"Nick Gray" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I've got 3 Rosemary plants in pots, indoors. I fully expect them to drop
dead sometime soon, even though I read the recent thread in which many
of
you contributed good ideas. Two reasons for my pessimism, one
comical/imaginary (maybe), and the other....who knows?

1) The plants are on a table right near where my son drops his sneakers
when
he comes into the house. I can't prove it, but I think this could be
contributing to the plants' demise. I can smell those sneakers across
the
room. I can't imagine how the plants must be suffering.

2) The important issue: Along with all the other things that make
Rosemary
unhappy indoors, there's quite a bit of crust on the soil's surface.
Built
up minerals from tap water, obviously. I always age the water for a
couple
of days before using it, although this addresses the chlorine issue. We
won't have especially hard water here - the water authority data says
we're
sort of in the middle. But still, I wonder if that the buildup is bad
for
the plants, especially when they're already having a bad time.

There hasn't been enough rain or snow to collect, and who knows what's
in
it
anyway, considering what it does to lakes and ponds and trout. So, I
decided
to use only water that's been through the Brita filter. See what I mean
about grasping for straws? The filter's not designed to remove minerals.
But, I figured...I don't know. Couldn't hurt, right? OK. It's pointless.

Yesterday, I poured 4 jugs of water through one of the pots, which got
it
nice & clean. Of course, this was done at the risk of making the soil
too
wet for a plant that's lost 2/3 of it's leaves in 6 weeks. Now the roots
will rot. I could move the plant to a smaller pot while it's indoors,
but
that risks stressing the thing even MORE.

Anyone know anything about mineral crust on potting soil?
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I wouldn't worry about the salt and mineral build up on the surface of the
compost, if it's unsightly, scrape off the top inch and apply some new
compost.

I suspect that you may be over watering it, or it's not getting enough
natural light. Rosemary is native to dry, sunny areas like the
Mediterranean. As such they like a dry soil in a sunny position, so you
should try to mimic this environment when growing indoors. Try to reduce
the
amount you water, only giving it more when the top of the compost dries
out.

Light is one of the problems here. It's been incessantly cloudy, and even
though the plants are in the best window in the house, it's still not
enough. I'm considering a plant light, but at the same time, I'm trying to
keep the utility bills down.


Do the pots have saucers under them to catch water? Is the pot sitting in
water? If so tip this excess water away and allow the plant to dry out a
bit.

They've needed very little water, but when they do, they're always watered
in the sink, on a grating for drainage, without the saucers of course.