Tuesday 21 February 2012

Ends and beginnings

Will it be the end of the line for this potted Rosemary plant of mine?


In the most recent spell of very cold weather this plant got severely frosted, and most of its leaves are brown and shrivelled.


The strange thing is that I have several other Rosemary plants, and they seem to be unscathed. The others are growing in open soil rather than in pots, and are in much more exposed positions than the potted one which has been close to the house and allegedly sheltered. I wonder if maybe the potted one is of a different, less robust, variety? I think all of mine have been bought as simply "Rosemary", without being given a specific variety name.

I think the Catalogna chicory is going to have to go as well.


On the other hand, there are some more encouraging signs elsewhere, such as this lovely Purple Sprouting Broccoli:


And the Chives are beginning to grow strongly now:


Now if only I had some home-grown tomatoes at this time of year....

17 comments:

  1. And also some home-grown cucumbers and bell-peppers (capsicum). I am waiting for all these fresh veggies now. My rosemary on the ground have survived the snow so far, though we hardly had any snow. Maybe the potted one got more frozen as the soil in a pot can be finicky.

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  2. Oh I could so eat that Purple Sprouting Broccoli now!

    I need to have a check of my Winter veg and review which are not going to make it. Interestingly my Ruby Chard seems to have fared better that the Green Chard but I’ll give them a little while longer to see if they pick up.

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  3. Your broccoli looks like it could be an organic bridal bouquet. The iris photos (last post) are really fab, so striking. I was just looking over your posts as I'd missed a few. Interesting to see your cloches and how to extend the growing season, I haven't yet got that far. However, I'm most interested in your trip to the Cotswolds as Egretta and I are planning to go in August. Hope you had a really good trip!

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  4. Your poor rosemary! The broccoli looks great though. How come there are stones around your chives? Is there some magic trick I've missed?!

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  5. Hello Everyone; I'm back in the Blogosphere now. Thanks to you all for your comments.

    The gravel around the Chives is a way of suppressing moss. It seems to work well for me.

    Kelli: if you and Egretta are coming over to the UK, we MUST plan to meet. The Cotswolds are only just over an hour away for me.

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  6. I'm guessing the rosemary had too many freezes and thaws in the pot. The ones in the ground stay at a more even temperature which is easier on the plant.

    That broccoli looks wonderful. I'm dreaming of a good broccoli year, but I've never really had one. Maybe this year?

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  7. Aah you're dreaming of tomatoes, I'm tucking into a brekkie of tomatoes and basil from my garden and planning for my purple sprouted broccoli.

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  8. I've had rosemary reshoot just from a bit of root I left in the garden so whether your plant survives will probably depend on the health of its roots more than anything else. Your broccoli looks perfect.

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  9. I think your plant may live. It seems to be only the bigger leaves, the little growing leaves still look good.

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  10. Your photography is amazing, Mark. You make the dying rosemary look beautiful.

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  11. hack the rosemary down and dry it... I still cook with my browning rosemary and it tastes fine!... I love my rosemary plant!

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  12. I took my container grown rosemary into the greenhouse for the winter as I lost one last year that was left outside. Maybe next year you could insulate the pot and cover with fleece.

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  13. I spy bits of new growth on your Rosemary...it should be fine. I'd do as Elaine recommends and also check if the drainage is okay in that particular pot. It might have been blocked and could be sitting with a soggy bottom.

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  14. It might seem a strange thing to say, but your pictures (especially of the chives coming back to life) remind me so fondly of living in England. I grew up in Sydney and live here again but had 5 years in the Fens (Cambridge to be exact. It was an amazing 5 years of gardening,I learnt so much that I could never learn in the warm temperate zones of Sydney. But I used to feel incredibly disturbed when (to me) my chives died in winter - I didn't believe people when they said they would come back to life. And when they did in the still bleak February it was amazing! Enjoy your beautiful crocus and fabulously green and new chives.

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  15. Last year on the plot we lost a couple of large rosemary bushes and one survived. No reason why as they all had the same experiences. One at home was fine but I last year - just in case - also bought a sprawling variety which is supposed to be hardier than the upright bush type

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  16. Is this the same purple sprouting broccoli which you were harvesting towards the back end of last year? I must check mine and see if there's any more to harvest, it's so delicious.

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  17. My rosemary came through unscathed thank goodness, but my sage shrivelled and died....oh well!

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