Growing Rosemary In An Apartment: Planting, Care And Other Nuances

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

We grow rosemary in an apartment according to the rules

Rosemary is an evergreen herb that has been used as a spice and even for medicinal purposes since ancient times. Previously, rosemary bushes occupied a worthy place in apartments on window sills and even in garden beds, but now the plant is undeservedly forgotten. Perhaps because of the not too decorative appearance, or maybe because of the difficulties associated with its cultivation. In this article, we invite you to learn how to grow and care for rosemary properly.

Content

• 1 Planting and care: basic rules

  • 1.1 Lighting
  • 1.2 Temperature conditions
  • 1.3 Pot and soil selection
  • 1.4 Watering
  • 1.5 Top dressing
  • 1.6 A Few Additional Tips
• 2 Features of cultivation

• 3 Reproduction of rosemary

  • 3.1 Cuttings
  • 3.2 Seeds
• 4 Possible diseases
• 5 Video about growing rosemary at home

Planting and care: basic rules

Yes, growing this spicy plant will take time, patience and care. But we have already made sure that our readers can handle any difficulties. Our tips will help you do everything right and avoid common mistakes.

Fragrant rosemary (medicinal) is appreciated in cooking, aromatherapy, and medicine

Now you need to remember a few basic rules for keeping rosemary.

Lighting

Place the container with the plant on the windowsill from the south or east side. Rosemary is very fond of a large amount of fresh air and light, when these conditions are met, it produces strong, juicy leaves. Therefore, provide him with an abundance of sunlight and regular ventilation. In winter, with a short sunny day, it is advisable to provide illumination with special lamps.

Good lighting with plenty of sunlight is important for rosemary

Temperature regime

It is desirable to provide uniform heat with minor changes: this plant does not tolerate sharp temperature changes with large amplitudes. Keep this in mind if you decide to transfer the rosemary to the loggia during the winter to provide it with good lighting. Wintering rosemary can take place at temperatures from 5 to 15 degrees.

For the winter season, keep the rosemary at a temperature of 5-15 degrees

Pot and soil selection

The container for the plant should be spacious, since it has a branched and powerful root system that grows quickly. The best material for a pot is clay, ceramic or terracotta. At the bottom of the flowerpot, be sure to lay drainage from expanded clay or small pebbles.

As for the soil, it is good to use a slightly alkaline or neutral substrate as its quality. It can be purchased at specialty stores and supermarkets. You can also prepare such a soil yourself. To do this, you need to mix:

• 1 part sand;
• 1 part peat;
• 1 part of humus;
• 2 parts of sod land;
• 2 pieces of leafy land.

The soil should be loose, with good moisture permeability.

The easiest way is to buy a suitable substrate in the store.

Watering

For rosemary, over-watering is far more harmful than a lack of moisture. Drying out of the substrate will lead to yellowing of the leaves, which is very easy to fix with a glass of water. But an excess of moisture in the soil and its stagnation will have a detrimental effect on the state of the root system, which will simply begin to rot.

Avoid excess moisture in the rosemary pot: this can cause the root system to die

During hot seasons, when there is plenty of sunlight, water the rosemary abundantly, but control the moisture in the soil. There should be no stagnation of water! Winter watering should be regular and moderate. In spring, the level of water consumption can be gradually increased as the temperature rises.

Top dressing

Rosemary grows actively from March to September. At this time, the plant needs feeding. Carry out it twice a month, use organic and mineral fertilizers. In order not to be mistaken, buy complete complex fertilizers. Don't forget about calcium - rosemary needs it for good growth and development.

Some additional tips

The most valuable thing about rosemary for us is its aroma and taste. To obtain seasoning, young shoots (they are covered with hairs) with leaves and flowers are cut off from the plant, dried and processed. This should be done when the bush is actively blooming.

In the spring, the plant needs to be pruned to form a dense and beautiful crown. In this case, it is necessary to leave only a few internodes formed on the increase from last year.

Correct pruning of rosemary will ensure a beautiful crown

If an adult rosemary strips the stems, rejuvenate pruning to remove any shoots growing above the ground. This should be done in the last decade of February or early March. Typically, this pruning is done every 7 years.

Growing features

Each plant is a living organism with its own whims, positive or negative perception of any changes. And rosemary is no exception. It is important to know which criteria will help its growth and development, and which will lead to trouble.

If you like to grow indoor plants, you probably noticed that this or that flower "feels" great under certain conditions, but at the slightest change of some seemingly insignificant factor, it starts to wither. To avoid this with rosemary, remember a few rules.

