Last updated on September 26th, 2022 at 09:04 am
Rosemary is one of the most appreciated herbs around the world. Its enticing aroma and adaptive nature have made this plant the choice of many gardeners. Nonetheless, as with most herbs, longevity is an important aspect considered before planting it.
So, If you haven’t grown Rosemary before, you may be concerned about how long this plant can survive.
Therefore you may ponder, “how long do Rosemary plants live?†Rosemary is an evergreen shrub and can survive a long period in an ideal planting condition. The average lifespan of a rosemary plant is ten years. Nevertheless, some rosemary shrubs can last as long as 15 to 20 years.
What Is The Lifespan Of A Rosemary Plant?
A good percentage of gardeners and plant lovers worldwide appreciate the rosemary plant for its very long lifespan.
A potted rosemary plant can survive for a good number of years. However, to keep the plant blooming year after year, you must evaluate the plant size and root each spring.
Repotting rosemary every spring in new soil significantly helps in increasing its lifespan. But for this plant to survive this long.
| You’ll have to provide certain conditions, including the following. |
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How To Keep Rosemary Alive All Through Its Lifespan?
Rosemary plants indeed last a very long time after they are planted. Some plants cultivated together with rosemary die and are replanted while a rosemary plant is still in its lifespan.
However, to see it as its best, this plant must be well taken care of and kept safe from any factors that will cause premature death.
| Some of these measures to keep rosemary alive include: |
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Common Problems Leading To Untimely Deaths In Rosemary?
Knowing how to sustain your rosemary plant, although its lifespan is not enough, it is also good that you know some of the activities resulting in what you’re preventing.
Although rosemary lasts a long number of years, certain conditions can cut short its life length. A few of them are caused by gardeners, while others are caused by climate and environmental factors.
These problems include:
1. Overwatering:
Rosemary plants are sensitive to overwatering and not just rosemary but also a wide range of shrubs and herbs.
If you overwater your rosemary plants, it will result in foliage droops and turn yellow or brown at the roots. Rosemary demands well-draining soil.
Whenever the soil is slow draining, excess water will suffocate plant roots, resulting in discoloration of the foliage.
2. Insufficient sunlight:
Little or no sunlight is one common reason for dying or weak rosemary. Normally, rosemary plants need at least 6 to 8 hours of constant sunlight a day.
In the absence of sunlight, perhaps during winter, a constant supply of grow lights will suffice just fine.
“I would recommend using grow lights in the winter season in order to provide enough light to rosemary plant”.
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3. Pests:
Pests are known to be one of the biggest problems of garden owners and plants. Common insect pests that attack and destroy rosemary include aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, and scales.
Aphids and mealybugs leave a sticky substance on the plant leave known as honeydew. Meanwhile, spider mites often go unnoticed because of their tiny size.
4. Improper fertilization:
Fertilizers are applied to plants to help them grow better and do better in conditions that are not favorable to the plant. Despite this, sometimes fertilizers become the actual problem of the plant when there is improper application.
Improper application of fertilizers can be under application, over the application, or untimely application of the fertilizer. It could also be applying wrong fertilizers to the rosemary plants.
This can cause the plant to go dry and cause the soil to be acidic, leading to the untimely death of the rosemary plant.
5. Diseases:
Although rosemary is very resistant to many diseases, powdery mildew and root rot still have their ways of standing firm on the plant. Root rot is mostly a result of overwatering, while powdery mildew is a fungal disease.
These can be cured using sunlight and antifungal sprays that won’t harm the rosemary plant further.
Cold Temperatures: Extremely high temperatures can cause the rosemary plant not to freeze at its leaves, roots, and stems.
6. Excess humidity:
Very humid weather is not so good for rosemary. This incompatibility is because the plant likes dry soil, and excess moisture will lead to root rot and early death of the plant.
7. Lack of Pruning:
if you’re not pruning your rosemary plant as often as you should, it will result in woody stems. Once the plant begins to have woody stems, it loses its flavors and dies off quickly.
8. Excess Pruning:
As it is to lack of pruning, it is opposite to excess pruning. If you cut the plants too often, then you will end up killing the plant.
Conclusion
Rosemary plants grow back every spring if they are well attended to. Rosemary plant can continue to grow back every year for the next 20 years after it’s planted.
However, paying keen attention to the plant for the first two years will help keep it healthy for the remaining years.
You should use organic manure in place of chemical and industrial fertilizers since humans mostly consume this plant.
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