This happens every year. Whistling an optimistic tune, I pick up a rosemary plant or two from work and pot it up for the porch. We cook with it all summer, water it, make sure it's happy. Then comes fall. I tuck it closer to the house as frost threatens and it cheerfully puts out new growth. All is well, yes? We love cooking with herbs, so the poor rosemary gets moved indoors as nights dip into the 30s. Wonderful! we think, it's stew season and rosemary is perfect! The poor bugger is doomed. Once the rosemary crosses the threshold it's days are numbered.
This year, though, I thought I could pull it off. We swapped bedrooms, so now the study is in the southeast corner and a nice sunny window is available for plants. Until the turtle came to stay for six weeks, that is. We enjoy babysitting the turtles, but one of them gets my sunny spot. The rosemary and it's basil pals were once again relegated to the back kitchen door/pantry. They get plenty of sun there, but unfortunately, it's the back door. And as the main point of entry, it's drafty. All it took was one night when the chef left the door cracked as he was baking bread. We tried resuscitation, but, well, once again, I've killed the rosemary.
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I didn't realize rosemary was so touchy as an indoor plant! I planned on growing some this winter once my sunny south window becomes available. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to put a link of this post up on the cod page!
I kill mine every winter too....I'll have to see if I can find a warmer, sunnier spot this year. So far it is still hanging in there. I notice that mine seems to get a dusty, white covering on the leaves. Is this normal or is it a fungus?
ReplyDeleteEvidently rosemary likes warmth and humidity, rare commodities indoors in a Chicago winter.
ReplyDeleteKim - that sounds like powdery mildew. Rosemary naturally has a greyish cast to the leaves, but not bright white or flaky. A fungicide will work, but since you're planning to eat the leaves, it might be better to start over.