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mulberryknob

Rosemary Woe

14 years ago

This past summer I lost my 3 year old Rosemary plant that was in a 4 gallon pot. I guess I just didn't water it enough. Last year about this time, I saw lovely Rosemary plants trimmed like small Xmas trees and decorated with a red velvet bow. This year, when I need one, I haven't found one. (Lowe's has real miniature pine and Norfolk Island Pines, but I want Rosemary.)

Anyone know where I could get one online or do you think it would be a safe time to order one. I didn't dry any, because I usually have the pot on the porch to snip it from fresh. I hate to think of going an entire winter without Rosemary Chicken.

Comments (15)

  • 14 years ago

    We live in southern Okla and our local Homeland grocery store has them. I'm guessing that any Homeland in the state would have them too.

    Rosemary is famous for being finicky when grown in a pot. You must be a very good container gardener.

  • 14 years ago

    I work at Home Depot and we have a HUGE amount of them. Personally I would not eat any of it for several month.

    They get sprayed, they get fertilized with who knows what.... I would want that stuff to be out of the plant before I use it.

    Where are you located? I may be able to get you some from my daughter.

    Moni

  • 14 years ago

    I planted mine from a little Crhristmas tree from Home Depot two years ago. Rosemary is like lavender and they are both practically natives here in AZ. I guarantee you didn't kill it by not watering it enough. You may have not given the roots enough drainage, space or they may have burned up in a pot.
    When you find another, plant it in the ground. It may need a little protection from severe cold in OK, maybe some winter mulch. Give it good drainage and treat it like a cactus. Plant some lavender with it if you want, they like the exact same conditions.
    My rosemary and lavenders never get watered except from natural water or a bit of water sprayed on the leaves in the summer to spray off the spittle bug. They're in a garden that gets stripped of all other plants around July 1 and then they are pretty much forgotten for the heat of the summer.
    Establish them in the cool of spring or fall and they are good to go. They're about as hardy as sages, other than sensitivity to cold.
    I love growing lavender and rosemary, even though my husband doesn't really like the flavor or smell of rosemary and lavender very much, so I don't get to use it as much as I would like. The bees are all over it in the springtime if my husband liked it more, I'd be baking rosemary everything and using lavender all over the the place. I actually use sprigs in the chicken coop, of all places. It's supposed to repel mits and lice. Plus, it smells fabulous for quite awhile.i also use armfuls of lemongrass, since I can't seem to figure out what to do with my bountiful supplies of that, either.

  • 14 years ago

    Thanks everybody. We are going to Tulsa tomorrow so will look there.

    This is the third Rosemary plant I've had. I planted the first two in the ground, but lost both of them over the winter. I have read that some varieties are more cold hardy than others but I don't know enough about them to know which is which. This last one spent two winters in a pot on the porch. I do have lavender and it has survived in the ground for 4 years, so I will try Rosemary in the ground again, but I will also put another one in a container to overwinter on the porch or in the greenhouse.

  • 14 years ago

    Dorothy,

    If you can find 'Arp' it is one of the more cold-hardy varieties. It survived last winter in my garden, and I think our lowest temp was 3 degrees. It was well-mulched, but I never covered it up. However, it did not survive this summer. It likely got too dry when we were away from home so much in July fighting fires. Another very cold-tolerant rosemary is 'Madalene Hill'. Both of the two I mentioned are rated down to about -15 degrees Fahrenheit, although I've never had temperatures that cold to test them.

    I haven't noticed any rosemary plants in the stores here, but I wasn't looking for them. I am going to look this week when I am out and about.

    I hope you can find one. I see 'Arp' in stores around here pretty regularly, but have only found 'Madalene Hill' down in the D-FW metro area.

    Dawn

  • 14 years ago

    I planted one in the Spring and it made it through summer but you guys are making me nervous now about winter. I hope I can remember to mulch it tomorrow before the cold weather gets here.