1. Rosemary grows quickly, and its root system grows even faster. Therefore, transplant the bush into a larger pot as soon as you notice that the plant is getting cramped. Do this in the spring, at least once every 2 years. Be sure to replace the substrate and install a new drain.
2. We have already written above about the importance of the correct temperature regime for rosemary during wintering. To provide it, the plant pot can be moved from one place to another. For example, in winter, keep it on an insulated loggia or in a room, away from heating radiators, providing additional light.
3. In the summer, take the rosemary out to the open balcony for an abundant sun and air bath. It is very good if you have the opportunity to take the flowerpot with a bush to the country.

4. During wintering, watering rosemary should be moderate, only as the soil dries up. This will ensure abundant flowering after hibernation.

   

   Rosemary works well with other aromatic herbs

It's also important to keep track of which plants will get along well with your rosemary. It's easy: cut out flowers that can't stand intense scents. In fact, this phenomenon is very rare, fragrant (or medicinal) rosemary is very unpretentious in terms of neighborhood. But if you grow tomatoes, herbs and sage at home, then rosemary will make great friends with these crops!

Propagation of rosemary

Surely you want to get yourself a few rosemary bushes or provide this wonderful plant for your family and friends. To do this, you need to multiply it. We will look at the simplest and most popular ways

Cuttings

You can buy ready-made cuttings from your local nursery nursery. But why do that when you have your own adult rosemary bush? Cut a few woody twigs up to 10 cm long from the top. It is better to do this in late spring, but if you live closer to the south, then you can also in early autumn.

The stalk must be cleaned of the lower leaves and placed in a pot with the mixture:

• 1 piece of land;
• 1 part peat moss;
• 2 parts coarse sand.

This prepared soil must be moist. If you don't feel like bothering, you can also use a glass of water. But in this case, the stalk may die before the roots start up. However, there is such a risk when growing the petiole in the ground. Perhaps this is the only drawback of this method. It's easy to avoid if you don't overdo it with water.

But the undoubted advantage is that you have a lot of branches cut into cuttings. Some of them will surely take root and become full-fledged bushes in the future.

Place the pot with the cuttings sunk into the soil in a well-lit place, but not in direct sunlight. It will take about 3 weeks before strong roots appear.

Rosemary cuttings in pots with soil

To make the cuttings germinate faster, help them: install a transparent hood or a plastic bag, making several holes in it. Keep the plant warm and maintain optimal moisture levels

After the roots grow back and get stronger, feel free to transplant the rosemary into a permanent pot.

Seeds

This method is quite complicated. Its main disadvantage is poor germination. But there is also an advantage: the qualities of the mother plant are not inherited by future seedlings, in contrast to the method of propagation by cuttings.

Early spring or early autumn is suitable for planting. You can use the seeds of the mother plant or buy them from the store.

Wrap the rosemary seeds in wet cheesecloth and let sit for 2-4 days. Then sprinkle them over the well-moistened soil in the pot, but do not add it. Stretch a plastic wrap on top, make punctures in several places to provide air for the seeds.

Seedlings should appear in 2 weeks, maximum a month. Moisten the potted seedlings constantly. It is better to do this with a spray bottle: this will distribute the moisture evenly, and the seeds will not start to rot.

Rosemary seedlings grown from seeds

If during this time shoots still do not appear, you will have to repeat the planting procedure again.

So your seeds have sprouted. Wait until their length reaches 7-9 cm, and 3 leaves appear on the sprouts. Thin the crops by replanting weaker crops in another container, where they can reach the desired size. Dive very carefully so as not to damage the plants. Strong shoots can be transplanted into pots with drainage and potting soil for continued growth.

Possible diseases

This plant is quite resistant to diseases and pests. It's not for nothing that rosemary grows so well outdoors. True, this applies only to the southern climatic zones, where there is a lot of heat, sunlight, and the air is dry enough. In an apartment, and even in the middle lane, it is a little more difficult.

For example, you may notice a thin, slightly visible cobweb on a rosemary bush. This spider mite left traces of its activity. Before it's too late, wash each leaf with soapy water (dissolve 50 g of household soap crushed on a grater in 1 liter of warm water). If time is lost and the infestation is severe enough, spray the plant with insecticide.

In addition, rosemary can "catch" powdery mildew, attacked by whiteflies or aphids. Most often, these problems occur in winter. To prevent such diseases and lesions, do not allow too high humidity in the room containing rosemary. Use air dryers.

Pay attention to any changes in the appearance of rosemary to prevent disease

Powdery mildew (it looks like a white bloom) is difficult to see on rosemary leaves, covered with thick thin light hairs. That is why such a disease often becomes the cause of death. If the rosemary leaves began to darken and dry, and you are sure that the plant is provided with the correct temperature conditions, watering and lighting, then the diagnosis is unambiguous - powdery mildew damage. At this stage, only insecticide treatment will help you.

Video about growing rosemary at home

Growing rosemary will take patience, care and a lot of effort. But it will be worth it, and this useful and beautiful plant will appear in your home, which will help you both in the kitchen and in the treatment of diseases. Tell us in the comments about your experience growing rosemary. Good luck!