The HERB GARDEN Mother Lode...

Too much water- too much heat. grab some cuttings abt 6 to 8" long and root them in a deep pot, they like it cooler weather to transplant and you guys HEAT is awful. 2nd SHADE EM. 3rd, trim the big plant back. Too much plant for the roots. I am goin to want some starts. that or bury everybit of the dead parts deep and willow water em a bit.

Ok. Thanks, Kitt!

Cuttings. You mean the branches? Strip some of the rosemary from the rooting end and sink in a deep pot?

"Willow water?"

Ok. working on your starts!!!

Ok. I found a tutorial on how EZ it is to root the cuttings. My problem is going to be finding some part of the plant that's still viable from which to take the cuttings. Much of it has dried up.....I should've taken the cuttings the next day...shoot!

This message was edited Jul 1, 2013 11:18 AM

There's not a lot of roots on that picture you showed of the rosemary, so I agree with kitt it's drying out.

The cadmium layer (inner bark) of willow contains a rooting hormone, salicylic acid. (And no, your bottle of aspirin isn't quite the same.) If no fresh willow is available, "Root Tone" or whatever will do the job.


This message was edited Jul 1, 2013 3:59 PM

So, I should try cuttings from the branches, anyway? Even though they're drying out?

If it were me, I'd make the willow water (pour boiling water over 4" bits of stem and leaves of willow and let set 24 hours) over the plant, watering it with the willow water, and give it a little every day (maybe twice a day if it's hot and dry) and wait and see. Keep watering it like it was alive. It might come back after the roots have nourishment and a chance to expand. I would trim it way down, though, so it wouldn't lose any more water through respiration. I never give up on anything lol.

Linda, those dry branches had green tips on them. There is still life in them, but tthey didnt get pruned back and tended as they grew. Like Mexican Heather the plant can appear dead and come back to life in seemingly dead branches.The wilted drying appearance is actually the plant pulling its energy back to the roots to wait til weather is more kind. The plant since uprooted may still die, but trim back and pot the roots in a medium that is a lot less rich than your veggies, and call it summer dormancy- in a dark cool spot. Dont let it mold up, and let the root part rest. That rosemary probably needed heavier trims than some of the o

Than some other varieties do. Like Solace said. One of these days I need to copy the whole of that willow water recipe... use the green and yellow new growth willow tips -at least a cup- cut into 1" strips, enough water to cover plus a cup, or more.Strongest potency is at least 2weeks. Most of the rosemarys I have grew the hardest and fastest tween Feb and June. They are slow, slow holding now.

Thanks, Kitt!

Y'all talk like everyone has a willow tree just outside their back door. Ive not seen a willow tree in 40 years!

I agree with the following from above. Cut the plant way back. I dont think the roots could have died in such a short period of time. Keep it in a pot, in the shade and water when top 2" of soil are dry. I bet it will come back from the root and next year it will look as good or better than it did in the beginning. I doubt the dill or fennel will transplant. Just grow them from seed.To make sure the root ball is really getting watered, the first time let it soak in a saucer until it takes up all it will.

Gymgirl - try to take some cuttings, as I suggested in my above post.

Marty, willow trees are on every creek bank in your area, but watch for the gators in those creeks. All you would need to do is cruise north up US 59 towards Humble area. IF not closer.

The two go together, cuttings from and let the rootball try to recover.Treat like a small woody shrub.

THANK YOU, EACH AND EVERY ONE!

Marty,
You should SEE those broccoli plants!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are absolutely gorgeous, and still growing inside under lights.

Since the UPGRADE?????!!!!! to this website, I cannot post pics or tags anymore, from my computer or my cellphone....

Progress....

Let's see what happens...

Marty,
These are your 3" broccoli seedlings!

This message was edited Jul 3, 2013 10:07 AM

Just so we dont send someone off on the wrong foot, salicylic acid is not a hormone, just a chemical compound.

Salicylic acid is a plant hormone, which is why it stimulates rooting. It does not behave in animal bodies as a hormone.

http://www.scbt.com/datasheet-203374-salicylic-acid.html
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Salicylic_acid.html
http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/10/3321.full (Jump down to the section on growth for dirty details.)

I thought salicylic acid was the stuff in clearasil.

Thanks, Nicole. I think it is good that you made it clear that salcylic acid "functions" as a hormone in plants but does not function as a hormone in animal bodies.

Marty,
Did you see the Broccs?

I had overlooked that post. Wow! They look gorgeous. Are you going to used them for fall plant out? I had some from that batch that I planted out and they made heads and side shoots and I ate them all. I think there may be one plant that I have not pulled that still making side shoots. My new favorite way to eat broccoli is to dip it in salsa con queso raw!!. YUMMM.

