[jacnal]

Morning all,

I went a green festival yesterday, and came back with 6 types of herbs.

Camphor (says perrenial on label)
Read an article here and thought I'd get one ASAP, lol

Rosemary
I've had one for over a year now and it's so strangly and ill looking I thought I'd get a new one, start a fresh  . The old one's leaves keep going brown as soon as they appear, and there's alot of foam around them. Not usable or pretty. How do I avoid the same with the new plant? Any ideas what this could be? I'll take a pic now.......

Golden thyme
Is this same as lemon thyme? Smells lemony

Oregano
Hubby loves, so thought I'd get him a fresh, continuous supply.

Chocolate mint
Smells heavenly, and thought I'd get it for it's difference

Calendula/marigold
Is this edible, or is it just a good idea to plant for protecting againnst something? I could use the flowers in my skincare recipes too.

Now, apart from finding a nice sunny spot for them all, how should I go about planting them all in a small herb bed (not even prepared, lol!). Could I get a really large pot to plant them all into? Would they all be happy together? Any input positively appreciated!

x

[WG.]

Separate pots would be better for :

mint is large and very invasive (rich soil)

oregano is large and freely self-seeds (any soil)

rosemary (dry gritty even poor soil)

thyme (dry gritty even poor soil)

camphor: dunno sorry


Calendula is better in the ground - any soil.  It is a self-seeding annual growing to almost 2ft.  Flower petals are edible as a colourful addition to salads and/or a cheap colouring instead of saffron (without the flavour obviously)

[jacnal]

Thanks David.

That's great, means I can go ahead and plant today.

Just realised, I got confused. Wanted to buy comfrey, not camphor. They sound similar to me, lol! Anyway, I've got camphor now, I'll put it in a pot. Great for aching muscles, so not all lost. Still need to buy comfrey for plot fertility. D'oh!

[andyh4]

Rosemary - the foamy stuff is from a pest (can't remember which one) AKA Cuckoo Spit.  You need to address this or your new plant will become infected.

Calendula - use the petals in salads - looks pretty but doen not taste of a great deal IMO.

Golden thyme is not exactly the same as lemon thyme.  I have lemon thyme that is dark green leaved not yellow leaved.

[Annie]

For cookoo spit if you look quickly inside you will see a little green insect that will jump away.It doesn`t damage plants and if you don`t like the look just us a spray of water to remove.

[jacnal]

Thanks  Andy and Annie, re: cuckoo spit. It does make the plant look not nice. If I knew how to post pictures here I'd send a pic of the plant. It looks so scrawny and sorry for self. It's at home. The new plant I took to the allotment and planted into a pot there for now, till I get a nice spot prepared. I'll post a pic on my blog, attatch URL. Maybe I can get more answers that way.......

[jacnal]

Pics posted on my blog. Please have a look, see if you can diagnose what my rosemary plant is suffering from?

[DD.]

Rosemary plants are prone to part dying off & these should be removed before it affect the rest of the plant.

I'd cut the dead bits off, give it a bigger pot with fresh compost & hope!!

DD

[WG.]

I can't see any cuckoo spit in these piccies.

What I can see is a rosemary plant which is so nearly dead as to make no difference.  What I suggest is taking the best looking pieces as cuttings.  might be an idea to look around for another plant just in case they don't take.

[jacnal]

Rosemary plants are prone to part dying off & these should be removed before it affect the rest of the plant.

I'd cut the dead bits off, give it a bigger pot with fresh compost & hope!!

DD

Thanks Dave,

Just feel like I've fought a losing battle with this plant since day 1. Amazingly, it's grown some, albeit slowly! I'll take a cutting as suggested. If it survives, well and good. If it doesn't, well, I'd have tried!

[jacnal]

I can't see any cuckoo spit in these piccies.

What I can see is a rosemary plant which is so nearly dead as to make no difference.  What I suggest is taking the best looking pieces as cuttings.  might be an idea to look around for another plant just in case they don't take.

Hey WG, there has been cuckoo spit! I however did find the cuckoo () and smashed it with my shoe!

This plant has been scrawny all it's life with me  . I did get another at the green fair on Sunday, and hoping that one does well. I'll still take cuttings out of this one too, and give it another chance. If it doesn't survive, then I won't feel bad for not trying  

Thanks!

[Annie]

I`d go with cuttings too as even if it does survive it is unlikley that the dried bits will green up.

[jacnal]

Hey Annie,

How do I take cuttings? And, do I just stick them in a jar of water, or stick them to some soil/compost?

I also found a lavender plant on the plot which I'd like to spread out a little (cuttings). Any ideas?

[Annie]

For rosemary and lavender I cut off about 4-6" stems ,strip 1-2 " of leaves off the bottom end,push 3 per 4"pot,water.pop  a stick in the middle and put a plastic bag over the top secured by an elastic band(the stick is just to keep the bag off the cuttings),then forget about it for a month by which time roots should be growing.
If you check previous posts I think someone has done a comprehensive cuttings piece.

[WG.]

See cuttings in the Glossary of Terms in the Welcome forum  

All please feel free to vote in the poll & to contribute further terms (with or without definitions)