{"product_id":"white-horehoud-organic-seeds","title":"White Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) Organic Seeds – Woolly Gray-Green Perennial Herb, Classic Ingredient for Cough Drops, Candy \u0026 Herbal Tea","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMinimum:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003e60+ Seeds\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWhite Horehound — The Bitter Herb Behind the Classic Cough Drop\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eBefore menthol lozenges lined pharmacy shelves, this woolly gray-green herb was the cough remedy people actually trusted. White horehound has flavored candy, tea, and folk medicine since Roman times, prized for a bitter, minty edge that cuts through congestion. Its felted, silvery leaves make it as much a texture plant as a medicinal one, soft enough that gardeners plant it just to touch it. This seed comes from growers who still treat it as a working herb, not a novelty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWho Grows White Horehound?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe home candy maker wanting the real bittering agent for horehound drops.\u003cbr\u003eThe herbalist stocking a respiratory tea blend the traditional way.\u003cbr\u003eThe pollinator gardener who knows bees work its small white flowers hard.\u003cbr\u003eThe dry-garden gardener needing something tough that still looks intentional.\u003cbr\u003eThe homesteader keeping a working medicinal bed, not just ornamentals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat This Classic Cough Herb Actually Is\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eMarrubium vulgare\u003c\/em\u003e is a perennial mint-family herb native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia, now naturalized across North America. The plant forms a low, spreading clump of square, woolly stems and crinkled, felted gray-green leaves, giving it its common name, from a texture like soft white wool. It sends up spikes of small white flowers along the upper stems in its second year, favored by bees. The leaves and flowering tops carry marrubiin, a bitter compound behind both the herb's traditional use as a cough remedy and its flavor in old-fashioned horehound candy. It self-seeds aggressively and is considered weedy in parts of Australia and the western United States, so site it where spread is welcome. Not currently of conservation concern. Hardy in USDA zones 3 through 10.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn the Kitchen \u0026amp; Apothecary\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHorehound candy:\u003c\/strong\u003e Simmer leaves and flowering tops into a strong tea, then boil down with sugar for hard drops.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCough and cold tea:\u003c\/strong\u003e Steep dried leaves alone or with lemon and honey for a bitter, traditional tea.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBitters and tonics:\u003c\/strong\u003e Add to homemade digestive bitters for the sharp, minty bitterness herbalists prize.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePollinator planting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Let a patch flower fully in a border to draw bees through summer.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDried herb sachets:\u003c\/strong\u003e Bundle dried stems for a rustic, textural addition to dried arrangements.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTincture base:\u003c\/strong\u003e Use fresh or dried tops as the classic base for homemade horehound tincture.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrowing White Horehound Seeds\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStart method:\u003c\/strong\u003e Direct sow after last frost, or start indoors 6 weeks earlier.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGermination:\u003c\/strong\u003e Surface sow or barely cover; sprouts in 10 to 21 days.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSoil temperature:\u003c\/strong\u003e Best 60 to 70°F.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing:\u003c\/strong\u003e Space plants 12-18 inches apart; it spreads into a clump.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSunlight:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full sun; tolerates light shade but grows leggier.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSoil:\u003c\/strong\u003e Poor, dry, well-drained soil preferred; avoid rich, wet ground.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWatering:\u003c\/strong\u003e Very drought-tolerant once established; overwatering causes rot.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLife cycle:\u003c\/strong\u003e Short-lived perennial, flowering in its second year.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHarvest:\u003c\/strong\u003e Cut leaves and flowering tops as blooms open for strongest flavor.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSelf-seeding:\u003c\/strong\u003e Self-seeds readily and can naturalize aggressively; deadhead to control.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHardiness:\u003c\/strong\u003e Zones 3 through 10; tolerates poor soil, drought, and neglect.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInvasive note:\u003c\/strong\u003e Weedy in parts of Australia and the American West; check local status first.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBefore You Close This Page\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is the real cough-drop herb, not a modern substitute. White horehound has flavored candy and cold remedies since antiquity, with a bitter, minty edge marrubiin gives it. The woolly gray-green foliage is as striking as it is medicinal. It thrives on neglect: poor soil, full sun, little water. Bees work the flowers hard once it blooms in year two. It self-seeds readily, so give it room or manage it. Zones 3 through 10, drought-tolerant, low-maintenance. Grow the herb that soothed sore throats before cough drops came in foil.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"terramatergardens","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54227773751614,"sku":"11572","price":3.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/8836\/7166\/files\/candles-5720.png?v=1788320873","url":"https:\/\/www.terramatergardens.com\/products\/white-horehoud-organic-seeds","provider":"Terra Mater Gardens","version":"1.0","type":"link"}