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Growing rosemary at home in a pot is a multifunctional process. An exotic plant will become an interior decoration, replenish the collection of indoor flowers, it can be used as a seasoning for meat dishes, the plant has healing properties. In order for rosemary to take root and not lose its decorative effect, it is necessary to properly plant the plant and create a favorable environment for the growing season.
Is it possible to grow rosemary at home
The birthplace of rosemary is the Mediterranean, two types of culture grow in the wild – ordinary rosemary and prostrate. Common rosemary is suitable for home growing in an apartment. Low-growing herbaceous shrub thermophilic, does not tolerate low temperatures. Perennial will bloom indoors only with sufficient light. These features are taken into account when determining the location.
The plant perceives high temperatures normally, it is recommended to take rosemary in the summer to a balcony or veranda, it can be placed in an open area with periodic shading. Culture in winter at rest should be at home with an air temperature of +160C.
The best place to grow rosemary at home is on a windowsill on the south or east side. If this is not possible, the western or northern one will do, in which case it is necessary to create additional lighting. For the formation of healthy foliage, photosynthesis requires a significant amount of ultraviolet light.
Another condition for the normal cultivation of a crop at home is a sufficient supply of oxygen. In the warm season, rosemary is placed near an open window. During flowering, the herbaceous shrub does not tolerate the change in night and day temperatures, so the window is closed in the evening. Care must be taken that the indoor flower is not in a draft.
Growing a herbaceous shrub on a plot in the conditions of the climate is a rather laborious process. Rosemary with low frost resistance needs additional shelter in the fall to keep the roots from freezing. Even protection from frost does not guarantee that the culture will not die. Therefore, the best option is to grow rosemary at home on the windowsill.
Methods for growing rosemary at home on a windowsill
At home, growing shrubs is possible in several ways:
- cuttings;
- seeds;
- branches or shoot tips.
Planting material is purchased in specialized stores or seedlings are obtained independently from seeds. The best and most effective option for home breeding is cuttings. Growing rosemary at home from seeds is a long process; planting material does not always sprout. If the young shoots have risen together, some of the shoots may die due to improper care:
- unsuitable soil composition;
- excessive watering;
- moisture deficiency;
- low temperature in the house.
How to plant rosemary at home
In order to plant a crop, seedlings are preliminarily prepared. Instructions on how to grow rosemary from seeds at home:
- 48 hours before placing in the soil, the seeds are soaked in a solution of manganese, then carefully laid out on a damp cloth.
- A prerequisite for germination at home is that the fabric and seeds must be constantly wet.
- After 4 days, sprouts will appear, the material is ready for growing seedlings.
- Seeds are deepened into the soil by 1 cm.
- Cover with a film on top, make holes for air to enter.
- Cleaned in a room with a constant temperature of +200 C.
- Moisturize every day with a spray bottle.
Seedlings for further growing rosemary at home are sown in February. After about 21 days, the seeds will sprout.
Rosemary is grown at home from cuttings in the following way:
- cut last year’s branch;
- leaves are removed from the bottom;
- make an oblique cut, place in wet sand or in a glass of water;
- sand is constantly moistened.
The stalk will give roots, it can be planted.
For home growing layering:
- in spring, tilt the lower branch to the ground;
- fixed with staples;
- covered with soil on top.
By autumn, the layering will take root, next spring it will be ready for transplantation. The method of home growing rosemary with shoot tips is rarely used, it is less effective.
Terms of planting
Planting time for growing rosemary at home is determined by the readiness of the planting material. Seedlings from seeds are suitable for planting when they reach 10 cm in height. The cuttings should give enough root shoots for home cultivation, and the cuttings should take root. As a rule, work at home is carried out from spring to mid-summer. In autumn, the plant is not planted, the culture slows down the growing season by winter, there is no guarantee that the seedling will take root.
Preparation of containers and soil
The root system of rosemary is branched, superficial. A young seedling forms a root for the first year at home, then the crown begins to grow. A container for rosemary is chosen with an average height of about 20 cm, always wide. The first year, the seedling can be placed for home cultivation in a container 10 cm wider than the root system. A year later, rosemary needs a transplant, a permanent pot is chosen with the same condition, it should be 15 cm wider than the root. For better oxygen enrichment, preference is given to natural material: wood, clay. A drainage hole is required at the bottom of the container.
Before planting, the pot is treated with boiling water. Prepare a nutrient mixture consisting of the ratio of parts:
- sod layer – 2;
- coarse sand – 1;
- organic – 1;
- peat – 2.
Planting soil can be purchased at the store.
How to plant
If rosemary is planted at home with seeds, seedlings are planted from a common container when they grow up to 10 cm. A separate pot is determined for each seedling, together they will not be able to fully develop due to a branched root system, one plant will crowd out another.
In the case of breeding at home by layering, the rooted branch is cut off from the mother bush, carefully, with soil, transferred to a pot, cut off the top. The cutting, with a well-grown root system, when transplanted into a pot, also cut off the upper part. This measure is necessary for the formation of lateral processes. Less often, a culture is grown at home with the tip of an annual shoot. Cut off by about 6 cm and immediately placed in the ground, the survival rate of rosemary is within 45%.
