Overwintering Herbs: Which Ones to Bring Indoors Before the First Frost

Not every herb on your windowsill or balcony is worth saving once frost is on the way. Some are annuals that were always going to finish the season regardless of what you do; others are genuinely worth the small effort of moving indoors and will keep producing well into winter. The trick is knowing which is which before the first cold night forces a rushed decision — and then making the move in a way that doesn’t shock the plant or bring pests in along with it.

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Quick answer: Bring in the tender perennials (rosemary, bay laurel and lemongrass), plus thyme and mint if you want fresh leaves all winter. Let basil, cilantro and dill finish outside and start new plants indoors; chives are hardy and can stay out. Move pots in when nights start dropping to about 50°F, rinse and check them for pests first, and keep them away from houseplants for 3–4 weeks. Indoors, give them a bright window or a grow light for 12–16 hours a day.

In this guide: Herbs to bring in · Herbs to let go · Timing · Pest check · Care indoors · Common mistakes · FAQ

Herbs Worth Bringing Inside

• Rosemary. A tender perennial in most US climates — a hard freeze will kill it outright, but it adapts well to a sunny indoor windowsill and can keep producing all winter if it gets enough light.
• Thyme. More cold-tolerant than rosemary but still worth bringing in if you want continuous fresh growth rather than a dormant, half-frozen plant sitting outside all winter.
• Bay laurel (if you’re growing one). Genuinely tender below freezing and slow to replace if it dies, which makes it one of the higher-priority moves on this list.
• Lemongrass. Tropical by origin and won’t survive any real frost — bring it in if you want to keep the same plant going rather than starting over next spring.
• Mint. Cold-hardier than people expect and can often survive outdoors in the ground, but a container above ground level exposes the roots to more cold than the same plant would get in a garden bed. Bring it in if you want fresh mint through winter; otherwise it will likely come back from the roots in spring even if the top growth dies back.

Herbs Not Worth Saving

These are fast-growing annuals that were always going to finish their life cycle by fall. Moving them indoors rarely pays off compared to just starting fresh:

• Basil. Penn State Extension says basil can’t survive temperatures below 50°F, so it suffers well before any frost. A big outdoor plant that’s been flowering rarely does well inside. Let it finish outside and start new seed indoors under a grow light if you want basil through winter.
• Cilantro. Naturally bolts and finishes quickly regardless of season — not worth the windowsill space this late in its life cycle.
• Dill. Same story as cilantro — a fast annual that’s typically near the end of its productive life by the time frost arrives.
• Chives. The exception that doesn’t need saving at all — chives are genuinely cold-hardy and will simply go dormant outside over winter and return in spring on their own. No need to use windowsill space on them.

Timing the Move

Don’t wait for the first frost warning to make this decision — by then you’re rushing, and a sudden move from outdoor light and airflow straight into a heated indoor room is harder on the plant than a gradual one. Start the transition when nights begin dropping to around 50°F, the point Iowa State Extension uses as the signal to bring plants in, which is well before your average first frost date: bring each plant inside for a few hours during the day, then back out, gradually extending the indoor time over a week or two before making the move permanent. This gives the plant a chance to adjust to lower light and drier indoor air in stages rather than all at once.

Checking for Pests Before They Come Inside

This is the step most people skip and most often regret. Before any plant crosses the threshold:

• Check the undersides of leaves and the soil surface for aphids, spider mites, or whitefly — all three thrive in the warm, dry air of a heated home far more than they do outside.
• Give the plant a gentle shake over a white sheet of paper. Anything that falls and moves is worth investigating further.
• If you’re unsure, isolate the plant on its own tray away from other houseplants for 3–4 weeks (Iowa State Extension’s advice) before integrating it into your regular indoor collection.
• A gentle rinse of the foliage under lukewarm water before the move knocks off many pests and their eggs without needing any spray. Let the leaves dry fully before the plant comes inside.

Adjusting Care Once Indoors

Indoor conditions are a genuinely different environment, not just a warmer version of outside, and herbs that were thriving on a balcony can struggle for a few weeks while they adjust:

• Expect some leaf drop. Lower, more consistent indoor light is a real change even next to a sunny window, and a bit of shedding in the first couple of weeks is normal, not a sign of failure.
• Heated indoor air is drier than it looks. Winter heating drops indoor humidity well below what most herbs had outside, even in a dry climate. A pebble tray with water underneath the pot, or grouping several herb pots close together, both help raise the humidity right around the leaves. Penn State suggests daytime temperatures of 65–70°F and nights of 55–60°F, so a cooler spot by a bright window suits most herbs.
• Watering gets trickier to judge by feel. Water when the top of the mix feels dry, not on a schedule. In weaker indoor light, herbs grow slowly and use less water, so rosemary in particular is easy to overwater. A self-watering container takes the guesswork out of this by keeping a steady reservoir the roots can draw from, rather than relying on you to catch the exact right moment between too dry and too wet. That suits thirsty herbs like mint best. Rosemary and thyme like to dry out a little between waterings, and Iowa State Extension notes clay pots help with that.
• Light will likely need supplementing. Penn State Extension says most herbs need about 6 hours of direct sun, and Iowa State notes rosemary, thyme and bay laurel may need a grow light on a timer for 12–16 hours a day. As days shorten, even a sunny windowsill often isn’t enough on its own. Our grow light buyer’s guide covers exactly what to look for if your newly-indoor herbs start looking pale or leggy.

Common Mistakes

• Waiting until the night of a frost warning. By then there’s no time for a gradual transition, and the plant takes the move much harder.
• Trying to save every annual. Basil, cilantro, and dill rarely reward the windowsill space compared to starting fresh — save your indoor real estate for the perennials that will actually keep producing.
• Overwatering in response to leaf drop. Some shedding after the move is normal acclimation, not thirst — check the soil before adding water rather than watering on a schedule.
• Skipping the pest check. A five-minute look outside is far easier than dealing with an infestation that’s spread to every houseplant in the room.

Want sage, thyme and rosemary ready for the holiday table? Our Thanksgiving herbs plan works backward from late November.

Got peppers or other vegetables in pots as well as herbs? See bringing your container vegetable garden indoors for winter for which ones are worth saving and how to move them in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources we checked

• North Carolina State Extension: Winterizing the Herb Garden
• Penn State Extension: Growing Herbs Indoors
• Iowa State University Extension: Can I grow herbs indoors over the winter?
• Iowa State University Extension: How and when do I bring my houseplants back indoors?

Once your herbs are settled indoors, our basil, rosemary, and mint windowsill care guide covers ongoing watering and light needs in more depth. And if you’re also managing hanging planters or railing boxes through the same cold snap, the pre-frost checklist for hanging planters covers the same protect-or-let-go decision for vertical vegetable setups. If this is your first winter growing herbs indoors at all, Start Here is a good place to begin, and our Recommended Gear page has the self-watering container and grow light mentioned above. For everything else about growing indoors through winter — not just herbs — see our indoor vegetable gardening guide.

When you replant in spring, group herbs by their water needs. Our windowbox herb combos make that easy.

An overwintered herb that starts dropping leaves or yellowing indoors isn’t always dormancy — check our guide to diagnosing container vegetable problems by symptom to rule out a fixable cause.