The Rosemary Thread

Crazy Diamond · Aug 10, 2022

You will need to prune it progressively to get light and promote interior backbudding, is hard to make them sprout in zones without green foliage

Hartinez · Aug 10, 2022

Arnold said:
You will need to prune it progressively to get light and promote interior backbudding, is hard to make them sprout in zones without green foliage

Actually, I think the thread is relatively unanimous in that Rosemary does not readily back bud on old wood. Clearly though, the last tree posted needs some interior foliage to be a decent tree, but I’d hate to advise a chop only to kill it when the consensus is that that won’t work.

Crazy Diamond · Aug 10, 2022

If they are healthy and happy you can get some backbudding in not very old branches, but is not easy by any means

Vin · Aug 10, 2022

Linn01 said:
Hi guys,

a fellow forum member RJG2 pointed me out that there was a thread dedicated to rosemary. I have this 15y old rosemary in my herb garden. It was originally 1.8m tall, but my wife chopped the shoots last week. It is now around 1.2m tall. I was wondering if it could make something out of it. I read in this thread that rosemary does not like root pruning. This old specimen probably would dislike being potted? My plan was to execute a severe trunk chop in winter, wait until it reacts/backbuds (or not), and then try a repot in spring 2024. Possible u think?

If you trunk chop it you're just going to end up with a dead rosemary stump in the ground. As indicated in various wording throughout this thread, back budding on old wood would be considered the 8th natural wonder of the world. Your best approach is to try and visualize an image using the foliage and branching you have. Wiring those nice and juicy juvenile branches isn't a problem but you'll have a fight on your hands if you try to do much with the old wood. If you think you have something after visualizing then I would see if you can get it out of the ground and into a pot in the spring (do not remove any foliage in the spring). If it survives the trauma, then start working toward your image. Creating bonsai using Rosemary is a very slow process. I would say the success rate is probably less than 1%.

DanaWhicker · Aug 10, 2022

Until I found this thread I never would have looked at a rosemary plant as a potential Bonsai. There's one growing in the ground at my house that's several years old and I've barely looked at it except as a free source of the herb. I can't wait to take a closer look at it.

ABCarve · Aug 10, 2022

Linn01 said:
Hi guys,

a fellow forum member RJG2 pointed me out that there was a thread dedicated to rosemary. I have this 15y old rosemary in my herb garden. It was originally 1.8m tall, but my wife chopped the shoots last week. It is now around 1.2m tall. I was wondering if it could make something out of it. I read in this thread that rosemary does not like root pruning. This old specimen probably would dislike being potted? My plan was to execute a severe trunk chop in winter, wait until it reacts/backbuds (or not), and then try a repot in spring 2024. Possible u think?
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From my experience it’s highly unlikely that it would survive digging it out. The older the plant the more prone it is to failure. They really don’t back bud on old wood so chopping it would probably kill it as well. My advice is to enjoy the plant for what it is and let it survive. If you want to play with rosemary get one that has been container grown. Read the last 5 posts.

Linn01 · Aug 11, 2022

thanks for the feedback guys, I will be on the lookout for a new specimen.

ABCarve · Aug 11, 2022

Just looking back through this thread.............how many of you would believe this is the same tree? I guess that's why you style after the the die-back.

Vin · Aug 11, 2022

ABCarve said:
Just looking back through this thread.............how many of you would believe this is the same tree? I guess that's why you style after the the die-back.

So cool! (and that disguised pot

) What's that time frame from the first image to the last?

ABCarve · Aug 11, 2022

Th

Vin said:
So cool! (and that disguised pot ) What's that time frame from the first image to the last?

e first photo is from 2011

Yankee Dog · Dec 15, 2022

here is my addition. Sourced from a garden store spring of 2022. Did a very small amount of root management, I wouldnot call it pruning. Trimmed back what branches didn’t seem to belong. Other than moving To a different pot, I may not do anything other than routine maintenance. I kinda like it as it is.

Opinions... recommendations.

ABCarve · Mar 5, 2023

The soil was becoming a little tight on the surface and not draining so well. This tree is too large and awkward to totally repot so I guess this would called extreme soji!! Potting scythe, chopstick and shop-vac. New soil watered-in with a water jet to remove a lot of akadama dust.