In earlier times, rosemary was grown in rooms almost everywhere, and today it is not always found in the catalogs of even the largest nurseries abroad. This is due to the fact that rosemary is not easy to grow at home. The wrong content of this plant is fraught with the drawing and degeneration of rosemary. In a room environment, the only species is cultivated Rosemary officinalis, or Rosemary fragrant (Latin Rosmarinus officinalis L).
Rosemary can grow in the indoor environment, and in the winter garden. It is recommended to start with an already mature plant, purchased in a good garden center. Remember that rosemary needs some time to grow, but it's better to pay a little more expensive for an adult rosemary, rather than for a small sprout.
Rosemary is photophilous and thermophilic, it is unpretentious when cultivated, it grows remarkably in pots, on balconies. In the room, it is grown at the window, because for its normal growth, good lighting is needed. By the way, this kind of plant is a good honeycomb, very decorative, well formed, tolerates low temperatures to -12 ° C. In the warm period of the year, in spring and summer, small purple or bluish small flowers develop in the sinuses of small leaves.
The soil for rosemary must undergo special treatment. You should regularly add a little mineral fertilizer and sometimes spray the leaves.
Rosemary prefers heat and light, but does not tolerate sudden temperature changes.
Soil composition
Rosemary is undemanding to the substrate, it grows well dry lime. He needs water-permeable soil with normal aeration, with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Can grow on crushed and dry sandy soils. It is recommended to add sand or peat for loosening from the calculation of 1/3 of the volume.
Watering
Rosemary just needs a moist substrate. A dry clod of land or, conversely, stagnant water will inevitably lead to the death of the plant.
On hot days, especially if the plant is standing in the open sun, it should be watered abundantly, since with a lack of moisture, the lower leaves of the rosemary begin to turn yellow. On the other hand, excessive watering is also fraught with dropping leaves.
Rosemary has a powerful root system, strongly developed. Thanks to this, rosemary is drought-resistant, but needs regular watering. This plant can withstand the drying of the soil, but when growing in flowerpots, frequent watering is necessary. Rosemary prefers moderate humidity. Since the plant likes dried ground, terracotta pots will please him. Periodically check to see if the rosemary has dried up and baked during the heat.
In winter, you should water the rosemary regularly, but moderately. The plant does not tolerate surplus moisture in winter, but the drying of the earth also can not be tolerated. From poor watering, small roots wither, they are responsible for water absorption. In spring, warmer temperatures should gradually increase watering, which will stimulate the growth of rosemary. With excess moisture, the plant is difficult to cope with, so it dies. Even during wintering at +5 C, the soil should be moistened.
Accommodation
For the summer period it is better to transplant rosemary to a sunny, but sheltered from the winds place in the garden. Wintering the plant should be indoors, for example, in containers, in which it is easy to transfer it to a protected room.
In the absence of a garden, you can take out the rosemary on the balcony, which will enable him to take sunbathing. The plant can be taken out when the threat of frost passes, otherwise the essential oil content in rosemary will decrease.
Rosemary is demanding of lighting. There is a regularity that the more light for it, the more fragrant the leaves are. That's why they try to place it on the southern balconies and windows.
In the room, rosemary is introduced when the temperature begins to tend to 0 C. In autumn, winter, spring, the plant should be placed in the coolest place, but always on a light window.
Rosemary just needs a cold winter for later flowering. It was revealed that in winter, at low plus temperatures in the room where rosemary grows, its bloom is most abundant.