Plant guide:🌿 Rosemary
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⚠ ModerateDieback after winter � often caused by wet, poorly-draining soil combined with cold rather than cold alone.
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Growth
Rosemary Not Surviving Winter Outdoors
Commonly affects: Salvia rosmarinus (Rosemary)
The plant appears to die back significantly or completely over winter, with brown, dry foliage and no new growth appearing once spring arrives, particularly in regions with hard frosts.
Potential Causes
- 1Temperatures dropping below the plant's hardiness range, typically around -10 to -15�C for hardy varieties, but much less for tender ones
- 2Wet, poorly-draining winter soil combined with cold, which is more damaging than cold alone
- 3Exposed planting sites without any wind or frost shelter
- 4Less hardy rosemary varieties planted in a climate too cold for them
Solution Steps
- 1Move container-grown rosemary to a sheltered spot, cold frame, or indoors for winter in regions with hard frosts.
- 2Improve drainage around outdoor plantings before winter, since wet-and-cold combined is far more damaging than cold alone.
- 3Choose a hardy variety suited to your climate zone if winter loss happens repeatedly.
- 4Wait until late spring before giving up on an apparently dead plant, since rosemary sometimes resprouts slowly from the base.
Prevention Tip
Improve soil drainage before winter and choose a genuinely cold-hardy variety for your climate � most winter rosemary losses come from wet, poorly-draining soil combined with cold rather than cold alone.
