I would like to winterize two jasmine plants and two rosemary plants
indoor.

I had put a jasmine in a south facing window in the last winter. It
rebounded quite well after the winter despite the fact that It didn't
do so well during the winter. But I am running out of south facing
window for the second jasmine plant. I am looking for a different way
to winterize it. Can I simply put it in a dark unheated basement and
let it go dormant? What should I do to prepare it to go dormant? What
need to be done during the winter? And how to re-commission it after
the winter?

I have the exact same question in winterizing two rosemary. I will put
one in a south facing window near a baseboard heater just like what I
will do for one of the jasmine. And I intend to put the second
rosemary plant in the dark unheated basement. How exactly should I do
this?

Thanks.

Jay Chan

wrote:

I have the exact same question in winterizing two rosemary. I will put
one in a south facing window near a baseboard heater just like what I
will do for one of the jasmine. And I intend to put the second
rosemary plant in the dark unheated basement. How exactly should I do
this?

Thanks.

Jay Chan

for the rosemary, you have two ways.

1) alternate the plants on the window, every 15 days. They will emerge
from the winter weakened
but alive.

2) cut down the basement rosemary to the branches (freeze the trimmings
you get for use thru the winter). It should go dormant for the
duration.

also, you can leave the rosemary outside longer than the other
houseplants, and likewise put it outside earlier than the other plants.
My rosemary is still outside, and usually goes outside in April. A
light frost is fine.

In article says...
2) cut down the basement rosemary to the branches (freeze the trimmings
you get for use thru the winter). It should go dormant for the
duration.

Is this true for other perennials. In particular I'd like to get my
pineapple sage to overwinter but, due to their size, I can't put them
under lights or in any window. These plants can't survive the hard
freezes we get here in Chicago -- even if the plant is in the ground so
basically they're annuals here. I do take cuttings and get a lot of
plants next Spring but it would be very convenient if I could make some
of these in containers go dormant and stick them in a cool dark place
for the winter. Do I have to make sure these don't dry out too much? I
was considering chopping them down soon since snow is expected here
Wednesday and that will be that for any plants left outside.

I find it somewhat amusing that people disparage our mild winters,
saying that we have no seasons. Then they try to grow plants
(e.g., rosemary) that grow best in our climate and are totally
unsuited for areas that get snow in the winter.

My rosemary is a bush taller than I am. The trunk is about 3-4
inches in diameter with several branches more than an inch. It has
been growing in the ground near where my driveway meets the
sidewalk for more than 25 years. Right now, there are some blue
flowers.
And yes, we do get fall color. Right now, in my neighborhood there
are trees, shrubs, and vines not only with the basic yellow (both
mustard and lemon), orange, and red but also gold, fire, pink,
rust, maroon, and burgundy. We get this without having to endure
snow, sleet, and ice. Thus, some of our color also comes from the
plants that are still flowering. My roses will continue to bloom
until I prune them in January.

Today, the temperature at 1:00pm was 86F with 24% relative
humidity.

--
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 pages at URL:http://www.rossde.com/garden/

It is possible. Pineapple sage, I am guessing, is about as hardy as
rosemary (Zone 8 is the limit). Neither will grow in an unheated room,
so once stripped of greenery it should go dormant.
A third option is to plant outside in the ground and give it the fig
treatment ( bury it under a mound of leaves). In this case, too,
stripping the greenery is preferrable.

for the rosemary, you have two ways.

1) alternate the plants on the window, every 15 days. They will emerge
from the winter weakened
but alive.

2) cut down the basement rosemary to the branches (freeze the trimmings
you get for use thru the winter). It should go dormant for the
duration.

I will use the "alternate" approach to rotate the rosemary plants.
They are in small containers; therefore, I don't mind moving them
around.

I will use the "trim greeny and go dormant" approach for the jasmine.
The jasmine plant has grown to quite a handful that I don't really want
to move it around.

Thanks for the great info. I appreciate that.

also, you can leave the rosemary outside longer than the other
houseplants, and likewise put it outside earlier than the other plants.
My rosemary is still outside, and usually goes outside in April. A
light frost is fine.

Thanks. This means I will be able to put the rosemary outside early in
the spring.

Jay Chan

In article says...
It is possible. Pineapple sage, I am guessing, is about as hardy as
rosemary (Zone 8 is the limit). Neither will grow in an unheated room,
so once stripped of greenery it should go dormant.
A third option is to plant outside in the ground and give it the fig
treatment ( bury it under a mound of leaves). In this case, too,
stripping the greenery is preferrable.

Unfortunately yesterday we got down to 15F with sub zero wind chills and
the plants were still outside. Stupid weather. Do you think a zone 8
plant can survive this? All the leaves got dark and wilted but I'm
still thinking of chopping them down and bringing a couple inside.
Between the drought this summer and this sudden drop in temps, this year
has really sucked for gardening here.

probably not. Chop them to the ground and take them inside, if the pot
did not freeze they will make it. though probably the pot froze as
well, given the high winds.

In article says...
probably not. Chop them to the ground and take them inside, if the pot
did not freeze they will make it. though probably the pot froze as
well, given the high winds.

Yep, the pots froze. This severe cold took me by surprise but I should
have taken care of all of this last weekend when it was warm here. I'm
kind of depressed about this because I'm also losing an abnormal amount
of cuttings of this plant where I might not have anything for next
Spring. Although the pots were frozen, after chopping the plants they
still had green inside the stalks.

I just watched a gardening show "Gardening by the Yards". The show
host said that Rosemary is a bit hard to winterize because it needs
more attention. What he suggested are the following:
(1) Place it in west facing window in a cool location.
(2) Moist it a couple times a day (this is the hard part).

Seem like I am better off finish eating it instead of trying to
winterizing it.

Oh well...

Jay Chan

I just watched a gardening show "Gardening by the Yards". The show
host said that Rosemary is a bit hard to winterize because it needs
more attention. What he suggested are the following:
(1) Place it in west facing window in a cool location.
(2) Moist it a couple times a day (this is the hard part).

I meant to say:
(2) _Mist_ it a couple times a day.

wrote:
I just watched a gardening show "Gardening by the Yards". The show
host said that Rosemary is a bit hard to winterize because it needs
more attention. What he suggested are the following:
(1) Place it in west facing window in a cool location.
(2) Moist it a couple times a day (this is the hard part).

Seem like I am better off finish eating it instead of trying to
winterizing it.

Oh well...

Jay Chan

Mist it twice a day? Did they notice that it is a plant from semiarid
climates? Mine is by a southern window, it is 2 ft tall and 2 ft wide,
and it gets a quart of water every two weeks. The Gardening Show is
crazy.