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Overwintering herbs indoors
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Posted by cpereira Z6 NJ (My Page) on Wed, Nov 2, 05 at 8:16
Hello,
A number of threads suggest bringing herbs like mint, oregano, thyme & rosemary indoors for the winter.
I have questions about care during the winter
1) Should you keep them by a window for light or in a dark place to help them go dormant?
2) Should you water them as you normally wood, or sparsely?
3) When should you trim? When moving them indoors or in the spring?
Thank you. I just found this site yesterday and its been great. This is the first year I'm taking my herbs 'seriously'
Regards,
c. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Overwintering herbs indoors
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| Well, oregano, thyme and rosemary are used to getting their water during the winter, but you don't want them to rot. I'd water them more during the winter, specially if they are indoors in a drying atmosphere. Mint always can take water. About letting go dormant, I have lived too long in a mild climate, don't remember how they go dormant, but I'd stick them all in the sunniest window you can. Rosemary will be very susceptible to mealies while indoors, so I'd check it regularly. |
RE: Overwintering herbs indoors
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- Posted by Kris 8b DFW (My Page) on
Wed, Nov 2, 05 at 17:18
| I don't think those guys need to go dormant. But maybe someone from the arctic north knows better. I would keep them by the light, that way you can use them. I would water as the plants need. It depends on the pot and soil etc. Of the ones you mentioned, mint, oregano, thyme & rosemary, Mint I trim when I want to use it, you can take it down any time, it's not gonna care, it'll come up, leave atleast an inch above the top runners-you can mow mints. Oregano and thyme I would wait til spring unless they really need it, I would wait til spring on rosemary. I would let rosemary have the most sunny spot. I read recently a theory on why rosemary so finicky about being brought inside that said it may be due to it's thick cuticle on it's leaves, that can't take abrupt changes in sunlight. So it said if you slowly bring rosemary in, the opposite of hardening off, it is supposed to do much better inside. |
RE: Overwintering herbs indoors
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| Mint oregano and thyme don't need to come indoors in zone 6, unless you have the in pots above ground. They will go dormant outside because of cold. Having fresh herbs through the winter is the only reason to bring those ones inside. If you do bring them in, trim them as you use the herb. |
RE: Overwintering herbs indoors
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I bring my rosemary in every winter and have little or no trouble with it. One winter it got mildew and I sprayed with a neem oil mix which took care of the problem. They (4 of them) sit in a sunny window and tend to make elongated shoots because of low light levels. So I pinch back during the winter (and use the sprigs I pinch). I do trim off any dead wood before bringing them in but don't otherwise cut back. in spring, if they have gotten leggy, they may need a trim.
Rosemary likes good drainage but can't be allowed to dry out. That means regular watering in a dry house but no standing water in saucers. |
RE: Overwintering herbs indoors
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we get quite cold winters here, though little snow
and i'm in a frost sheltered place, kinda like an anti-frost-pocket but i never bothered to do anything special, just left them in the ground might have to do stuff this winter as its gonna be a hard one, apprently point is a lot of the herbs you grow are quite possibly safest growing outside rosemary and sage seem to have no problems with winter, they are fine even when covered in frost, and mint is almost impossible to kill |
RE: Overwintering herbs indoors
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| I'm near Lk. Erie and winters are brutal. Zone 4-5 depending on the year. I recommend you get a grow light if you bring them indoors. Water when soil is dry down to middle of index finger. Dump out any water in saucer. Keep soil type good draining. I do not fertilize. But I let water breathe min. 24 hrs before used on plants. All my herbs do great and I can harvest year around that way. If you are blessed with sun exposure and a house that allows you to NOT use a grow light, you should be in hog heaven. I lived in South Jersey for awhile. I would definitely bring the plants indoors. |
RE: Overwintering herbs indoors
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| I've never had problems bringing my potted herbs inside and watering them when they need them. We have large windows in both the north and south ends of the house, so light has never been a problem for us. As far as trimming, I let them go as long as their happy and then trim some older parts before I begin acclimating them to being outside in the spring. It gets pretty nasty here in the winter, but what I do for my outdoor herb garden is cut everything down well in advance of the first frost and pile the leaves from the lawn on top of it, maybe a foot deep. All of my perrenials return in the spring more robust than the year before, I probably double my herb harvest each year with this method and the harvested dried herbs usually last through the winter. |
RE: Overwintering herbs indoors
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| I have had best luck wintering my rosemany in a quite large pot. It is very intolerant of drying out, though it needs perfect drainage. Mine is three feet by three feet, but I understand rosemary wants to be five feet tall. |
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