Hello everybody. I bought a large Rosemary plant from the store a few weeks ago. It had very lush and full foilage. Since I brought it home though, it doesn't look as hot. I had it on the back porch which was screened and thought maybe the screen filtered light was not good enough so I put it outside in full sun. It still does not look too much better. Anyone have any ideas for me? I really love the scent of this plant and would like to keep it healthy.
Rosemary... doing something wrong?
Hi , a bit more information might help .
Not looking good could mean a lot of things, Are the leaves falling off? has it turned color?
Is the soil too wet? It likes it on the dry side.
Did you transplant it ? could be shock.
The leaves are turning brown and falling off, there is still green foilage before, it is just not as plush. I know rosemary likes the dry side so I try to make sure it is not getting too much water (key word try). It is still in its original container, which is rather large at 3g at least.
Our zones are so different I was waiting to see if someone else might reply.
I will assume rosemary is perennial in you zone. Could this be normal for this time of year?
If it were mine I would give it a light pruning 20% (save the clippings ) and watch carefully.
Wish I could of more help.
Cinda
I think it's going to take some time for it to adapt to your home - you don't know what kind of treatment it got before your purchase, it might have been very dry for weeks and watered just before you bought it.
You might want to think about putting it in the ground - my rosemary in Phoenix (zone 9a/b) did great once established, on deep irrigation every 2 weeks. Might take a while for yours to get back on track.
Thanks! I may just put it in the ground and hope for the best.
It will probably do great as long as you have good drainage. They really are very tough plants.
I agree about putting it in the ground. I've found rosemary does much better in the ground as opposed to in a pot.
You might want to take a few cuttings just in case. They should root quite easily in water.
Good luck!
Barb
Barb, have you had good luck rooting rosemary? I've tried a few times, now, with absolutely no results.
Yes, but not every time. Maybe you have to hold you head just right...;)
Barb
Ha!
The only rosemary rooting success I've had is where a branch has touches the ground, I will weight it with a rock and eventually, it will take root. I can then separate it and start a new plant. I guess the plant is holding "its' head just right"! LOL
>grin<
I dunno - there's a guy on the Propagation forum who says he starts them in water, no problem.
I used to work at a box home improvement store and often the rosemary and plants would get real dried out then people would try to water them. So it might have been an earlier stress and not you. Also sometimes some cant think of a nice term for person would spray with insecticides. This was probably not by the companys direction i hope. I try to dunk my plants in soapy water if I can when I get home just in case- it also helps with hidden bugs.