9, “The Harvest.” [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
- Susan Belsinger and Arthur O. Tucker, Grow Your Own Herbs: The 40 Best Culinary Varieties for Home Gardeners (Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2019), see “Harvesting and Preserving Your Herbs.” [↩] [↩] [↩]
- Jeanine Davis, “Harvesting and Preserving Herbs for the Home Gardener,” NC State University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, last modified November 11, 2019, https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/harvesting-and-preserving-herbs-for-the-home-gardener [↩] [↩]
- Beverly Jackey, Cheryl Bush, and Shauna C. Henley, “Harvesting and Preserving Herbs,” University of Maryland College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, accessed Match 6, 2021, https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/harvesting-and-preserving-herbs. [↩] [↩]
- Susan Belsinger and Arthur O. Tucker, Grow Your Own Herbs: The 40 Best Culinary Varieties for Home Gardeners (Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2019), see “Basil.” [↩]
- Susan Belsinger and Arthur O. Tucker, Grow Your Own Herbs: The 40 Best Culinary Varieties for Home Gardeners (Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2019), see “Cilantro.” [↩]
- Susan Belsinger and Arthur O. Tucker, Grow Your Own Herbs: The 40 Best Culinary Varieties for Home Gardeners (Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2019), see “Dill.” [↩]
- Susan Belsinger and Arthur O. Tucker, Grow Your Own Herbs: The 40 Best Culinary Varieties for Home Gardeners (Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2019), see “Mint.” [↩]
- Susan Belsinger and Arthur O. Tucker, Grow Your Own Herbs: The 40 Best Culinary Varieties for Home Gardeners (Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2019), see “Oregano.” [↩]
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