A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Herbs Rosemary getting too old?

My rosemary 'tree' is at least 5 years old. I bought it for $10 at the grocery store. I bring it in every winter and keep it under lights. It flowers in late winter usually. But it is getting so woody now and not leafy, with less leaves and some are yellow. I took it out of the nice pot today and put fresh rosemary in there. I took the old one and put it in a old pot. So is it worth repotting into larger pot? It seems like they get rootbound easily and maybe it would grow better if repotted. Or is it just time to let it go?

Rosemary naturally have woody trunks and branches. It sounds like yours needs a bigger pot and maybe some root trimming too. And some food for those yellowing leaves. They can live for many years and can also be propagated from cuttings.

I should have said that mine are over 20 years old planted in the ground.

Ok I'll get a jumbo pot. It needs to be one of those lightweight ones because as it is the plant is heavy to lift. Thanks.

i'm trying it out as a walkway shrub up to my front door. love the smell and i heard it trains easily.

sage, do you have a picture? That's an interesting idea.

Tam, I have mine outside in a big pot and sometimes it looks pitiful then it rebounds. I don't know what causes it.

sorry, no pics yet... i've just started with 4 of different sizes i've had in pots, but after 1 month, they're growing just fine in this torrential heat.

Hi, I stole some sprigs from a really mature rosemary plant somewhere, left it in a little water for a few days, then put them in a pot. Within 2 weeks, they grew nicely, and were stable so quickly afterwards, really clinging to the soil now. Except now after 5 weeks they're turning brown. Is that because of the cold? The pot is still outside on the balcony. There is less sunlight now but the temp in my place is around 6-10°C, and I read from somewhere that rosemary should be able to withstand anything above Zero degree. I never soak it, and water only when the soil is dry. What could be going wrong?

Is the entire plant brown or just parts of it? Like I said, mine sometimes looks dead but springs back.

Hi Bestofour! I'd say 60% of it is turning brown, but the biggest sprig is actually nice and green. My husband says I'm just getting paranoid.. maybe, after all the plant is just 5weeks old. I'll try to take a photo of it tomorrow. Too cold out in the balcony now. Oh, should I bring it inside too? Now it's 4°C but the forecast for Thursday is 2°C, and for Friday, it's -1°C!

Thanks too for sharing your lovely photos...

I'm thinking of bringing my rosemary in to try to keep her over winter, too. Does anyone know if they're safe for the kitties to nibble? I tell the cats to leave things alone that don't belong to them, but they just don't listen sometimes. :)