A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 speaking of rosemary

i'm going to TRY again. every year i buy a NEW rosemary plant to replace the one i killed the year before. today i purchased a 6"er from home depot. i usually keep it in the pot i bought it in and within a week DEAD dry as a bone and all the leaves fall off maybe if i put it in the ground??
anybody have any

I wish I could send you some of mine!

I killed the one I tried. I haven't gotten up the nerve to try another.


I really really love that button. I know I've said it before, but I just had to say it again.

GREAT CHOICE!!!

Rosemary is the one herb I never worry about killing. I have never tried to keep one in a pot ...always in the ground. I think I have about 5 now. As long as they have good drainage, and sunlight...well..that's all I know. I have never fertalized mine or anything...just keep cutting them back...try again TK...I know you an do it! Mine even stay out all winter...and so far...everything is perky.

Hi P. Rosemary, is one of those plants that everyone will tell you how easy it is to grow, how lush and beautiful theirs is etc, etc, etc, only truth be known, conditions have to be very much to rosemary's liking for her to thrive. Rosemary is one of the most unforgiving of all herbs, you either get it right quickly or not at all. Pot culture is more difficult and an older plant in a 6 inch pot purchased from home depot is the most difficult of all. Go directly to a quality local garden center who purchases their herbs from a local grower. Start out with a little plant in a 4inch pot, the most forgiving size. Chech its roots to see if they are healthy, white and full, but not totally pot bound. Repot it into a 6inch clay pot, sans saucer, with a well draining soil mix. Give it lots of sunshine, water only when the soil surface is lightly dry and fert. every other week at half strenth. If you still need more info, pm and i'll go on. best luck

I have one that I bought in a gallon pot at the 2004 Charlotte NC Home and Garden Show. I planted it out into my herb bed and then dug it up and put it into a large pot to bring in for the winter. I didn't cut it back and it stands 3 feet above the top of the pot. Last year I killed my rosemary by pruning it way back and then soaking it. Oops! Rosemary can sail right through a good wilting but overwatering can kill it.

THANK YOU ALL

TK I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT TOO (MY BUTTON) I TRIED TO PRINT AND ENLARGE IT BUT IT DIDN'T DO IT ANY JUSTICE

hi yall...I purchase from homedepot sometimes and have found thier plants to be fine. I'm just funny where I buy my herbs I guess. Something that I'm going to eat, I try and be more careful...and want to know exactly how the herbs were grown...whether they were sprayed or not and getting my herb plants locally from a garden center where I know the owners and the owners trust the grower means I don't have to worry. It also means I don't have to acclimate newly bought herbs to growing conditions in New Orleans...hot and humid...which can be hard, if not impossible sometimes. No disrespect to home depot intended.
In P's case, the 6inch rosemary may have dried out one too many times and was stressed before it was even taken home. It doesn't take much to kill a rosemary bush Best wishes to you

Phoenix...everybody takes care of their plants in the same, yet different ways. A young rosemary plant is better able to adapt to the way you will take care of it than an older one that's been taken care of by someone else. Repot the 4inch rosemary into a 6inch pot with a good potting mix that drains well. Don't use one with fertilizer mixed in though. Water it in well. Then do not water again until the soil surface is dry 1/2 inch below the surface. Use your finger to test for dryness. Then water the pot well, a little at the time, to the point where water drains from the hole is enough, then let it dry down again. Starting with a small plant, you won't be watering that much in the beginning. As your plant gets older, its watering needs will increase. Let your finger always be the determining factor in deciding when to water until you get comfortable with the whole process.
One more thing, do you know the name of the rosemarys you've killed in the past? Here in New Orleans, the variety "Logee's Blue" does really well. oTHER varieties are a little harder, even the ones promoted as heat and humidity tolerant like Athens Blue, developed in Georgia and just sulked its first summer in New Orleans. Folks at a garden center could likely tell you which variety would do best in your area. It all makes a difference. Don't forget lots of sunshine too.

thanx thorns,
i will follow the advice you have given me and see how it goes. hopefully this time around i'll do better by the "poor little rosemary"
thanx again
phoenix