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Bolting ?
NoviceHerbs
Posts: 126
in Fruit & veg
My Rosemary has started to Bolt and produce flowers.
Does this mean that my Herb is dying , I must say the herb still smells nice but I read that when a plant goes to seed it becomes bitter and inedible.
To prevent bolting ,
Should I water more , Prune more and create some shade if England ever gets nice hot weather.
IS there anything else I can do
And is pruning and pinching simply that --- cutting sections of the herbs away to use ?
May I ask what you do to store your cuttings whilst you think of a use for them etc.
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Rosemary is a shrub so flowering is not a problem. It is only annuals that become bitter when they flower.
Cutting off or pinching out the rosemary to use is the same as pruning it.
It's growing, not bolting. It's what shrubs do if they're happy so yours must be happy. Don't water it more, it's a shrub of dry, sunny places. Don't put it in the shade. You can leave it alone or cut some off, the plant won't mind which.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Thanks alot what is the difference between cutting out of pinching , and How long will it flower for
pinching is done with fingers, cutting with secateurs. It will flower til it stops. Depends on weather
In the sticks near Peterborough
Rosemary flowers are a great nectar source for bees
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
so 2 conclude rosemary flowering is fine and it will continue growing ?
One last point a few stems are yellow , why could this be?
Also why is it some people say if it flowers you must effectively throw it away does this refer to veg and coriander and rosemary is unique
Annual plants grow, flower, set seed and die all in one year. If your annual plant starts to flower and that's not why you grew it then it's too late to get it to produce more leaves (coriander, brassicas) or thicken up the roots (carrots, beetroot). Some you might keep because you want to collect the seeds for next year (or to eat) but otherwise, if it was leaf you wanted, it's time to bin it.
Perennial plants flower every year and keep on producing new leaves just as before - rosemary, marjoram, thyme. So you can just let it flower (and in some cases eat the flowers too) without worrying about it affecting the 'crop'.
It's not quite as simple as that - there are perennials you might give a chelsea chop to (mint, for example) to keep them shooting new leafy stems. But that's a bit of finesse you can get round to once you've got the basics sorted
Last edited: 14 April 2017 21:54:27
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Thus to conclude Annuals will always seed and die ,
As I do not have a greenhouse I assume at this stage there is no point collecting the seeds
Perennials such as Rosemary will flower and then continue living
One small point , I heard that if a plant flowers it is wasting extra energy and nutrients , should I pick the flowers of rosemary or just assist with extra soluble plant food
Neither, Feed as usual, no need to pick the flowers off. Leave it be, it's happy and the bees love those flowers
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Thanks raising Girl , I will do a thread when I have decided which Herbs to grow , I have some thinking to do.
One small point is I have to replant my oregano and sage do you think the process of replanting from a pot with topsoil to a pot with soil/compost will be safe for the herbs and wont get 2 distressed and take to the new soil quite happily