Greetings, There is this wonderful, old Rosemary bush trying to survive along the west facing wall of our house. In recent years it has been split by snow accumulation etc. Both sections seem to be doing well, but I worry about the area of the break. Should this be treated somehow? Will tying it up better help keep it growing? Is there some topical salve I should apply? I just want to do what I can to keep it growing. I cook with Rosemary often and am just getting into the 'tea'. The split looks grown over but there is some green mold forming. Any suggestions? Progressive size photos are attached.
Fairly normal for older Rosemary plants, nothing you can really do about it. The plant will survive, though bear in mind that Rosemary is often fairly short-lived anyway so it might not last too much longer. Probably a good idea to take some cuttings to get a new one started as a future replacement.
Just wanted confirmation. Will start a cutting right away. In water till it gets roots, rooting compound, then plant? Can you count the rings to get its age? It looks old to me. How large / old does Basil get? Thanks, -rg-
Cuttings in the spring, after new growth starts, will probably do better, but you can try some now. I would use root hormone, but place them into moist, sterile cutting/germinating media of some type and keep under a cover to increase humidity. Rosemary is also commonly available, cheap and easy to purchase. There might be some new cultivars that you may want anyway. There are a few perennial types of basil, but they are not hardy. It's grown as an annual in our part of the world.
Yup most basil are annuals. But in our country it is living as a perrenial plant. In tropical climates.