Yes, Marty,
I'm hoping to keep 'em growing slowly, but comfortably. Targeted plant out isn't until mid- to late-September...

Linda, you will keep us posted on how these octogenarian broccolis perform. I am cheering them on.

You betcha!!!

Linda,
Having just severely pruned a Rosemary bush or tree that grew from a small plant to 6 feet tall and 4' wide since Spring of 2011, I believe Rosemary likes more water than some people think. Mine is on an automatic drip line that serves a variety of plants along a fence, So it gets about 25 minutes of water every day, and loves it.

And i think Honeybee's suggestion of taking either root cuttings or pieces of rooted cuttings may have been the best method, but since the stump is already planted, i would look for small branches near the stump that show life, and cut off completely all the other branches that are showing stress, and water it frequently enough to keep the soil moist.

Ernie

Lynda has more humidity than the Otay area, it causes quicker fungal buildups. She dug it in a bad time for transplanting such a large plant, once it stabilizes and comes back, it will take water or dry spells equally as well. They are a fairly forgiving plant, but if the rootball doesnt pull thru, she will have the cuttings she took. She is also great at knowing what she has to do to boost the plants' ability to survive. chuckle...

Kitt,

You are correct about the geography, but where i live is much more moist than the Otay Mesa, too. I live in a canyon 8 miles from the ocean and cool moist air is sucked in as the inland foothills warm up. I fight fungus all the time. as well as high humidty in the mornings. It must have been close to 100% this morning.

Transplanting is pretty simple, logistically. She lost a lot of the hair roots that absorb the moisture, so the more she can reduce the growth that releases moisture, the better supply the remaining top growth will have for surviving.

And i am sure you are right about the Rosemary surviving either way. I have seen them doing well in AZ on just a fraction of the water mine receives, so they do have a wide tolerance for water.

Ernie

FWIW, I believe I have heard or read somewhere that plants with needle like leaves benefit from misting. I don't know if that's true, but I give my rosemary a regular spray, in between the deep waterings and it seems to like it. But then again, it's hard to OVERwater anything here in the summer and perhaps it's not the misting of the leaves, but the dropping of water to the root ball that it likes.

My dad is in Escondido, beautiful place to retire, I know those brisk winds, welcome to me after fighting thru the Indio area! and grows so many things there! Remember she took it from a probably neglected area as an overgrown speciman... with her talents I know something will survive! Yup on the misting-have wondered if they are closer to aloes or sedums than we know...

While i have had to treat for Downy Mildew, Gray Mold, Coryneum Blight, Black Spot, Fire Blight, etc., the Rosemary has not been bothered by any of them, so the misting should not be a problem even in a humid area.

Micro climates vary more rapidly in this area than anywhere i have ever lived. I am almost one Zone colder here than the map shows, and frost several times a year in what is supposed to be a Frost Free Zone. On the opposite end, when the offshore Santa Ana winds blow and reverse the direction of the air flow, I am several degrees warmer than Ray Der Phan is, just 8 miles away,and cooler than Escondido, 8 miles the other way.

I agree that if anyone can make the plant grow, it is Linda.

Ernie

Once Rosemary is established, it thrives on neglect. Our bush in South Florida grew taller than me, and about four foot wide in dreadful grey sand they (laughingly) call "soil". It was never cared for.

Great score and great thread. I am proof that Rosemary thrives on neglect. The only time mine gets watered is when it rains. It has been in the same spot for over 15 yrs but it has never bloomed! The plants next to it bloom.

Lisa, my Rosemary blooms with small blue flowers.

My rosemary blooms in the early spring.

I wish mine would bloom. It is growing like crazy, but maybe needs a bit more sun.
I am trying the grapefruit rosemary marmalade recipe today. I will be spending the morning 'supreming' the grapefruits.

Well,
I took ya'lls advice and cut the browning Rosemary branches away yesterday. I left about 10" of stems on the plant, and will treat it as a shrub.

As I cleared the branches and brown nettles (btw, can they be used for anything, cause I haven't bagged them up yet...) I saw one lone branch way down in the middle, with green nettles on it, so I believe there is still life in the plant, and I fully expect to grow it out again!

Hugs and Crosses for all your help, encouragement, and advice!

I will keep posting progress pics as they unfold.

Linda

Gymgirl - the branches that you removed can be used for mulch.

The green shoot sounds hopeful. As it grows, you can prune away any other stem that doesn't survive.

What you t rimmed off is dried rosemary. strip off the leaves and save in a sealed jar to use for cooking.

Thanks, guys!

Will harvest the dried Rosemary for cooking!