More Rosemary Dying

Q. My Tuscan rosemary is in trouble. It appears to be dying.

A. Tuscan is a nice upright rosemary variety with good color and density that is grown for cooking and its oil content. It has very few insect and disease problems. We will occasionally see aphids and spittle bugs but nothing to get overly excited about.

Tuscan is an upright rosemary variety good for herb production

            Rosemary prefers soils that have been improved with compost and organic surface mulches such as wood chips. The soils must drain well. They do not like rock mulch at all and frequently die a few years after being planted.

When these plants die it is usually due to soil problems. Roots have a tough time "breathing" because of poor drainage. Most of the time these soil problems cause the roots and stem of the plant to die. The plant collapses during the heat of summer because roots are dead.

Avoid planting rosemary in low spots or where water accumulates. These conditions suffocate roots. It is possible to replant in this spot but remove as much of the soil as possible and replace it with the soil that drains easily.

This particular root disease may linger in this infected soil and cause future problems.