Resurrecting Rosemary

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

I think I may have killed my rosemary plant. Everyone told me they were very drought hardy, so over winter, I pretty much didn't water it, or even look at it unless I needed rosemary. Click the pic to see what it looks like now :/

I've fed it, and have been watering every couple of days. Should I prune it right back to encourage new growth if I haven't completely killed it yet?

Any suggestions much appreciated!

[Phteven]

There's no point in keeping the dead bits. Cut all the dead back until you hit live wood.
Don't over water it. If you puch on the soil and few crumbs of dirt stick to your finger it's wet enough.

[LimeSlice]

Yep, cut it right back.
"Drought hardy" doesn't mean "doesn't require water"... :P

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

Well when you put it like THAT LS

Okay, cut right back. I killed my mint plant as well, that one's gone completely, so I'll hafta replace it. I might buy another rosemary as well, worst case scenario I end up with 2. Or none, lol.

Oh well, at least it wasn't a puppy!

[Phteven]

Killing Mint is a special talent. All you have to do is ignore it.

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

I think I should change my av to something less false-advertisey

[Netix]

Oh well, at least it wasn't a puppy!

Okay, just so you know, puppies aren't "drought resistant".

I thought you had to grow mint in a pot, as if you don't, it grows out of control. ? Or there is one/some varieties of mint tjat won't do that? Anyway, good effort to kill mint! There is a very neglected pot of it in my yard that does NOT get watered or fed.

[Charlotte91]

We tried to kill the rosemary in our backyard. But it right back to the ground. It's all coming back.

[Pholi]

If it had been in the ground, I would expect that it would survive the winter without watering. i give mine a drink every fortnight or sop in the summer, and nothing over winter, so they really are quite tolerant. But in a pot, the soil dries out very quickly, and many potting mixes don't re-wet very well once they've dried out totally. The soil can repel the water, and any rain it does get can just run straight down the side and away, leaving the soil still toitally dry.

I agree with cutting it back in the hope of finding live wood, but also stand the entire pot in a bucket of water for at least a few hours, to thoroughly re-wet the soil. Then take it out (don't forget it and leaved it in water for a week!) and see how it goes.

If all else fails, rosemary is quite easy to grow from a cutting.