Rosemary: Cold Hardy/Surviving Winter (grow, tree, spring, north)

[rdflk]

Could this past winter have killed my 2 - three year old rosemarys? 'Cause they sure look dead.

From the reading I've done, rosemary is supposed to be able to survive, in my MD zone 6a/7b.
My plants are south-facing in a hillside bed, under a tree canopy (near the tree -- but 4-6 feet lower on the hillside so they're not up against the tree)

One looks REALLY dead with PERHAPS the slightest little green leaf. The other has a LITTLE bit more green on it. But at first glance you'd definitely say they're dead all the way down to the main trunk in the soil.

1) would you cut them back toe the ground now...and see if they can come back.

2) Do you think the winter did them in? even though they 'should have survived?

[talloolla]

I live in Northeastern Pa and I can say this is the oddest Spring we have had here. We have virtually no leaves on the tress but yet some are flowering already. I say that because there is a chance your rosemary will come back. I would cut it back and watch for new growth. If they are 2+ years old, they should have a healthy trunk and extensive roots so give it time.

[jacqueg]

Originally Posted by rdflk

Could this past winter have killed my 2 - three year old rosemarys? 'Cause they sure look dead.

From the reading I've done, rosemary is supposed to be able to survive, in my MD zone 6a/7b.
My plants are south-facing in a hillside bed, under a tree canopy (near the tree -- but 4-6 feet lower on the hillside so they're not up against the tree)

One looks REALLY dead with PERHAPS the slightest little green leaf. The other has a LITTLE bit more green on it. But at first glance you'd definitely say they're dead all the way down to the main trunk in the soil.

1) would you cut them back toe the ground now...and see if they can come back.

2) Do you think the winter did them in? even though they 'should have survived?

You're right on the edge. I grow the variety Arp, which is the hardiest rosemary I know of, to zone 6. Most are hardy to zone 7, a few only to zone 8.

I'd wait a couple more weeks before doing anything to your plants. They can be slow to recover from a bad winter. If/when you see new buds on the branches or sprouts from the base, then's the time to prune.

Last winter, we got down into the low teens here, both my outdoor rosemary came through with little damage. (Winter before last was colder.) I mulch their root zones heavily in the fall, with something loose like leaves, and keep my eye on them to make sure the mulch isn't keeping them too wet. They are also planted in the lee of buildings, since it gets nasty windy here. And I have a potted rosemary that lives inside during the winter, so I have a ready source of cuttings!

[mkarch]

Yes. We had some killed during the winter of 09-10 (in NoVa) when the snow stayed on the ground for several weeks up through April. Many came back, but they weren't in great shape.

[Ohiogirl81]

My rosemary was a three-foot tall and four-foot wide shrub, five or six years old. This past winter killed it. I'm outside of Philadelphia - where it really shouldn't have survived more than the mildest of winters anyway, but it did until this one.

[Emeraldmaiden]

My small rosemary died this winter, too. They just aren't meant to freeze solid.