The licorice plant, Helichrysum petiolare, is a popular ornamental known for its distinctive silvery-gray, velvety foliage. Its soft, woolly leaves and trailing habit make it a favored choice for adding texture and visual interest to gardens, containers, and hanging baskets, often serving as an effective filler.
Understanding Plant Lifecycles
Plants are categorized by their lifecycles, which helps gardeners understand their growth patterns and longevity. Annual plants complete their entire life cycle within a single growing season, germinating, growing, flowering, producing seeds, and then dying within one year. They do not return from their rootstock, requiring replanting each spring.
Perennial plants, in contrast, live for more than two years, often returning year after year. Even if their top growth dies back in winter, their roots remain alive, allowing regrowth in spring. Understanding these classifications is important for garden planning, as it informs expectations about a plant’s return and cultivation practices.
Is the Licorice Plant an Annual or Perennial?
The commonly cultivated licorice plant, Helichrysum petiolare, is botanically classified as a tender perennial. This means it can live for multiple years in climates with warm, frost-free conditions, behaving as a true perennial in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 through 11 and above. However, in colder regions (USDA Zones 8 and below), the licorice plant is typically grown as an annual. It cannot tolerate freezing temperatures; its top growth dies back with the first hard frost. Helichrysum petiolare is cultivated primarily for its ornamental foliage and is distinct from true licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), which is grown for its edible roots.
Caring for Your Licorice Plant Based on Its Classification
When grown as an annual, the licorice plant thrives in full sun to partial shade, with full sun helping to intensify its silvery foliage color. It requires well-draining soil to prevent root rot, although it can tolerate poorer soil conditions. Moderate watering is suitable, allowing the soil to dry slightly between applications, as the plant exhibits some drought tolerance once established.
Light fertilization with a balanced all-purpose feed is generally sufficient to support its growth throughout the season. Regular pruning for shape and bushiness helps maintain its compact form and encourages fuller growth. Gardeners in colder climates will typically replant new specimens each spring after the last frost.
For gardeners in warmer climates (USDA Zones 9-11+) where it behaves as a perennial, outdoor care involves minimal intervention beyond occasional pruning to manage its size and shape. If you are in a colder climate but wish to overwinter your licorice plant, particularly container-grown specimens, bring them indoors before the first hard frost. Indoors, place the plant in a location with bright light, such as a sunny window. Reduce watering significantly during the winter months, allowing the soil to dry out more thoroughly between waterings. While plants may appear less vigorous indoors, they can be successfully moved back outside in the spring after the danger of frost has passed, resuming their outdoor growth.