"Jangchub" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:22:13 -0500, "BeeCee"
wrote:

Every fall now for several years I have dug some of the rosemary in my
garden, potted in growing medium, and brought it indoors.

Invariably, soon after I have brought it in, the leaves start to get
covered
with powdery mildew.

I can usually keep it alive by washing it frequently but it doesn't
thrive.

It has been suggested that I should open a window every day and let it
have
fresh air but this is impractical as the temperature gets well below
frreezing.

Could it be that I am keeping it too wet? When I pot it I soak it well to
set the roots into the potting medium.

Any suggestions?

Brian


In all the years of being a professional greenhouse grower did I ever
experience a Rosemary plant which thrived indoors. Each year we'd buy
rooted cuttings from a vendor and grow them for several weeks to
establish roots and we carefully timed it so they were only in the
greenhouse for about a month before being moved outside.

It's best to just buy a fresh plant each year. Rosemary does not get
near enough air flow, sunshine or anything it needs to thrive indoors.


I agree. When I read about people who made it work, I think "pure luck".

The other issue with bringing plants indoors is bugs. Unless you drown the
soil in some hideous chemical, you have NO idea what's living in it. A
friend of mine liked to move houseplants outdoors for the summer and in for
the winter, claiming she'd never had a problem. This year, her luck ran out.
She's got mealybugs all over the place, not just on the plants that lived
outdoors, but also on the ones that didn't.