A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Rosemary - the herb

I have a nicely grown rosemary plant that I want to keep over the winter. Can I leave it outside or do I have to garage it? I'm in Williamsburg, VA and it gets to 20 degrees at night.
Thanks!

Rosemary is considered a mild-climate herb and prefers climates where winter temperatures do not fall below 10 degrees F. It looks like you should be okay.

I live in zone 4/5 and I have to bring my rosemary into the house for the winter. I have found it to be very finicky about that. They prefer it on the cool side so I think indoors is a little warm for it. I keep it in front of the sliding doors which is sunny but cool.

I live in Monroe, NC and mine stays outside all the time.

I have 5 Rosemary bushes that I leave out all year...we don't get a lot of snow...but we do have a lot of ice storms...so I am with Sheri in thinking you are fine. If you still are a little leary...mulch around it heavily with leaves or a good mulch product.


~V~

I'm going to try so direct sow this spring. I would love to have some but I can't even get it to sprout indoors.

it must be pretty hard to sprout. i have tried many times with little to no success. i think they are easier to propagate by cuttings. i ended up buying some from the co-op.
and on the main topic, im in zone 6a, leave mine out, havent had a problem.

What a blessing this thread is! I was just coming to ask about Rosemary. We bought a rosemary cone ( very large) to use as a mini christmas tree this year. It was dying inside so I placed it on the balcony. here is my question.. It is in a container, the original one that came from the store. will it be ok for the winter in that? Also am I supposed to keep watering it? I am in zone 5b-6a


Thanks for your help
Shirl

Shirl, that's probably a little iffy. You might want to set it in a big bucket or something and put dirt or anything you have in to take up space and insulate it. Maybe have some burlap or fabric to cover it on the coldest nights.
By the way, if you loose this plant, don't blame yourself. I know several people who've bought these and lost them. They've been very pampered in the nursery.
Good Luck! I have a huge rosemary that I've had for 4 years, and I love it. I don't do anything to it but water when the soil is dry. It's outside, zone 7, in a big pot, and it got down to 10 degrees here recently, didn't hurt a thing.
Anyone have suggestions on starting cuttings?

Thanks Dave!

I definately will do as you suggested. I have something I can put the plant in and I have a bunch of those packing peanuts. They should insulate it pretty well. All we can do is try eh?

Shirl

I hae three Rosemary bushes I got at Christmas time. Do I need to plant those in the yard? Or buy some pots to plant them in? And they are turning brown under them. Are they dying or will they get green again in the spring? I leave them outside....Mine last year died in the house because I think it dried out in the warm house.

I plant mine in pots because being in Maine I have to bring it indoors. Turning brown at the bottom is not good. They like to stay in a cool place and water is tricky, let dry out but not much between waterings.

I have had great difficulty growing rosemary - all from seed. Last summer I finally had a couple small plants, so when I moved into my house I planted them in the ground. They did much better there, but then winter was coming, and it definitely gets below 10C here. So I dug up some of all my herbs and re-potted them. Some survived; rosemary did not. I started again from seed, but I find them very slooooow to grow.
I am considering starting from a cutting if I can get one.

PS I also had a store bought rosemary tree and it died very quickly - but that was because it was a gift I was hiding from DH overnight (maybe 8 hours) in a small basement bathroom... and I think it was baked in there. It wasn't a very good gift in the end!

Rosemary hates me. But maybe I'll look for a plant rather than seeds and immediately stick it outside. They are cool looking bushes when they aren't dying.

FYI for germinating rosemary seeds that are viable, you need 55F night and 70F day. They like well-drained, alkaline soils. You always have low germination.

I grow mine from cuttings, with a rooting hormones and subheating you can be very successful. My favorite variety is logee's blue rosemary.

No wonder I wasn't successful in the house. I'd have a fit if it got that cold lol.

its ok.. i don't know why all the seed company's sell rosemary and lavender seeds. They are hard to germinate and the industry all grows them from cuttings.

Its helps that i teach plant propagation at the local college to know this stuff, but even then they are hard to grow from seed.

I have some lavendar seeds. Should I start crying now? All I see at the store is lavendula plants.

well dont forget there are many kinds of lavender and not a gorw in all areas.. here is a good site with information Lavender info

OK, So now I'm a little worried. The Rosemary plants I started last month are sprouting nicely, although they took longer than anything else that I planted at the same time. What precautions do I need to take to make them as healthy as possible? Right now they are in good dirt under a plant lamp and watered when the soil is dry.

well getting them to come up is the battle...

just keep them a little dryer then other starts...

Thanks, I'll keep you guys posted on the seedlings!

Buglady, what a great site (the lavendar) !
Thanks !

I have a rosemary bush got all dried out over the summer. Can't remember if it was left in the sun too long or it jsut didn't get enough water. I thought maybe it woudl come back in the spring. Nothing yet. How do I know if it's completely dead? thanks

you can cut a branch or scrape it with your nail and see if you see green.