Best Herbs for a North Facing Balcony (Low Light)

The best herbs for a north facing balcony are mint, chives, parsley, and lemon balm. Skip basil and rosemary in that shade. Use deep pots, rich mix, and harvest leaves within four weeks.

Quick answer

The herbs for north facing balcony pots that actually crop are mint, chives, parsley, lemon balm, garlic chives, and cool-weather cilantro — if the space is bright shade, not a dark well. Use pots 8 to 10 inches deep filled with potting mix. You can start harvesting in 3 to 4 weeks. Basil, rosemary, thyme, lavender, and oregano fail here because they need about 6 hours of direct sun. If your north balcony sees open sky and reflected light, you have a kitchen garden. If it sits in a masonry canyon with no sky, grow something else.

Match the herb to the light you actually have

The right herbs for north facing balcony growing start with a light check. Stand outside at 9 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m. on a clear day. If you can read without a lamp and you see open sky, mint, chives, parsley, lemon balm, garlic chives, and spring cilantro will grow. If the balcony is a dim slot between buildings, even mint will stretch and sulk.

“North” is not one condition. A 3rd-floor north balcony that looks at a park is bright shade for 12 hours. A north well on the ground floor that faces a brick wall 8 feet away is deep shade. Bright shade works. Deep dark north wells fail.

Pot depth matters more than pot width. Use containers 8 to 10 inches deep. Parsley and chives send roots straight down. A 6-inch-deep window box dries in a day and stunts parsley. An 8- to 10-inch pot holds about 6 to 8 quarts of mix, enough to buffer a missed watering.

Soil: potting mix, not garden soil. Garden soil on a rental balcony is heavy and slow to drain in cool north air. North pots stay wetter than south pots. That is good for mint and parsley and bad for rosemary, which you should not plant here anyway.

This is not your problem if

• Your balcony faces south or west and already gets 6 hours of direct sun. Grow basil and thyme there instead.
• You have no outdoor space at all and only a north window with heavy screens. That is a different, weaker light.
• You insist on a Mediterranean herb garden (rosemary, lavender, oregano, thyme) in that shade. Those plants will not meet you halfway.
• Your HOA bans all floor pots and you only have a 4-inch-deep railing tray. Depth is too shallow for parsley and chives.

What works, what fails, and why

Works: mint (own 8- to 10-inch pot), chives and garlic chives, parsley, lemon balm (own pot), and cilantro under about 75°F.

Fails: basil, rosemary, thyme, lavender, and oregano. They want 6 hours of sun, heat, and sharp drainage. Basil stretches. Rosemary yellows in wet north mix.

These herbs stay under 18 inches if you harvest. Matching 8- to 10-inch pots with saucers look like patio plants. Keep mint in its own pot. A wet 10-inch pot weighs about 12 to 18 pounds — easy to move, easy on a balcony load limit.

Yield: parsley gives a handful of stems every 5 to 7 days once it is 6 inches tall. Chives can be cut every 2 to 3 weeks. Mint can be cut hard every 3 to 4 weeks.

Step-by-step: north-balcony herb pots

1. Audit light at 9 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m. If you have open sky and bright shade, continue. If you cannot see sky, stop.
2. Buy 8- to 10-inch-deep pots with drainage holes, saucers, and a bag of potting mix. One 1-cubic-foot bag fills three to four of these pots.
3. Fill to 1 inch below the rim. Moisten as you go.
4. Plant mint and lemon balm in separate pots. Give chives and parsley their own pots unless you have a 10-inch-wide container.
5. Water until a little runoff appears, then empty the saucer. Check every 2 days in 70°F weather, daily in 85°F wind.
6. Wait 3 to 4 weeks, then cut. Never strip more than one-third of the plant at once.
7. In zones 7 and colder, slide pots against the wall or bring chives and parsley inside if nights drop below 25°F for a stretch.

Do not fertilize hard. A half-strength liquid feed every 3 to 4 weeks is plenty. Too much nitrogen on mint gives rank, bland leaves.

HOA note: a row of identical pots with chives and parsley reads as ornamental. A crate of mint in a cracked tub does not. Label pots on the underside, not with plastic tags that flap.

