I've got a small rosemary plant in a pot on my deck in a zone 7-8 winter. I've been told it will survive the winter, but it's turning all brown except at the tips of the branches (I'm not sure they qualify as branches since the whole plant's about 6" diameter, but that's beside the point...). I'm not sure what to do with it. I can't take it inside since I live in an apartment and there's NO light (anywhere) and since the only green bits are at the tips, I'm hesitant to cut it back. What should I do?
Rosemary is a pretty hardy plant in zone 7/8, generally speaking, but when it is a small potted plant, it is likely to be more sensitive, :-? and even how wet or dry it's soil is can be a factor. Is it feasible to keep it out on your deck during the daylight hours, and move it indoors when the temperatures start to drop in the evenings?
I agree with zuzu's petals, rosemary does not like lots of water. Also being in such a small pot, if it's really cold you can sit that pot inside a little larger pot of the same height and give the roots a little insulation.
Well, I've convinced my mother to take my rosemary into her kitchen for the winter. My lease is up in April and I fully intend to move somewhere where I can keep plants, so hopefully it will survive till then. Thanks for the suggestions! I do have a follow-up question though, I've already brushed off all the leaves that are dried up and dead, but the only green ones are at the ends of the branches. Should I trim it back, or leave it alone, or what?
Hi, Personally I would not trim them back at all (!). I have known a number of folks who have not had good results from pruning their Rosmary plants in the best of conditions. That little plant of yours is still small and if placed in a sizeable container or in the full ground, it can become quite large. I prune mine every 2nd or third year and do it very carefully. I like to take off all fully dead bits and then selected internal branches (not all, tho). He sounds like he has a safe place on your mum's window sill. They do well with loads of light. As for watering, the Stewbies have already mentioned that they don't want or need a great deal of water....especially in this dormant period. At this time I would give them what might seem like an absurdly small of water from the bottom, every 3 weeks or so, depending upon the heat conditions in your mum's kitchen. All the best of luck with your baby...
Great, thanks for the specific watering instructions too. I'm hoping to transplant George into a much bigger pot in the spring (when I'll hopefully have a sunny place of my own). We'll see how it goes.
here in danmark. most of the plants we put them by the window during winter. in this way they get some light .
I'm in zone 8 and my rosemary plants are almost bare. I was planning on trimming them back this spring but maybe I shouldn't. I think I'll wait and see what happens when the weather warms up. I was hoping they'd stay green all winter but no such luck.
Yeah, mine is basically a potted stick at this point. There's a few leaves at the very top, but it looks pretty dead. I'm keeping it though until Spring, hoping that it's gone dormant not dead.
I had 2 rosemarys......one died.. and one is full and smelly. I got them from california lady.. I assume they arent hardy n zone 5 ?? Any one know? b
From what I've read, you can't keep it ouside below a "warm 7" But if you bring it indoors for the winter it will go dormant and come back in Spring (I hope!)
First off, Rosemary is not supposed to brown in the winter. It is evergreen and does not go dormant so if you have browning in the leaves you definently have a problem. Some varieties of Rosemary are more hardy than others so what variety are you using? The hardiness really only applies to established plants in the ground as the roots require warmer tempuratures to survive harsh winters. The tempurater one foot underground is 57 degrees farenheit. If your Rosemary is in a planter or a combo pot, then the soil will freeze and damage the roots thus possibly killing the plant. Its okay to bring it inside and put it by the windowsill but it may be too late for that. Good luck!
