Tips for Caring Your Rosemary

Rosemary is one of my favourite herbs, and the scent of a rosemary plant is a favourite of many gardeners. However, keeping rosemary in a tropical climate is not as easy as I thought. I have killed so many before I really get the idea of how to care for them in a tropical climate as I live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Everywhere I read about how to care for rosemary plants, everyone keeps saying it's a hardy plant and easy to grow as long as the soil is well-draining soil because the roots are sensitive to water as it rots easily. And when I bought them from some local nurseries, they will say the same. I kept buying them countless times as I do not want to give up until I know why I keep killing them.

I tried soil mixed with sand, perlite, leca (clay pebbles), and a combination of all I mentioned here. With the only one objective, to keep the soil very well-drained.

But, unfortunately, despite being too careful in watering them, knowing that rosemary is too sensitive to water. I killed them anyway, and it is very frustrating.

So, here I am want to share my tips hoping that everyone will benefit from it without going through the same trouble and frustration I experienced. I really hope you will give it another try if you guys have removed this plant from your list.

WATER

Yes, everyone keeps saying the roots rot easily if too much water. We all know that now. But, my mistake was, I was too worried that I overwater them, which made me underwater them.

Back then, I poured water into the planter, and when I saw water flowing out from the bottom, I stopped. This caused underwater, and why? See my drawing on the left.

As you can see from the drawing, you can see that the water is actually flowing through the planter, not through the soil, as most of it flowed through the small gap between the soil and the planter. And very little water being absorbed into the soil. I hope my drawing here explains it well.

So, what I am doing now is to water them, as you can see in my drawing below. I put the rosemary planter into a container and water it until I filled up the container underneath, and I will let it sit in the water for 10 minutes. This will give enough time for the water to be well absorbed into the soil. Then, I will remove the whole planter from the container. Once I remove it from the container, I will see the excess water in the soil will slowly drain out.

LIGHT

Rosemary loves sun, but be careful! From a lot of article i read, they keep saying it is very hardy and can withstand the direct hot sun. But, remember, in tropical climates, that will kill it! So, I will be very careful with that "direct sun" here in the tropics. I would suggest bright area but not direct sun. I have killed many too from this error.

SOIL

As you already know, rosemary is very sensitive to water as the roots will rot easily. So, I will ONLY use well-draining soil. Mix it with perlite or leca (clay pebbles), or you can mix it with some river sands. For me, I will use both perlite and river sand. It works very well for my rosemary.

TEMPERATURE

Not to worry about temperature. In the tropics, rosemary grow very well as long as we keep them away from direct sun. The plant will thrive.

HUMIDITY

We can take this out from the equation as it will not have any effect. Based on my experience keeping rosemary during winter in Calgary, Canada, where the humidity level is very dry vs in Kuala Lumpur, with high humidity levels constantly throughout the year. They are doing very well in both climates.

Last but not least, let me know how your experience after you have tried my tips above in caring for your rosemary. I so looking forward to hearing from you if my tips here have helped you guys.

And now look, my rosemary is super happy and started to have some flower buds, and I can't wait to see them bloom. Thanks for reading, and please subscribe to my blog so you will receive notifications on more tips from me.

COMMON PROBLEM

• Leaves will start to turn black - Overwater. It also shows the roots beginning to rot.

• Leaves will start to wilting down and slowly turning black - Underwater.

• Acclimatisation - It is crucial to acclimatise your plants when you bring them home. The environment at the nursery is purposely set up for plant growth. So, when we get them back home. Slowly acclimatise it before putting them outside your home. Doing so will kill the plant.