actually, Rosemary comes from Mediterranean mountain sides, and it likes it kind of dry.

That said...

Everywhere I ever lived, I had one or two in-ground... and this time, I went with three plants. :)

Moni

I'm one of the in-ground rosemary camp. I'd always had it in ground, then when I moved I potted it up and tried in a pot, and it died. So I planted two plants in the ground last summer, and they stayed green and tasty all winter long. Here they are in May of this year...

Yay! Thank you, moni. So it was just coincidence that I've never heard anyone have it in ground.

My soil is a bit clayish under the top soil. Does it mind when it rains a lot (not that this is a serious issue here.)? I'd say I can keep at least 3" of good working topsoil for it and a mulch when necessary. The subsoil roots will need to fend for themselves.
.

I know it will survive ME better in the ground with some long roots. hahaha

bonnie

This post was edited by ChickenCoupe on Tue, Jun 25, 13 at 17:29

I've killed five (yes, FIVE!) rosemary plants in pots in succession. Too wet, too dry, I have made every mistake out there. This year I put our plant in the ground and it has been growing happily there since April. I would plant it out! Anyway, growing outdoors in oklahoma builds character for the plant. Haha.

Charlotte

Charlotte;

hahaha builds character for everyone and everything with our weather. Thanks for your input. I killed quite a few until this one!

I have my rosemary in the ground here in Southeast Kansas; it survived last Winter (which isn't saying much, really).

I have it in a small raised bed against the south side of our house in between some shasta daisies and rudbeckia.

I never knew that rosemary had pretty flowers.

I have mine in the ground. I would say depends on the variety. I cannot remember what variety I have now, but it survived all winter with little to no care. The last variety I got from Lowes (bonnie plants) I had to pile leaves on it to protect it. This one I got from the farmer's market. I will try to remember what it is.

Great topic. I have a 2 yr old rosemary and was wondering if it would stand ok winters on south of house.
Broad leaf sage hates the pot can I put it in the ground as well? Love fresh herbs just don't know what will stand ok cold winters. I grow all mine from seed and it's hard to grow some and don't wan't to send them to there death.
All help is welcome and thanks.
Tree

I have had sage in the ground for 20 years--not the same plant, started with fresh ones a couple times. And have had Rosemary in the ground for the last two winters. I mulch it and it is planted in a bed 5 ft away from the south side of the greenhouse, so blocked from north winds.

Bon, I have grown it both in the ground (but, with heavy clay soil, I am careful to have it in a raised bed of well-amended clay where it can survive extreme periods of rain in late winter and early spring) and in pots. It tolerates a lot of dry weather and heat in pots. I had mine in morning sun/afternoon shade in a 4-gallon pot in the summer of 2011 when it was extremely hot and dry and no rain was falling. I watered it about once every two weeks and it was fine.

I believe the one I have is "Arp" and it is pretty cold-hardy, having survived temperatures here as low as 1 degree.

Dawn

Every herb I plant in the ground comes back in the spring whether I want it to or not. Even my basil seeded itself and babies have been popping up in odd places. Lemon balm, onion chives, garlic chives, sage, Greek thyme....it all came back and the lavender and the rosemary never noticed winter. Even the peppermint that basically cooks in a huge tub every summer comes back after every winter. It's only confined to the tub because of the horror stories my mom tries to scare me with regarding mint and its dedication and potential to take over the world once it has beaten my garden into submission,

My daughter just said it all, nothing for me to add anymore. :)

Moni

Seeker, you have my respects. Growing rosemary from seed is not for the week gardener!

Dawn, thanks for that. Now I know where it'll be most happy. We've discussed soil a lot. You know what I mean. Since I don't know what variety, I'll plant it on the south side since mulberry made the awesome suggestion of a north wind barrier.

Ezzi, , I think I got a sprig from someone and stuck it in water for over a year. Seriously. I was afraid to pot it because all the sprigs prior would die within 2 weeks This one is doing pretty well, but I'm pushing the envelope.

Okievegan I noticed volunteer parsley and dill! While this excites me I fumbled my memory of those who consider dill invasive and thank my lucky stars it is in a raised bed planter!

But this year feels extremely rich and I finally am seeing some fruition of what little I could dedicate the last two years. And I didn't plant a garden this year! How ironic.

In these areas I worked hard to implement soil amendments for which I studied vigorously. Remember that obsession? It paid off as well as you good folks always offering up your experience.

Thank you.

no visible wilt at all, on my rosemary or my other herbs. My forsythia looked droopy... but it already looks better this morning.

I was gone for two weeks. Didn't ask anyone to water. Everything looks fine, except the potatoes. Should have dug them out prior to leaving.

Now I have to water that area, to be able to dig. Ground is way to dry to dig otherwise.

Moni

okievegan, That's what I love about herbs. Plant them once, and you'll have most of them forever. Mine reseed everywhere, but I don't mind it. I leave the volunteers where I want them, and yank out the rest. If I didn't like chamomile so much, it would be irritating because I'd consider it monstrously invasive. Since it pops up everywhere and it pops up early in spring, it attracts beneficial insects early in the year and that is always welcome.

Bon, Well, it likely is frustrating that you don't have a big garden in what has been, so far, a fairly average summer, weather-wise, but there's always next year, and hopefully your health will continue to improve so you'll be ready for planting time in 2014.

I've grown mint in the ground in my veggie garden and it spread very well, but not to the point of becoming a problem. Then we had a horrific drought year and it dried up and died. I don't have many invasive plant issues, except for herbs and flowers that reseed volunteers every year. The plants that thrive in our dense clay in wet years die in the very dry years, and the ones that thrive in dry clay die in the very wet years. There's very few plants that are equally happy in dense, slow-draining clay in both very dry and very wet years. That likely is a blessing in disguise because it pretty much keeps anything from taking over too much territory.

Moni, While you were gone I dug over 300 lbs. of potatoes....before the ground dried out and got hard. All I have still in the ground is the late potato variety. I know the ground is hard and will be hard to dig, but I've got one foot of grass clipping mulch on it, so maybe the ground won't be as hard as I'm expecting. The plants still look good, so I won't have to deal with digging them for a few more weeks.

Dawn

I have a prostrate rosemary that has been in the ground in sandy soil with good drainage for years. Its at least six feet in diameter and blooms heavily all winter. I get volunteer seedlings from it and its also easy to find a stem that is rooted since it roots as it grows along getting wider and wider, just cut one off and start a new plant.

Also I have two of an unknown upright type I planted from cuttings I got from a shrub that was up the street that has been growing in a spot for years except its a bit too shady. The ones I planted in full sun look much thicker and have wintered two years.

I would not plant in clay, if its clay or heavy soil that gets real muddy when it rains, I'd remove that dirt and replace it with a bag of topsoil mixed with a bag of concrete grade coarse sand. Cost about $4.00 total from Home Depot.

Rosemary is very easy to root from cuttings so you could just root some for backup and plant it in the ground or maybe just layer a stem from your plant in the soil for a new plant to keep just in case its not a hardy type.

For me, culinary sage gets a bit ratty looking and less productive so I start new plants when that happens.

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Jul 3, 13 at 14:57