Bad Luck with Rosemary in the Garden
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Dilip Barman
Posted on: June 10, 1998

I’ve had bad luck with rosemary in the past with it just turning brown and dying. I’m going to try again and will be sure not to overwater it! How far apart should I plant upright rosemary and is it okay to plant reasonably close to a rose (but not so close that the rose fertilizer and manure dressing get to it)? I want to plant 3-5 pots. Thanks.

The rosemary will only overwinter outdoors in zone seven or warmer. In zones or colder you will have to bring the plant into the house for the winter. This has to be done gradually, by placing the plant on the north side of the house for about a week and then into the sunniest window in the house. To avoid shock to the plants it would be best to plant them into large pots and plant them pot and all in the garden for the summer.

I don’t think that the rose fertilizer will harm the rosemaries. If you allow rosemary to dry out once, the plant dies because the roots will be dead. It will take a while before this is obvious due to the leathery nature of the leaves. By that time you will have long forgotten that you forgot to water the plant a month ago! They also do not like soggy conditions, because then the roots drown and dead roots spell dead plant!

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