I have rosemary

[HunkieDorie23]

I bought a rosemary bush Saturday. I have potted it because I know it does do well in this zone. I used some in chicken stock yesterday and it was pretty good but it really isn't that big. It was just a small pot. I am hoping that now that it is repotted it will grow quickly, any suggestions?

 

[lesa]

You can go ahead and plant it in the ground. I always do... then, if you want to bring it in- just dig it up in the fall.

 

[hoodat]

Rosemary is a pretty strong tasting herb so it seldom takes much of it to do the job. Keep it a bit on the dry side for the best taste.

 

[vfem]

My rosemary grows out of control, and its hard to believe it started from an itty bitty nothing twig.

Like Hoodat says... you only need a wee bit to get the flavor into what you cook, so no rush on that HUGE bush yet!

 

[digitS']

My rosemary spends its winters on the floor of the unheated greenhouse. At one time, I kept it on the basement floor, just where light from 1 window would fall on it during late afternoon. I think I lost nearly one-half the plants down there the last winter I tried that. And, it is rosemary plants, not plant, 'Dorie.

Perhaps you could grow one that is fairly large if it was in a massive container that you move in and out each year. My rosemary plants are all in 8" pots and I can carry one in each hand.

They are covered when temperatures drop more than about 10 below freezing - sometimes left for several days like that. I am reluctant to advise keeping them at room temperature thru the winter, just because I've never done that. Still, long before it seems like a good idea to put them outdoors again, the greenhouse furnace is turned on and things warm up in there. That's when new cuttings are made.

The horticultural advice seems to be to make cuttings in the fall. That may be okay, it just seems that when they are obviously beginning to grow that a cutting could be successful with a fair amount of the old growth taken.

They are stripped of needles and dipped in rooting hormone, then put in sterile potting soil. A whole flat of them can then be set where they don't really have any direct sun. They stay there for a couple of weeks and that seems important for the starts to grow some roots before they are moved into direct light.

All this works well. I haven't lost a plant in several years. No big rosemary plants, just lots of smaller ones . . .

Steve

 

[digitS']

I suppose I could show a picture of one of the "mothers" - last year at this time, she would have looked just like one of these. She is recovering nicely from a little pruning about a month ago and, here are her & her sisters' babies:

Growth is a little uneven amongst them. They have just gotten up where they've got some good light and will go into 4" pots almost immediately. By fall, they will be in 8" or 10" pots. I don't have a big bush but could set out a fairly good ground cover.

Steve

 

[hoodat]

I'm lucky that way. Here you just stick a rosemary any place sunny and it grows like a weed. Once it's established you don't even need to water it. It seems to get by on just the nightime fogs we get from the ocean.

 

[sparkles2307]

I just planted a rosemary last week but I dont like the flavor... are there different varieties?

 

[digitS']

Yes!

First of all, I think there are some varieties that have little more than ornamental value.

Arp is a popular variety in the US. Since it is supposed to be more hardy than the others. Lots of attention is given it. Hardier? I just decided that it makes no difference if it is a little more hardy than some of the others. The National Gardening Association says Arp is "hardy to zone 8." Some gardeners claim that they can keep it going outdoors in their zone 6 location. Well. When we have a minus 15F winter night, those encouraging zone designations won't make any difference - the plant will be toast if it's outdoors. In fact, it will probably be dead as soon as the temperatures drop below zero.

Look for the word "culinary" when selecting a rosemary variety. I've had "Rex Rosemary" for about 10 years and I'm very happy with it! A beef roast will come out absolutely delicious if you lay sprigs of those plants over the top before sliding it into the oven .

Steve

 

[lesa]

It is a rather odd tasting herb... a very small amount is needed. If you use it in a heavily handed way- it will not taste good. As Steve, says a sprig if a good amount for a roast. Not like basil, which I will gladly use a whole plant in one meal!!