Growing Herbs in Pots: What I Got Wrong the Second Time – What I Changed

I thought I knew what I was doing the second time around. After all, I had already figured out growing herbs in pots in Jamaica, or so I believed. 

I had one Guinea Hen Weed plant thriving in my backyard container setup, I had the rhythm of the tea, the routine of the care, and the quiet satisfaction of watching something medicinal grow in a space that has no ground to offer, just concrete and determination. 

So when I decided to start a second plant, I felt confident. I had done this before. I knew what I was doing. Then I made a rookie mistake.

The Tin Pot Problem

I started the second Guinea Hen Weed in a tin container. It seemed fine at first. In fact, it looked beautiful in the shiny recycled container. The plant was small, just getting established, and I wasn’t thinking too far ahead. However, something kept nagging at me the longer I looked at it, and the more I sat with that feeling, the more I couldn’t ignore what I already knew deep down: tin and tropical sun are not friends.

We are in Kingston. The afternoon heat here is not polite. It doesn’t ease in or give you a warning. It arrives all at once, and it stays. When that sun hits a tin pot, the metal absorbs it and holds it in a way that can essentially cook the roots from the outside in. The soil heats up. The roots have nowhere to escape, and the plant, which needs warmth but not punishment, begins to suffer in silence.

That is not the environment a medicinal herb needs to thrive. That is not the kind of care I want to give to a plant I grow specifically to support my health.

So I changed it. I moved the second Guinea Hen Weed into a different container, one that wouldn’t turn into a heat trap by midday. The plant is now sitting on the little table in my backyard alongside some of the other herbs I am tending, getting the morning light it needs and resting in the shade before the afternoon heat peaks.

That one decision taught me something I want to pass on clearly: in a tropical climate, your pot material is not a small detail. It is part of the care.

Meanwhile, Plant One Got an Upgrade

While I was sorting out the situation with the second plant, something else shifted in the garden. My original Guinea Hen Weed – the one that started this whole journey, the plant that has been quietly working in my wellness routine for longer than the newer one – got moved into a crochet plant hanger I made by hand. A deep burgundy one that I love.

Hanging it changed the dynamic of the entire backyard setup. That one move freed up space on the little table, which is exactly where the second plant now lives. Everything found its place. The garden started to feel intentional rather than improvised.

The difference that hanging a plant makes is hard to overstate once you experience it. 

• The drainage improves immediately because gravity is doing its job.

• Excess water falls away from the pot instead of sitting and lingering at the roots. 

• The leaves stay cleaner because they are lifted off surfaces where pests travel. 

• There is less contact with the ground-level problems that can quietly damage a plant before you even notice. 

• And there is something about seeing a plant at eye level, being able to really look at it every day, that deepens the relationship you develop with what you are growing.

When you hang a plant, you stop walking past it. You start actually seeing it.

What Growing Herbs in Pots Has Taught Me About the Tropics

Container gardening looks simple from the outside. You get a pot, you get some soil, you put in a plant, and water it. However, growing herbs in pots in Jamaica, specifically in the heat and intensity of a Kingston yard, comes with a learning curve that only experience can give you. There are things you figure out by getting it wrong, and then adjusting, and then watching what happens next.

Here is what I know now:

• Pot material is part of your plant care routine. Metal containers, especially tin, absorb and hold heat in ways that damage roots in a tropical climate. Thick plastic, terracotta, fabric grow bags, or any container that insulates rather than conducts heat will serve your plants far better. Before you put a plant in a pot, ask yourself what that pot is going to feel like in full Jamaican afternoon sun.

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Not sure where to start? I put together a list of container options that work well in our climate – have a look here.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I genuinely find useful.

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• Morning light is ideal; afternoon sun is too much. Guinea Hen Weed, like many herbs, does well with gentle morning light. By the time the heat of the day peaks, your plant should be in shade or at least out of direct exposure. Learn where the sun falls in your space at different times of day and position your containers accordingly.

• Drainage is everything, and elevation helps. Root rot is one of the quietest ways to lose a plant. It happens slowly and then all at once. Elevating your containers, whether on a table, a homemade stand, or in a hanging planter, allows excess water to drain freely and air to move around the pot. This one thing can be the difference between a plant that struggles and one that thrives.

• Vertical space is the most underused resource in a small garden. When you have limited floor space and a concrete yard, the answer is not to squeeze more pots onto the ground. The answer is to go up. Hanging planters use the air around you. They free up surfaces. They keep your garden organised without making it feel crowded. Honestly, they make the space look cared for in a way that ground-level pots sometimes don’t.

• Observe before you intervene. I have learned to watch my plants before I react to them. A drooping leaf might mean it needs water, or it might mean the afternoon sun just hit hard and the plant will recover by evening. Knowing the difference takes time, but it starts with paying attention. Your plants will tell you what they need if you slow down enough to listen.

The Garden Keeps Teaching

I didn’t get everything right the second time. I chose the wrong pot. I had to start over in a small way. However, the second plant is growing (and I have harvested from it already), finding its place on the table, adjusting to its new container, and doing what Guinea Hen Weed does – pressing forward.

That is the thing about growing herbs in pots in Jamaica with no yard, no land, and no perfect conditions. You adjust. You observe. You move a plant from tin to plastic and call it a lesson, not a failure. You hang one plant to make room for another and realise that sometimes the solution isn’t more space – it’s using the space you have with more intention.

Every decision you make in a small container garden is a deliberate one. There is no excess here. No room to be careless. That kind of intentional growing, I have found, is exactly the mindset that makes the medicine you’re cultivating even more meaningful. The herbs you tend with attention are the ones that give back the most.

Grow With Intention

If you want to try hanging your herbs the way I do, I make crochet plant hangers by hand in a range of styles and colours. Each one is made to hold your pots securely while giving your plants the drainage and airflow they need to thrive in our climate. You can view the full catalog here: crochet plant hangers