Comments on: Rosemary care

By: Werner

Werner — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:21:45 +0000

Hi,

I’m looking for some photos of rosemary diseases. Any of the following will do:

Alternaria
Armarillia tubescens
Botrytis
Powdery Mildew
Pseudomonas
Rhizoctonia sp.
Sphaerotheca fuliginea

I grew a Rosemary brush from a seedling. It started of well but now the tips of the leaves are turning brown and the stems are also losing leaves. I’m not sure whether it’s from overwatering (it’s potted) or whether it’s a pathogen, but I’d like to compare the color and texture of my ill leaves to some photos of known problems. Is there a site were I can submit photos of the plant for diagnosis?

Hi Werner
Contact your local extension office. They may be able to help.
It possible that it is a water problem. Take the plant out of the pot and see if it has some cream colored roots, also check the soil is it soak, soggy? Are the roots potbound? If pot bound, sometimes just cutting off some of the bottom layer of roots and repotting in fresh soil can help the plant recover.
A stressed rosemary plant is susceptible to powdery mildew.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:59:20 +0000

Hi, I've had a Rosemary plant for the past year and a half and have kept it indoors the entire time with zero problems. I kept the plant inside out of necessity since I live in an apartment. However, recently my plant somehow got exposed to some small, flying insects and now those insects can constantly be seen hovering around the plant. Additionally, I think they might be harming it since certain needles have started to turn brown, a problem that I had never had previously. My question is, how can I kill these bugs without using any harmful chemicals (since I like to use rosemary in my cooking and don't want to ingest any of the chemicals)? Thank You

Hi Cheryl Are these insect hovering about the soil? Could they be fungus gnats?

By: Janet

Janet — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:48:36 +0000

Thank you for your prompt replies. The rosemary plant has actually perked up since my first question was posted. My rosemary plants have about two months left to soak in the glorious outside and then they will be brought into the house to winter over. I feel pretty good that here in northern Maine I have successfully wintered over several rosemary plants on my first attempt and that I have all of them to try again this upcoming season. Wish me luck….

Hi Janet
Glad to hear that it perked up. Rosemary can be difficult to winterover indoors- Kudos to you.

By: Janet

Janet — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:08:48 +0000

The plant was transplanted into a nice new pot with fresh soil this spring. There are no insects on the leaves, so it must be a fertilizer issue. What type of fertilizer should I use on my rosemary and how often?
Very needy plants these rosemary trees, but they are a beautiful addition to my deck/garden. I bring them in during the winter and so far have successfully kept them through a northern Maine cold snap.

Hi Janet
They don’t require a lot of fertilizer. At this time of year, give it a dose of 10-10-10 or fish emulsion once a month. Stop feeding by Oct. Since we’re going into the fall season, one feeding may be sufficient.

By: Janet

Janet — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:44:26 +0000

Yellow leaves My rosemary tree has been doing great up until about a week ago. It sits on the deck outside and I water it regularly. It has been nice and thick, very fragant. I noticed yellow leaves a few days ago, too much water or not enough?

Hi Janet It's possible that your rosemary plant may be rootbound or needs some fertilizer which can cause the leaves to turn yellow. Insect infestation like whitefly and spider mites can also cause yellow leaves. If you overwatered and kept the soil soggy, the leaves would turn brown and drop.

By: Denise Abdelnour

Denise Abdelnour — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:54:53 +0000

Mealy bug
I live in Arizona and have a 2 foot Rosemary plant that is doing very well until recently. It also has the same white spongy spots between the leaves that you describe. I don’t know what mealy bugs are but I do have some beetle like bugs in the yard. Did you find out what this is?
You can email me at dpuppi7@hotmail.com
Thank you.

Hi Denise
The safest way is to wash off the mealy bug with a strong spray of water or dip cottom swab in alcohol and dislodge or wipe the mealy bug off the plant.

By: Sandy Swan

Sandy Swan — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:34:16 +0000

Hi -

I live in Seattle and have three beautiful rosemary plants that I put in my rock garden last Spring. They were doing wonderfully – growing, flowering, etc until about March of this year. Now they have all turned white. I really can’t tell if they are dead or not. Two have a few shoots of green, but only a tiny amount. We did have a very unseasonably cold winter. I’m assuming they are pretty much dead, but I LOVE these plants and don’t want to pull them up if there is any way to save them.
Thanks!

Hi Sandy,
You should be seeing some signs of new growth. They may not be completely dead, new growth can also come from the roots.
Once you determine how much winter dieback you have, trim back the dead stems.

By: cathy hodder

cathy hodder — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:47:12 +0000

should rosemary leaves be sprayed with water during the winter while in the house? I don’t water the soil often but I spray the leaves daily

Hi Cathy
There are conflicting theories on spraying rosemary indoors during the winter. You would think that with the dry indoor air the plant would enjoy some moisture. Rosemary likes cool dry air in winter. It can get a special powdery mildew that attacks a healthy plant when it is sprayed with water and little air circulation. Therefore, its better not to spray indoor in winter. I don’t spray my plants and they survive nicely indoors.

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:56:29 +0000

Not sure which part of M’sia you guys are in, but, you can buy your rosemary plants in several places. I found mine more often than not in Sungai Buloh. Last week, I found 4 small pots of rosemary in Jaya Jusco 1 Utama, and bought em all.
Best bet is to try Sungai Buloh and Jaya Jusco Midvalley and 1 Utama.
PS. I’m still having problems with my rosemary. Bought so many of em now, and have to keep sending them upwards. Seems that in M’sia, you have to give it lots more tlc.

Part of why they are so difficult to grow may be that its not the right plant for the climate-they are Mediterranean plants.

By: DiAnn

DiAnn — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:34:46 +0000

Hi,
I live in North Texas. We have had an unusually wet spring season. We moved into this house in January and a rosemary plant is in the front flower bed. It is very large and looked very healthy. Today, however, we noticed some of the branches look to be dead. We have not noticed them being brown and dry at all. It is a beautiful, fragrant, plant and we don’t want ot loose it. We did just add pine mulch to the flower bed last weekend. Is it too wet or something else? Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Your rosemary plant may be suffering from too much spring rain that is causing some dieback. They like well drained soil. The pine mulch may be adding to the problem since it is helping the soil retain moisture. I would pull it away from the root ball until the soil dries out a bit and then put it back. The other possibility is that it could have sustained some cold winter damage.