On 5/12/11 9:55 AM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 5/12/11 8:26 AM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 5/12/11 12:50 AM, Paul M. Cook wrote:
All my herbs got wiped out last winter. So I am starting fresh.

At the moment I am wondering how many rosemary seedlings I can grow in a 17
inch pot. They don't spread out much but they have extended root systems.
Would 3 seedlings do well in a 17 inch pot?

Paul



They should do okay as long as you carefully monitor soil moisture.
Rosemary likes generally dry conditions, rotting with too much water;
but completely dry soil will likely cause the seedlings to die. The
rosemary bush in front of my house receives winter rains and perhaps 2-3
hose waterings from late spring until the rains start in early winter.
However, I suspect some roots have spread out under my neighbor's lawn,
which is watered several times a week through the summer; in that case
they are definitely under my roses, which get drip irrigation every
other day.


Also, you need to keep the tops pruned so the plants don't outgrow the
ability of their roots to supply moisture and nutrients. With sweet bay
(Laurus nobilis), I found that allowing the plant to reach about the
width of the pot and about 10% taller than the pot is deep was
sufficient. When you harvest the rosemary, just keep the need to prune
in mind.


I almost forgot. When pruning or merely harvesting rosemary, you must
either cut out the entire branch or else leave green shoots below the
cut. If you cut below the lowest green shoot, the branch will die back
to its base. This is true of all salvia relatives, including sage,
mint, oregano, and lavender.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary