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Last edited by CloCkWeRX on 11 Nov 2026. View history

White Horehound

Also known as Common Horehound (EN)

Marrubium vulgare (white horehound or common horehound) is a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae), native to Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern and central Asia. Specifically, it emerged in the region between the Mediterranean Sea and Central Asia and now inhabits all continents save Antarctica. It is also widely naturalized in many places, including most of North and South America.

It is a grey-leaved herbaceous perennial plant, and grows to 25–45 centimetres (10–18 in) tall. The leaves are 2–5 cm (0.8–2.0 in) long with a densely crinkled surface, and are covered in downy hairs. The flowers are white, borne in clusters on the upper part of the main stem.

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Growstuff is a free, community-run site for people who grow food. Keep track of what you plant and harvest, find seeds to swap, and see what is growing near you. Join to record your own White Horehounds.

White horehound facts

Lifespan

Perennial living more than two years
Optimal temperature 17–24 °C
Absolute temperature 7–30 °C
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal rainfall 600–1000 mm/year
Absolute rainfall 300–1300 mm/year
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal soil pH 5.5–7.5
Absolute soil pH 4.5–8.3
FAO EcoCrop

Crop cycle

180–240 days
FAO EcoCrop

Optimal light

very bright
FAO EcoCrop
What are growing degree days?

A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.

Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.

For White Horehound, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 7°C and a shortest growing cycle of 180 days at its best temperature, about 2430 growing degree days to a first harvest.

Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your White Horehound will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.

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Ecological requirements

Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Marrubium vulgare L.

Family / Taxonomy Magnoliopsida
Asteridae
Lamiales
Labiatae
Life form herb
Life span perennial
Habit prostrate/procumbent/semi-erect
Optimal soil depth shallow (20-50 cm)
Optimal soil texture medium, light
Optimal soil fertility low
Optimal soil drainage well (dry spells)
Optimal soil salinity low (<4 dS/m)
Photoperiod short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours)

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