Growing rosemary in the open ground: we do everything right
What can be grown in the garden besides tomatoes and cucumbers? Many do not even know, that on your site you can grow such an interesting plant as rosemary. This is a shrub, growing and caring for which in the open ground is nothing complicated. The main thing, know the intricacies of these processes. Our today's article will tell about them.
subtleties of cultivation
Rosemary is a perennial and evergreen shrub, whose leaves resemble pine needles. In addition to the unusual appearance of the bush smells nice, as it releases volatiles into the air. This plant belongs to the family of butterbur. If its cultivation was properly organized, then in the open ground this shrub can grow to a sufficient height (up to 2 meters). In the wild, the plant is found on the Mediterranean coast. However, organizing proper care for him, the plant can be planted even in the suburbs.
Growing rosemary on the windowsill or in the open involves only two nuances:
- lighting. The bush should grow in a well lit place. It is worth noting, that wintering plants can be carried out at home. At this time, the rosemary pot must be additionally illuminated with special biolamps;
- moderate watering. If the soil is wet, there is a risk of root rot.
You have to remember, that for the winter young plants should be covered or transplanted into flower pots. At this time, the care of the bush will be slightly different, which was in the open ground.
In everything else, growing and caring for rosemary is not difficult and even a schoolboy can handle it..
Video "How to grow rosemary"
In this video you will see, how to properly grow this crop.
Planting and care
Growing rosemary always starts with planting it. But to achieve a positive result here, the following rules must be followed:
- it is a heat-loving and light-loving plant. Therefore, frost will be detrimental to him. Therefore, planting in the ground after the winter should be carried out after that, when the threat of frost has passed. With landing in this case it is better not to hurry;
- the soil should be loose, light and calcareous. Landing in bold, acidic and heavy soil will kill the bush.
The very planting of this plant can be done, as well as reproduction, four methods:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- taps;
- dividing the bush.
The most common are two ways - planting seeds or cuttings. From the seeds at home you can get excellent seedlings, for further planting in open ground. Seeds should be sown for seedlings in late winter - February. Although sowing is allowed in early March. Planting material is sown in the ground to a depth 0,3-0,4 cm. Their watering should be moderate. About a month after the first shoots, they can be transplanted into individual pots.
Landing in open ground is carried out only after the establishment of warm weather. Here you need to use the scheme 50 X 50 cm. But if you do not intend to grow a shrub under 2 meters in height, then you can reduce the distance between plants to 10 cm.
After landing, to get a healthy and tall rosemary bush, it needs proper care. In this case, care should consist of the following points:
- regular and moderate watering. If it is insufficient, then the rosemary leaves will turn yellow, and with excess moisture - to fall off;
- weeding;
- loosening the soil. This procedure should be performed after watering;
- top dressing. Mullein solution can be used as fertilizer here, which was prepared in proportion 1: 5. The use of organic and mineral fertilizers is also allowed. After winter, rosemary should be fed with nitrogen fertilizers. Thanks to them, the plant will form a developed and strong root system. But in the fall you should prefer phosphate fertilizers;
- pruning. It is carried out when growing rosemary on an industrial scale. It is held once in 7-8 years. Pruning is done to ground level. Thus rejuvenation of a bush is carried out. When growing in gardens, formative pruning is carried out. The best time for this will be March or April.
When growing rosemary in cold regions, an important point of care will be to shelter it for the winter. This will reduce the negative effects of cold on the plant. After all, in severe frosts, the bushes can freeze. In a warm climate, where mild winters, you can not take cover.
Most gardeners prune shrubs for the winter and transplant into flower pots. It, definitely, the most reliable way to grow rosemary in the middle lane.
As we see, care for this plant is not difficult.
reproduction
As mentioned above, Rosemary can be propagated in four different ways: cuttings, seeds, dividing the bush and layering. In addition, you can just buy ready-made seedlings in the nursery. This will minimize the cost of effort and time to grow seedlings. However, you should make purchases only in proven stores, who have a good reputation.
Each variant of reproduction of this plant has its advantages and disadvantages. And any method can be implemented in the open ground. The gardener independently chooses a method of reproduction.
Propagation of rosemary cuttings is as follows:
- at the end of June it is necessary to cut off from a bush the developed young shoots;
- their length should be close 8-10 cm;
- then the lower ends of the obtained cuttings are inserted into the soil at an angle of 45o. Depths c 5 cm will be enough. The distance between adjacent cuttings should be at least 10 cm.
If all the above manipulations were done correctly, then the cut shoots will take root quickly enough and begin to grow in a new place of growth.
Cuttings can be placed in a container before planting in the ground, filled with water. In it, the cut shoots will be able to form roots faster, that simplify their adaptation to a new place of growth. They can also be planted in a peat container, to which river sand was added. To accelerate the further survival of the plant, the container with it should be placed in a sunny place. When the bush grows stronger and grows up, it should be transplanted into open ground. You can even grow it in special mini-greenhouses.
The division of the adult bush is carried out by dividing its rhizome into several parts. They should be planted in a bed of spicy herbs or flowers. Though, that the method of dividing the bush is not very difficult to implement, rosemary is often propagated by seeds or cuttings.
Control of diseases and pests
Rosemary has pronounced medicinal and antibacterial properties. Therefore, it is characterized by high resistance to various diseases. But in a situation, when caring for the bush was wrong, the plant may be exposed to pathogenic microflora, as well as pests.
The most common cause of the disease is improper watering or excess sunlight. If you normalize care, then the plant will be able to quickly cope with the disease on their own.
In the open ground rosemary bushes can be attacked by the following pests:
- wingless;
- aphid;
- shield;
- spider mite.
To combat them will have to use a variety of disinfectants, insecticides, as well as folk remedies. Each type of parasite requires the use of certain tools to control it.
Following the simple rules of care, you can easily and simply grow a rosemary bush in your garden.
Video "Effective reproduction"
You will learn from the video, how to effectively reproduce this culture.