  • 14 years ago

    Arp is the hardiest rosemary that I have heard of. It's listed as zone 6 hardiness. It's survived down to -4 degrees here. I think it would survive normal zone 6 winters, especially since it flops to a degree and gets covered by leaves. I have no idea if it would survive a winter like the last one. I've read that 'Madalene Hill' is a cultivar of 'Arp'. It is greener and a little more upright. I've seen it listed some places with the same hardiness as 'Arp' but I don't know it from experience. Probably Southwood in Tulsa will have it this spring. They usually have a good herb selection.

  • 14 years ago

    DH and son made a trip to Lowe's while DD and I were getting a room ready to paint and when they got back, DH came in with a pot with 3 small Rosemary plants in it. It didn't have a variety name, so time will tell. I am going to separate them into 3 pots and keep them on the porch over the winter. Then put a couple in the ground and leave one in a pot next spring. Hope they do well.

  • 14 years ago

    Do they grow very slowly? I planted a small one in the spring and it's not much bigger now than it was when I planted but it still looks OK. It is very small, so today I cut the bottom out of a milk jug and put down over the plant (yes, I through the lid away). I put a small cage around it then packed chopped leaves around the jug with a few around the plant as well.

    Dorothy, I need some asparagus info. This is my first winter to have an asparagus bed since moving here. In southern Oklahoma I didn't do much to it, so I need instruction. It is still green but has fallen over. Do you cut yours back then mulch heavily or do you leave the ferns there. It seems like they would help to add winter protection even if you just cut them and laid them back on the bed and mulched heavily. I have plenty of leaves to cover them but haven't done it yet. It looks like we are going to 31 tonight then much lower tomorrow night so I need to do something Monday morning. Thanks.

  • 14 years ago

    Back when I had a yard (live in an apartment now) I always had rosemary. Never had a problem with it overwintering. Never did anything special. Just let some leaves collect around the plant to kinda keep it insulated, that's all.

    Moni

  • 14 years ago

    Carol, we used to just mow over the bed and leave the ferns to mulch it but a few years ago we had a serious foliar disease problem so now we cut and burn the tops. It is important to mulch heavily, not so much for winter protection (asparagus is very hardy) but for weed suppression and water retention. We have used a heavy oak leaf layer in the past but after we got the wood chips a year ago we spread a heavy layer of those on. I was afraid the spears wouldn't come through but even the little ones did. Both oak leaves and wood chips are acid so we sprinkle wood ashes over the bed. Agricultural lime would work as well.

  • 14 years ago

    Check again. I saw rosemary Christmas trees at Lowes yesterday.

  • 14 years ago

    Rosemary trees are marked down 75% off at Home Depot. I do good with rosemary in the ground. The creeping types are more cold hardy than the upright ones. I have about 10 of them and they are all blooming. I started an upright bush type from a cutting I got up the street. It has been growing in the ground for years.

    I have gravel mulch around mine. Gravel keeps the soil warmer in winter. I have lots of plants that do well that are listed as zone 8 and I partly attribute the gravel to the success. Leaves will keep the soil colder by shading it and the sun can't warm it. Many times the problem is drainage more so than the cold in winter on some plants. Mine have very good drainage with sandy soil in full sun.

  • 14 years ago

    Thanks, Cactusgarden. Next spring I will prepare a bed in sun and add some sand. I had mine in afternoon shade. I 'll try the gravel mulch, too.

  • 14 years ago

    If you get the creeping type, its a better bet for success. They grow fast and root as they go. You can start new plants very easy by just clipping off a rooted branch and sticking it right in the ground. I potted off 10 or so from one plant (mid summer no less!) and planted them later in the season on a raised area in a row along the property line along with some thyme plants. I needed something cheap and I got the thyme plants the same way. Free plants. I'm wanting them to grow over the edge. These aren't planted in full day sun or sandy soil and they are doing fine. Blooming like crazy. Being raised, they get real good drainage. You can usually find these pretty easily at a nursery and I see them in spring at places like Lowes.

    Its the upright kind you need to take more precautions with in winter. Afternoon shade probably won't matter but I'd try to get it in 6 hours of sun with excellent drainage in a warmer microclimate.