Rosemary advice

[eugenev2]

Hi All,

I have this rosemary that i think needs to be relocated, it's in a location with less than optimal sun and probably too much watering for a rosemary. It's currently under my shade netting, which has an added level of shading provided by two big trees, under the shade netting i have automatic sprinklers as well, as there are a number of plants there that have a much higher watering requirement.

So when considering moving this plant, i thought, why not try and make a bonsai out of it, but i see other threads advising against ground grown rosemary, so any suggestions/alternatives, and if making a bonsai out of it is a possibility, what digging process should i follow?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Rosemary is a desert shrub, so the key to success is remembering that they live in hot, dry climates.

The key is in the roots. As a desert plant, they tend to run deep, and be long and fibrous, and they tend to be sensitive to abuse. The challenging part will be lifting your shrub without losing too much root mass, and getting it settled in new free-draining soil before the heat of summer. Once established in bonsai soil, they tend to be pretty hardy - as long as you don't overwater.

Stay away from acidic soils and acid fertilizer. They do best in poor inorganic soils. Definitely stay away from organic elements in your soil mix - potting soil, loamy mulch, etc.

 

[eugenev2]

Rosemary is a desert shrub, so the key to success is remembering that they live in hot, dry climates.

The key is in the roots. As a desert plant, they tend to run deep, and be long and fibrous, and they tend to be sensitive to abuse. The challenging part will be lifting your shrub without losing too much root mass, and getting it settled in new free-draining soil before the heat of summer. Once established in bonsai soil, they tend to be pretty hardy - as long as you don't overwater.

Stay away from acidic soils and acid fertilizer. They do best in poor inorganic soils. Definitely stay away from organic elements in your soil mix - potting soil, loamy mulch, etc.

This part might be a challenge for me, if our weather continues the way its going as we've had one of the hottest spring's on record averaging 34C (93F) but even going up to 37C(98F) and surprisingly our spring has had more days hot than our summer, but hopefully this was all a result of EL nino.

The part that might possibly be a issue is digging it up, i've seen people recommend "spading" around the tree the summer before digging up, illustrated below. Finally in the spring, essentially filling in the gaps as per below picture and digging the plant up, would this help in the survivability or is it better to dig up in one go?



Also how wide should one make the hole around the plant as well as depth (estimation)? Resources seem to indicate the diameter of the spread of the stems, so in this case about 60cm (23.6"), but they don't really cover depth

 

[Ruddigger]

I can tell you that from my experience I’ve learned that digging a rosemary is risky. Dont bareroot it, just dig it and put it in a large pot with good bonsai soil around it. Work the rootball back in subsequent repots.

Rosemary are Mediterranean and drought tolerant in the ground, but once they are in a bonsai pot they become the thirstiest trees in my collection. Do not underwater them.

 

[TiMe25]

Any feedback on sucees to repotting of Rosemary? I have a big one in garden, but I was thinking to "split" just part of trunk for a bonsai and leabe rest in the garden.

Did anyone tried this before?

 

[eugenev2]

Any feedback on sucees to repotting of Rosemary? I have a big one in garden, but I was thinking to "split" just part of trunk for a bonsai and leabe rest in the garden.

Did anyone tried this before?

So i was asking about this in advance to prepare for spring...ie now....but after all the comments regarding the difficulties i sort of abandoned the idea, as it is currently my only decent growing and large rosemary...also we use this for cooking

But i might revisit the idea now as i got a small plant to replace the larger...i say might as i'm very hesitant...i like this shrub and have done a fair amount of effort to get it back in to a healthy state...

But i'll keep this thread updated if i do