Acclimating rosemary outdoors

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I don’t plant/dig/plant the rosemary plants I winter over–I feel it is too hard on them to repeatedly re-establish. So I keep them in pots, large enough for them to be comfortable in and small enough for me to winter inside feasibly. And carry! This also allows me to indulge in pretty pots for the porch. To harden them off, I start trooping them in & out about now so they spend some cool rainy days outside, then brighter sunny ones, then maybe not bringing them in overnight after a week or so. But as we can have sharp frosts (20’s or less) right into June I never put them farther than an arm’s reach from the door so I can snatch them back in even if I’m on my way to bed when I look at the thermometer. After a few weeks they don’t mind the frost and I can relax. I’ve even had lemon grass come back after a 26 degree night! Now I don’t put the tropicals out until June. I got a lemon & a blood orange plant this winter and they will go out on the porch with the other babies this year. The lemon is flowering now and it is glorious!

About the Author

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4b/5aLocation: rural; just south of British Columbia/Idaho borderGeographic type: foot of Black & Clifty Mountains (foothills of Rockies–the Wet Columbia Mountains in BC climate- speak)Soil type:acid sand (glacial lake bed)/coniferous forestExperience level: intermediate/professionalParticular interests: fragrant & edible plants, hardy bulbs, cottage gardening, alpines, peonies, penstemons & other blue flowers, primulas, antique & species roses & iris; nocturnal flowers Also: owner of Paradise Gardens Rare Plant Nursery

In its own way, frost may be one of the most beautiful things to happen in your garden all year . . . Don’t miss it. Like all true beauty, it is fleeting. It will grace your garden for but a short while this morning. . . . For this moment, embrace frost as the beautiful gift that it is.

~Philip Harnden in A Gardener’s Guide to Frost: Outwit the Weather and Extend the Spring and Fall Seasons

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