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emmybee93

My rosemary will not grow!

emmybee93
11 years ago

Hi, so I planted these two rosemary creepers about 2 months ago. I live in Australia, so it is currently 30 degrees most days (about 85 Fahrenheit). Keep in mind I only started gardening about 10 months ago so I'm not too knowledgeable yet. I put them in a 1.5 x 4 metre garden bed (just over 1 metre apart) in very rich fertile soil. I water them once every two days, I put seasol on them once every 2 weeks or so and since I bought them they have grown MAYBE 2 centimeters. I wanted them to take over this garden bed. Is there something I should be doing to help them grow a little faster, is this growth normal? Or am I doing something wrong?? Help me!! Thanks.

Comments (10)

  • flora_uk
    11 years ago

    Rosemary doesn't need rich soil or fertiliser. It is a plant of the rocky Mediterranean hillsides, not rich, lush meadows. It is a woody shrub and as such 2 cm growth in 2 months is not bad for something newly planted. I would stop feeding it and be patient.

  • wally_1936
    11 years ago

    Yes Rosemary does much of it growing once the weather warms up. Not much change in cold weather.

  • emmybee93
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Ok thank you :) I will try to be more patient.

  • Aindra
    11 years ago

    I have a couple rosemary plants and I agree they grow slowly. I also made a mistake of fertilizing them. They didn't like it so I stopped and they're doing much better.

    My second rosemary got started last spring and it's just about a foot high now. It's almost year old. Granted, it's in a container and I live in a cool, wet climate so your rosemary might grow bigger and faster than mine.

  • eahamel
    11 years ago

    85ðF should be warm enough for rosemary to grow. Wally, she's in Australia, opposite seasons from ours.

    Emmy, it may be making roots, or may be slowed down by the pampering you're giving it.

  • wally_1936
    11 years ago

    I find for me that my Rosemary seems to set and think for a year or so then it takes off. Mine got to be over four foot and just as wide by the third year. But then I did a dumb thing as I thought that burying the branch ends in the soil would give me a quick way to produce new plants. Seems that killed my plant but I did manage to do some cuttings that sprouted and was able to salvage my error by replacing the parent plant with a new start. So now I will only do cuttings to start new plants. I have a cousin who lives in a cooler climate and her Rosemary must be about 8-10 years old and she says she do not do much to take care of her Rosemary plants.

  • captaininsano (9b/13) Peoria, AZ.
    11 years ago

    I agree, I planted rosemary this time last year (the beginning of March) and it seemed that everything else surpassed it by double for the entire year, even the heat of the summer did not do much for it ( I live in Peoria Arizona with 100F+ temps for more than 5 months of the year it must have been working on its root system because over the past 3 months it has increased approx. 5 times its original size standing about 3 feet tall and about 2 feet wide I expected it to trail but it all seems to be vertical growth...not much work other than watering it, they are just slow growers but you end up with very hardy plants.

  • kaliaman
    11 years ago

    duplicate conditions where its native for best results...mediterranean soil is limey, rocky, low fertility, has excellent water drainage. rosemary prefers full sun, perfect for a rock garden, it won't do so well in a fertile garden bed...too fertile, too damp.

  • zzackey
    11 years ago

    Sound like way too much water. They like it on the dry side and they are slow growers. Mine grow alot faster in the ground. They need a dry spot if you are planting them in the ground. I water them deeply once a week. Maybe more if it gets above 90 degrees.

  • margowicz
    11 years ago

    Also don't forget there are several types of rosemary I got comman rosemary like zackey saiys they like dry so in Ireland I water mine once a week with maybe 100ml water (pots)

    I got miss jessop white rosemary also miss jessop must have grown about half a foot while the white would have bairly grown an inch