can anyone recommend a rosemary that I might try overwintering in a sheltered spot in z6a? I guess I could just go ahead and try one. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. But I just hate to kill a plant. there must be some varieties that can take a little more cold.
Rosemary in z6a?
Hating to kill a plant gets us to where we are today.... good luck!
The ARP strain is supposed to be the most hardy, zones 7-10. I bet if you mulched it deep and put a cloche or something over it, it'd make it.
There is a man in my neighborhood that got his tender palms through our rough winter this year by wrapping the trunk up in plastic, shoving about 4inches of mulch into the plastic , then wrapping the whole thing up in a string of christmas lights he had on a timer. Made for an odd display, but kept them alive! I wish I had been as clever, I lost my Calla lillies.
I hear Rosemary roots fairly easily, maybe you can bring cuttings indoors?
thanks for the suggestion, renwings. I guess I won't know unless I try. And some cuttings for backup. Christmas lights...who woulda thunk of it? That's pretty clever. gram
This message was edited Jun 2, 2006 4:47 PM
I've had trouble overwintering even the hardier rosemary varieties, but my new 'Arp' made it last year. I planted it on the sunny side of a big boulder and made a little raised bed (just a big pocket of potting soil, really) with some rocks on the other side. I figured being raised would provide better drainage, and the rocks should act as a heat sink to moderate temperature changes. It is absolutely huge this year! We did have a pretty mild winter, though, so we'll see what happens in years to come. I think the challenge for rosemary here isn't so much the cold temps, it's when the temperature gets warm enough that they start to put on new growth, and then the temperature plunges back down and shocks them to death.
I wonder if one of those wall-o-water things that you put around a tomato plant to protect it in the spring would help. It would freeze in the winter to keep the cold in if there was a premature warm spell and then keep the cold out if there was a hard freeze after it started to grow in the spring. Well, I can certainly take a chance on an ARP. thanks for the help. gram
Other supposedly hardier rosemaries.....Hill Hardy, Salem, Nancy Howard, Dutch Mill.
I think Nancy Howard is the one we just bought this spring. We've tried Salem, but it was less hardy for us than the Arp. 'Arp' is probably the most commonly available hardy rosemary.
I don't think I'd use a WOW, because I think there could be trouble where the plastic touches the foliage of the plant. You could place cinder blocks around the plant in fall to serve as a heat sink, maybe even wrap the plant with a little row cover or spray with "Wilt Pruf" to protect it from wind.
I'm going to try the Wilt Pruf on my heather this year. The heather is hardy, but the cold winds take a toll when there's not enough snow cover. I'll give it a shot on the rosemary, too. maybe I'll try a couple of your suggestions and see which fares the best.