Growing rosemary?

_ReApEr

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Sep 28, 2009
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Kind of an unusual question for all you plant gurus.

My girlfriend and I bought one of those rosemary "Christmas trees" and I want to spoil it so it sticks around for years. How can I do this?

I bought a 23w CFL and stuck it in one of those lamps from Home Depot and put it on a timer for 10hrs a day. What else can I do? Can I use dry ferts to fertilize it? If so, how?

Rosemary is a nice herb for cooking, not to mention it smells fantastic, so having a fresh, healthy rosemary in the house all year would be pretty cool, I'd say.

Thanks!
 

Gerryd

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I would think any garden center would have a good fert mix that you can use. Grab some decent potting soil and make sure the root ball has ROOM to grow, or growth will be inhibited.

I know Peter's is a good brand and there are others I am sure.

I doubt you need to do much for it, but am unsure of it's light requirements. If it grows well in the middle of a sunny field for 18 hours daily, your light may not suffice lol

A web search should clear that up :)
 

Biollante

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Jun 21, 2009
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Ice Cream?

Hi,

Your Rosemary I am going to guess it is Rosmarinus officinalis is a pretty hardy sort of plant, even if it isn’t Rosmarinus officinalis, it is still hardy, it will not tolerate freezing or wet soil conditions.

Repot it into a pot with good drainage, stones or large gravel, perhaps a screen then a potting mix with good drainage characteristics. ;)

Let the soil dry between watering, you can over water these guys.

All the general rules, being Ft. Collins keep it away from icy blasts and cold drafts. Some humidity in the air helps, keep it by the aquarium if you can. Sprits it with a little water occasionally. Take care with any decorations, not to damage the stems. Turn it every, once in a while, for even growth.

The light sounds like a marvelous idea, though I would think any bright room would be sufficient. :)

A couple of sites http://www.gardenguides.com/523-rosemary-christmas-trees.html, http://holiday-entertaining.suite101.com/article.cfm/rosemary_christmas_trees

Is Walrus still their? :D

Biollante
 

_ReApEr

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Sep 28, 2009
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Fort Collins, CO
Alright, I'll get it some potting soil and repot it in a bigger pot. I'll try to gently loosen up the root ball, too, to give it some room. The room it's in is also our gaming/movie room, so it spends a huge majority of the time dark. So the lamp should do it well, I suspect. And I am rotating it about every other day.

Thanks, guys.
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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It'll be fine outside if watered well in the summer, spring, no freezing etc.

It does extremely well in CA along the coast.
Used all over here as a landscape plant.

Regards,
Tom Barr