Container vs in-ground

In-ground mint on the north side of a house will run 3 feet in a season. In an 8- to 10-inch pot it stays put. That is the main reason to grow these herbs in containers even if you had a yard.

In-ground parsley can send a taproot deeper than 12 inches. Your pot is 8 to 10 inches, so keep mix rich and never bone-dry. You harvest at the door instead of walking to a bed.

A dark pot warms a few degrees faster in April, which helps cilantro. In July the same north pot stays cooler than a south pot and can delay bolting by 1 to 2 weeks.

A wet 10-inch pot is about 12 to 18 pounds. Four along a wall are nothing like 50-pound tomato buckets. Renters can move the whole set in one trip.

Myths that waste time

Myth: no herb grows without 6 hours of sun. Mint, chives, parsley, and lemon balm crop in bright shade. The 6-hour rule is for Mediterranean herbs and fruiting vegetables.

Myth: a north balcony is the same as indoors. Indoor north windows are weaker. Outdoor north light includes open sky and reflection.

Myth: you can keep basil alive with a cheap grow-bulb on the rail. That rarely replaces 6 hours of sun. Grow parsley instead.

Myth: mint is fine sharing a pot with parsley. Mint wins. Give mint its own 8- to 10-inch pot.

Myth: deeper than 10 inches is always better. Extra depth that stays wet in October can rot roots. Eight to 10 inches is the sweet spot.

Do this today / this week

1. Stand on the balcony at noon. If you see open sky and can read easily, you have bright shade. If not, do not buy basil.
2. Buy four 8- to 10-inch pots, saucers, and one bag of potting mix.
3. Plant mint alone, lemon balm alone, then chives and parsley.
4. Water in, empty the saucers, and set pots 2 to 3 inches off the railing so air moves.
5. Put a 3-week reminder on your phone for the first cut.
6. If you rent, keep the pots on a small caddy so you can move them for inspection day.

Frequently asked questions

Which herbs for north facing balcony pots should I start from seed?

Parsley and cilantro from seed do well because they dislike transplant shock. Chives, mint, and lemon balm are faster from small nursery plants. Basil seed on a north balcony is a waste of two weeks.

Can I grow cilantro all summer on the north side?

Only if your nights stay cool. Cilantro likes 50°F to 75°F. A north balcony may give you 2 to 4 extra weeks compared with a south rail. When pot mix sits above 75°F, it will bolt. Sow again in September.

How often do I water 8- to 10-inch pots in shade?

Every 2 days is typical at 70°F. Check with a finger 1 inch down. North pots stay wetter, so do not water if the mix is still damp. Soggy parsley yellows in a week.

Will mint take over the balcony?

Not if it has its own pot. In an 8- to 10-inch container, you control it with harvests every 3 to 4 weeks. Never dump mint roots into a shared planter.

Can I leave these pots out in winter?

Chives and mint in 10-inch pots often survive zone 6 winters against a wall if you stop feeding in September. Parsley may hold in zone 7. In zone 5 and colder, bring pots in before a stretch below 20°F.

Why is my north-balcony parsley pale and thin?

Usually the well is too dark, or the pot is only 4 to 6 inches deep. Move it to the brightest corner, step up to 8 to 10 inches of mix, and wait 10 to 14 days for new, darker leaves before you fertilize.

Key takeaways

• Grow mint, chives, parsley, lemon balm, garlic chives, and cool-weather cilantro; skip basil, rosemary, thyme, lavender, and oregano.
• Use pots 8 to 10 inches deep; bright shade with open sky works, deep dark north wells fail.
• Harvest in 3 to 4 weeks; never take more than one-third of the plant.
• A wet 10-inch pot weighs about 12 to 18 pounds — easy for renters and HOA patios.
• Give mint and lemon balm their own pots so they do not crowd chives and parsley.

Related reading

• How to Grow Lettuce in a Window Box Year Round
• HOA Vegetable Garden Rules: What You Can Grow in Pots
• Renter’s Guide: Vegetable Garden You Can Move When You Leave