New Rosemary Post :)
Hi All,
I just read the rosemary message that was started last year. I have a rather large rosemary that I planted when I first bought this cottage. I placed it on the sunny sheltered south side of my little house. I live in Zone 7 and rosemary is supposed to be a tender perennial in this zone. My plant is now about 3 ft. by 4 ft. and in bloom at least twice during the year. It is large and beautiful. The only time it really suffered was during the ice storms we had a few years ago. After that winter I had to trim it back quite a lot. But it has grown back with a vengeance! I am going to have to either move it ( perish the thought :( ) or continue to trim it severely each year. I planted it too close to the house. But now it has a very large solid wood stem system that has twisted sideways and is looking like a giant's weird topiary! Anyone have any suggestions for me? At least I now know that rosemary can survive in my zone if placed in the best spot! BTW, the rosemary is 'Arp'
Thanks,
Kat
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(post #12780, reply #1 of 14)
I think that you can prune it to your hearts content if it is thriving that well. It will only grow back and produce even more blooms. My husband has one outside his office, an arp I think, and I have pruned it quite heavily several times with only good results. You can shape it almost anyway you want to also, prune from underneath, prune out branches, cut back branches, whatever pleases you.
New Mexico home organic gardener
Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. Emerson
(post #12780, reply #2 of 14)
Hi Kat,
I don't really have any advice, but I think Arp is hardier than zone 7, it's supposed to be the hardiest one around. I have it in zone 6, also in a sheltered southern spot, and it's doing reasonably well here also. It didn't like the rain the past year, but has been hanging there for 2 years now. So, like Astrid says, if it's thriving like it is, pruning should be fine. Just don't prune it all at once! :)
My other rosemary (don't remember which kind) was having a hard time this summer and looked liked it was going to die. Then it rallied and now the top looks fine, but anything below that is woody and yucky looking. Not sure what to do about that, I think I'll just plant sage around it to hide the stems.
(post #12780, reply #3 of 14)
If the woody part is still green underneath the bark next spring, you can prune it back and new growth should fill it out again.
New Mexico home organic gardener
Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. Emerson
(post #12780, reply #4 of 14)
I'll see how it goes this winter. Pruning rosemary is scary in these parts. I have 2 decent plants now, so I might be willing to take a risk next spring.
(post #12780, reply #5 of 14)
Rosemary should be easy to grow here, but I seem to have the magic black touch. I have an area of standardized plants ranging down one side of the house. The first rosemary bit the dust (as did a pineapple sage) when tree trimmers dragged great, huge branches from my fruitless mulberry down the narrow path past it and ripped it out and broke it in half. The second one, well, we had a fairly cold winter and Mother Nature provided me with a supply of freeze dried rosemary that still lurks in my pantry. The third, *blushing* I forgot that I'd planted it and, well, rosemary does require water now and again. I'm now on number four. Who knows how it will die, but die it will, I'm absoblooming positive, since I've never heard "Fourth time's the charm."
Zone 9b. Sunset Zone 15
http://regality3.livejournal.com/
(post #12780, reply #6 of 14)
Thanks for the info. I have this Sat. off and plan to tackle the rosemary. I am going to dry as much of the trimmings as possible for cooking use later. I also think I will try freezing some in water too. If I thought I could keep it alive in a pot, I would try to root some of the cuttings. But the main reason this plant ended up in the garden is because I had already killed three rosemary plants trying to grow then inside! I finally gave up and planted this one outside. I was so happy when it lived and took off! Most years, if we haven't had any ice storms, I like to cut some branches and twist them into small wreaths. Tied with pretty ribbon they look great on the Christmas tree and the fragrance is wonderful. The scent of rosemary always makes me think of Christmas anyway!
Tea, what would the world be without tea, how would it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea!
(post #12780, reply #7 of 14)
Kat, I'm a late comer to this discussion. Aren't you in the mid-Atlantic? Your rosemary might very well overwinter. The rosemary that I planted at my rented house in Takoma Park, MD 6 years ago is still going strong. I drove by there about a month ago and it's one of the only plants the new owner didn't remove. Take your trimmings, but leave some of it there to take its chances with the season. It might surprise you.
If a woman is to have a well-kept home, she must have power tools and a tool shed to call her own.
(post #12780, reply #9 of 14)
Hi Tish,
Yes I am in the mid-Atlantic zone 7 area and this rosemary has been growing outside for about 6 years now. It is in a very warm sheltered spot right up next to the house on the south side. I really need to trim it back from the house and since we are predicted to have a bad winter I was afraid to trim it too much this fall. I think what I will do is just start with a light trimming to the branches that are hitting the house and wait for spring to do the hard trim. Less of a risk that way.
When I start putting in the new herb garden that I have been craving, I would like to use rosemary instead of the usual boxwood to hedge it. The garden will be on the same southern side of the house but in the clear open yard that I have not planted yet. I hope the Arp rosemary will survive a little farther from the house.
Tea, what would the world be without tea, how would it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea!
(post #12780, reply #11 of 14)
Kat,
You should have no trouble with Arp. I'm in 6b and it's doing fine, it even survived winters outside in a pot before we moved to this house.
Where in the Mid-Atlantic are you? We have a fairly sizeable contingent of OTF'ers in the greater DC area. I'm in Northern VA.
Also, if you start some from cuttings, which are ridiculously easy to root, you can always move it out again next spring.
(post #12780, reply #12 of 14)
Tessa,
I am in southern DE, about 30 mins. inland from the ocean.
Tea, what would the world be without tea, how would it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea!
(post #12780, reply #8 of 14)
(post #12780, reply #10 of 14)
Ellen,
I will try to root some of the cuttings and maybe I will be able to keep one this time. Someone told me that one of the reasons I had so much trouble was because I have a gas kitchen range and rosemary is supposed to be sensitive to gas. Since then I have replaced the old range that was in this house when I bought it. I have a new Maytag range with sealed burners and a wonderful electronic brain! I just love this range is was one of the best investments I made. When the gas company came to remove the old range they found that who ever installed the old one had never converted it from natural gas to propane! How they never had a fire is beyond me! So if the old range was the culprit maybe I stand a chance of keeping a rosemary alive this time. As you say, if I still lose, it will hurt but not as much since I started with cuttings. Worth trying!
Kat
Tea, what would the world be without tea, how would it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea!
(post #12780, reply #13 of 14)
Kat- Love the tag line. There is nothing in this life that cannot be improved wtih a cup of tea.
(post #12780, reply #14 of 14)
thanx for the laugh