Landing algorithm:
- A layer of drainage is placed at the bottom of the pot: expanded clay, small pebbles or gravel.
- Above – coarse sand.
- Divide the mixture into 2 parts, ½ of the total mass is poured into a pot.
- Make a recess along the width of the root.
- The plant is placed vertically, the roots are disassembled so that they do not intertwine.
- Add the remaining soil, compact, water.
A dome made of polyethylene with holes made is installed on top. Cleaned in a warm, bright place. After a week, the shelter is removed, if the plant is accepted at home, it no longer needs the greenhouse effect.
How to care for rosemary growing in a pot at home
Rosemary is not an unpretentious plant, it requires certain criteria for home cultivation. If the bush begins to bloom, this is the first sign that all the rules for growing are met.
Creating a microclimate
In summer, rosemary is in the vegetative stage, the optimum temperature for the formation of leaves and flowers is +25 … +280 C. Care for rosemary at home in winter, when the plant has stopped growing, involves lowering the temperature to +150 C. It is not easy to create the necessary microclimate at home. To reduce the temperature regime, the flower is placed on the windowsill closer to the glass and away from the heaters. For cooling, a container with ice or snow is placed near the cache-pot.
Humidity for home cultivation in the winter season is a necessary indicator. The central heating makes the air very dry. The bush begins to hurt, the crown loses its decorative effect. To increase humidity, the plant is sprayed, placed in a pan with expanded clay or pebbles, and water is poured.
Waterlogging can cause root rot and shrub death. If installed correctly, the water evaporates and creates the necessary moisture near the rosemary.
If, when grown at home for the summer, rosemary is taken out to the site, periodic shading is normal. In the room, the grassy shrub should not be in the shade. Lighting is required for home cultivation of at least 8 hours a day. If necessary, install fluorescent lamps, they can be left on at night, rosemary responds well to daily lighting. In order for the crown to develop evenly at home, the planter is turned once every 1 days to the opposite side from the window.
How to water rosemary in pots
Watering rosemary is required in the same way as all biological species. Here you need to decide on the mode. Too waterlogged soil for shrubs is detrimental, and a lack of moisture slows down the growing season. Constantly moist soil at home does not allow air to pass through, and the rosemary root system is demanding for a sufficient supply of oxygen. If after watering in the pan for 30 minutes. there is water, the procedure is too frequent and the amount of moisture is plentiful. Watering should be reduced in frequency and volume.
Rosemary grows best indoors if the topsoil dries out between waterings. The irrigation regime depends on the location of the crop. In the open air, daily spraying in the morning and evening and one watering every 10 days are sufficient. If at home rosemary in a pot stands on the window, care becomes more complicated. Spraying the plant is undesirable, with poor air circulation, a fungal infection may develop. To determine the frequency of soil moisture at home, flower growers use the following method. After the procedure, do not water rosemary until the leaves begin to wither. Calculate the time and subtract 2 days. In winter, watering at home is reduced to a minimum – once a month will be enough.
Why does rosemary dry in a pot
A home-grown shrub may stop growing and begin to dry for several reasons:
- lack of moisture – it is necessary to increase watering;
- poor air ventilation – the room must be ventilated;
- the pot for the plant is too cramped – a transplant into a larger container is required;
- waterlogging of the soil – the root system rots. The plant is dug up, the roots are washed, the missing fragments are removed, the soil is changed, watering is reduced.
In winter, the shrub dries at home at high temperatures and low humidity, these problems must be eliminated.
Top dressing schedule
To care for rosemary at home, be sure to include plant nutrition. The volume of soil in the pot is small, the root system intensively absorbs nutrients, the soil is depleted. For full-fledged cultivation at home, it is impossible to feed the crop throughout the year in a row, an excess of trace elements can have the opposite effect – rosemary loses its decorative effect, stops growing and does not bloom. Feeding schedule for home growing:
- in the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are dissolved, applied along with irrigation for 3 weeks;
- in the summer at home, 2 weeks are fertilized with phosphorus, a solution under the root along with watering;
- then give potassium according to the same scheme;
- in autumn, granules with microelements are laid in the soil, they are purchased in a store, the composition is selected, taking into account the fact that home cultivation on acidic soils is undesirable.
In winter, when the shrub is at rest, fertilizers are not applied.
When to Cut Rosemary
Growing at home provides for the need to form a crown. The first pruning of rosemary is carried out when the bush grows up to 20 cm. During this time, the central branches become stiff, stiff. Cut off young shoots in the spring, after flowering. Thus, the crown is formed, the cut shoots are used in cooking. The culture retains its spice qualities if the shoots are dried in a shaded, well-ventilated area. In autumn, pruning is not carried out at home.
Conclusion
Growing rosemary at home in a pot, subject to the conditions for care, is not difficult. Mandatory requirement: compliance with the temperature regime, a sufficient amount of ultraviolet radiation, fresh air and the frequency of top dressing. A plant with a decorative crown and bright purple flowers will be a worthy decoration of a home interior and will complement the diet with spicy seasoning.
