Hyssop
Hyssopus officinalis
Also called Hyssopus and Blue hyssop
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitTreat it like lavender and it will outlive you: poor stony soil, full sun, and a hard trim every spring BEFORE it shoots, never into old bare wood. Rich soil and a wet winter are the two things that kill it.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 11 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun
- Feed
- Not needed
- Humidity
- Low
- Hardiness
- Hardy — a very cold winter RHS H6, to -20°C
- Size
- 0.5 m tall · 0.5 m across
- Lifecycle
- Shrub
- Origin
- Southern Europe and the Middle East
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Neither authority names Hyssopus. That is an absence and not a clean bill.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Bare grey stumps that never reshoot after a hard prune. Like lavender, it will not break from old wood — trim it in spring before it shoots, and only into growth that still carries leaves.Cut into old wood · disorder
- A plant that came through the frost and collapsed in a mild wet February, with a soft black base. Drainage, not hardiness.Winter wet · disease