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Old 28-09-2002, 09:57 AM
Andy Spragg
 
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Default herbs in winter

"Susan Heath" pushed briefly to
the front of the queue on Thu, 26 Sep 2002 09:29:45 +0100, and nailed
this to the shed door:

^ I've an ever-expanding collection of herbs and aromatic plants on my
^ allotment (on the Sussex coast) and I'm wondering what, if any, protection
^ to provide in the winter. Probably long periods of rain would do more damage
^ than the cold. I've come across various ideas but I'm hoping you can pass on
^ the wisdom of your own experience. Many thanks,

Aha! Saves me starting a new thread (urs habits die hard). Sorry, no
answers, just a desire to share any you come up with. I have a
recently-but-rapidly-expanding (4, from 0) collection of herbs on my
patio. I bought them a few weeks ago at a reduced price from Rosemount
Gardens, who seemed to be clearing a large overstock/underdemand. They
were in tiny little pots and looked a bit sorry for themselves, so I
repotted them and applied a little TLC, and until a few days ago they
were flourishing.

Now, three of them look as though they have been frostbitten or
waterstarved - majority of foliage all limp - except that we haven't
had any frost, and I have been watering them regularly. One is pot
marjoram, one is double chamomile, and one is anonymous (I lost the
nametag and I can't remember what it is; doh). Only the lovage seems
unscathed, so far.

Any ideas what's up? I thought herbs were hardy (I have been trying to
decide whether to leave them in pots or plant them out somewhere, but
maybe I won't have the choice). Do I need to bring them in over the
winter, or maybe at night? Or will they perennate and re-emerge full
of the joys of spring?

Andy

--
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He who is not confused
is not in possession of all the facts.
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Old 28-09-2002, 10:26 AM
Kay Easton
 
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Default herbs in winter

In article , Andy Spragg
writes

Aha! Saves me starting a new thread (urs habits die hard). Sorry, no
answers, just a desire to share any you come up with. I have a
recently-but-rapidly-expanding (4, from 0) collection of herbs on my
patio. I bought them a few weeks ago at a reduced price from Rosemount
Gardens, who seemed to be clearing a large overstock/underdemand. They
were in tiny little pots and looked a bit sorry for themselves, so I
repotted them and applied a little TLC, and until a few days ago they
were flourishing.

Now, three of them look as though they have been frostbitten or
waterstarved - majority of foliage all limp - except that we haven't
had any frost, and I have been watering them regularly. One is pot
marjoram, one is double chamomile, and one is anonymous (I lost the
nametag and I can't remember what it is; doh). Only the lovage seems
unscathed, so far.


Marjoram and chamomile are hardy.
If the leaves are limp it means that not enough water is getting to
them, which means there is something wrong with the roots.

Most likely it that they've been *too* wet, and the roots have rotted.
many herbs are Mediterranean in origin and adapted to well drained soil
and not much rainfall. It's best to let the soil become dry in between
waterings.

Another possibility is vine weevil grubs which eat roots.

I would poke in the soil around the roots to look for cm long white
grubs. If nothing evident, I'd make sure they were in a place that got
sun during the day, and keep them a lot drier. If that didn't seem to be
working, I'd then tip the plants out of the pot and have a good poke
around to see what was happening.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/
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