'Tis the season for rosemary plants, pruned and shaped into small Christmas trees, to begin to make their way into homes for the holiday season. They are being offered for sale in florist shops and the floral departments of our grocery and big box stores and they are often decked out with small ornaments and ready to give as gifts or used as fragrant holiday centerpieces.
As much as we love these plants it isnt easy for them to live indoors because the truth is, their perfect habitat is in gardens south of us (zones 7-9) or in our summer season gardens. At the same time I say that, hybridizers have designed a rosemary that can survive in zone 6: Alcalde Cold Hardy Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis Alcalde Cold Hardy). I found it online at High Country Gardens (http://www.highcountrygardens.com) and you can order it through them to be delivered in February.
If you want to add an Alcalde Cold Hardy rosemary to your garden, be aware that it is still what we call a tender perennial in Allen County because our weather is temperamental and we live in a mixed zone area (5 & 6). It is best to take some precautions and protect the plant during the winter months by mulching heavily after the ground freezes. Also keep watering the plant till the ground freezes to insure that the roots are kept hydrated through the winter months.
Satisfying rosemary indoors can be done, but does require some special attention which Ive listed below:
Light matters to rosemary and is one of the main reasons it does not do well indoors:
In the garden rosemary likes full sun south facing sun in fact and needs to be taught to accept less bright light before being taken indoors. This can be achieved by gradually moving the rosemary plant into part shade for several days, then more shade until it is acclimated to the lower light.
The container plants you will purchase right now have been conditioned to be kept indoors, so that important step to its survival is not as essential but it still needs as bright indoor light as possible to survive.
Overwatering is another reason rosemary indoors does not survive. First on the watering list is to make certain the container drains well.
Winter causes the plant to grow more slowly so water less often but make sure the soil around the roots is kept moist never soggy which will rot those roots.
Rosemary is often effected by powdery mildew indoors and out. It requires good circulation which indoors may be more difficult to achieve so let a fan blow on the plant for a few hours each day. Also if it is setting in a humid environment such as the kitchen or bathroom move it to a drier location in the house.
You can treat rosemary with a fungicide.
Pests get blamed most often for killing rosemary but the truth is, only a plant that is sick is attacked by these pests and an indoor rosemary is already in a weakened state.
If pests become a problem use an indoor plant (preferably organic) pesticide then address the light and water conditions that may have caused the problem.
Did you know that deer and rabbits do not like rosemary? Sounds like a perfect evergreen border to plant around a vegetable garden.
Jane Ford is an Advanced Master Gardener. Email questions to [email protected]. She also answers gardening questions with horticulture educator Ricky Kemery noon-1 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday of each month on "The Plant Medic," a radio show on 95.7fm. This column is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of The News-Sentinel.
0 Comments
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2018
Categories |